This study examines user perceptions of existing water services and proposed prepaid water meter and solar power innovations to improve water services in Tanzania. Based on 14 key informant interviews and six focus group discussions that included 61 participants, data from three rural and three urban study sites reveal that existing water services are generally perceived as poor, and the proposed prepayment and solar innovations offer benefits including increased transparency, accountability, and convenience. However, users also perceived challenges with the proposed innovations, including disenfranchisement of vulnerable populations and technical difficulties. The Government of Tanzania may implement the prepaid water meter and solar power technologies in the near future. Thus, it is critical to incorporate user perceptions on the acceptability, feasibility, and scalability of such technologies prior to large-scale implementation.

中文翻译：

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对水服务的看法和改善坦桑尼亚水服务的创新

本研究调查了用户对现有供水服务的看法，并提出了预付费水表和太阳能创新以改善坦桑尼亚的供水服务。根据 14 次关键知情人访谈和包括 61 名参与者在内的 6 次焦点小组讨论，来自三个农村和三个城市研究地点的数据显示，现有的供水服务普遍被认为很差，而提议的预付费和太阳能创新提供了好处，包括提高透明度、问责制，和方便。然而，用户也感受到了拟议创新的挑战，包括剥夺弱势群体的权利和技术困难。坦桑尼亚政府可能会在不久的将来实施预付费水表和太阳能技术。因此，将用户对可接受性的看法纳入其中至关重要，