Water and sanitation facilities: a service provider is needed for day-to-day administration.
Published on: 17/02/2013
In rural areas, community-based organisations have been the most common option for the management of water supply systems. Though this has led to real progress in service delivery, it has its limitations; communities frequently face problems they cannot solve on their own, problems that go beyond their technical or financial capacity. Over the last decade, much effort has gone into helping such community-based organisations to operate more professionally, for example so that they can outsource appropriate tasks to paid experts and adopt good business practices while retaining their not-for-profit status.
We look at all these organisations: the different types of service providers and authorities and the entities that support them.
In addition, service providers can often obtain support from a range of organisations or individuals, such as associations of hand pump mechanics or district technicians. The positive impact of such support arrangements is evident, but also raises a number of questions about the best support arrangements in different conditions, and how these support activities can best be funded. In some cases, support becomes so big and costly that different service delivery models may be more suitable, such as private operators. And in very small and dispersed communities, management by households, under a self-supply approach, may be more appropriate. The latter is also the case for sanitation, which is by definition a family affair in on-site sanitation.
As well as receiving support, service providers need to be regulated, monitored and supervised. These areas are the responsibility of what we call the service authority, a function typically fulfilled by local governments. They set the local rules and regulations for water services provision and keep an oversight over them, alongside planning and implementation of water systems. Yet local governments often lack the capacity to adequately fulfil these functions and need support themselves. This may come in the form of technical assistance from national government, but also by pooling resources and capacities with other local governments.
We look at all these organisations: the different types of service providers and authorities and the entities that support them. And we are especially interested in innovations in these institutional set-ups and the impact they have on sustainability of service provision, as well as their costs.
