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This research was performed with the aim of determining if the emptying of latrines in a flood‐prone urban slum area would be a sustainable and profitable business for private‐sector service providers.

Monte‐Carlo analysis was used to evaluate the economic sustainability of a proposed public‐private waste transportation service. A GIS‐assisted route analysis was also performed, with participation by private and public sector stakeholders.

The analysis also showed that if a low‐cost subscription service is implemented in the area, the commercial service providers will operate at a loss in all cases, unless changes are made in the truck fuel efficiency, the operating hours of discharge sites, and the transportation network.

The research was based on service provider operations costs extrapolated from previous studies and updated through informal interviews. A thorough and transparent review of cost accounting procedures is necessary to validate the results.

This study identified challenges and potential solutions which must be addressed by practitioners in order to ensure success of a subscription‐based service.

This study adds to the existing literature by demonstrating the applicability of an analytic modeling technique based on Monte‐Carlo simulation and provides an example of how academic research can be tightly coupled with practitioner needs in order to have a direct impact on operational humanitarian projects.

Designing technologies for active and healthy ageing (AHA) requires a subtle understanding of end users (primary stakeholders) and healthcare professionals (secondary stakeholders). Often, their perspectives can be heterogeneous and contradictory. Identifying and negotiating them may be a challenge for designers. The purpose of this paper is to present our approach to understanding and negotiating contradictory stakeholder perspectives when designing AHA technologies for older adults.

The authors conducted an exploratory interview study with 15 community-dwelling older adults and 11 healthcare stakeholders, including doctors, health insurance agencies, policymakers and caregivers. The authors analyzed the interview material and negotiated contradictory perspectives.

Three major issues among stakeholders emerged: perspectives on AHA; perceived benefits and drawbacks of AHA technologies; and concerns about data privacy, control and trust.

The results show the heterogeneity and contradictions in stakeholder perspectives on AHA technologies and how these perspectives may be negotiated. This could help understand and facilitate long-term use of AHA technologies among older adults.

This study alerts researchers to contradictory perspectives among older people and healthcare stakeholders and the importance of involving them in the design of AHA technologies.