Stef Smits is a senior programme officer and Co-director of IRC's Growth Hub. He has 20 years of professional experience in water supply and sanitation in over 25 countries in Europe, Latin America, Southern Africa, and South Asia. His main thematic expertise includes: institutional models for water supply, sustainability and enabling environment, monitoring, costing and financing of services and integrated water resources management.
Stef has led numerous projects on these topics, and published about them. In addition, he has ample management expertise: from consultancy assignments to multi-annual programmes, and units within an organisation. He has worked for a range of clients including bilateral donors, development banks, research funders and NGOs. Stef holds an MSc degree in Irrigation and Water Engineering from Wageningen University, The Netherlands.
Stef Smits' in-depth review of the JMP 2021 data on the progress made in 15 countries and discussing the implications towards 2030. Read more...
Despite reduced funding for market systems development (MSD) in sanitation, Water For People (WFP) has been able to grow and expand its approach. Read more...
This paper presents the journeys that Agenda for Change members have gone through in progressively embracing systems strengthening approaches in... Read more...
One of the myths that keeps on going around in the rural water supply sector is the one of 'full cost recovery'. As more data from rural water monitoring systems becomes available, the myth gets busted. Read more...
The Multi-country synthesis report brings together the insights from the 13 Triple-S country studies to identify trends in rural water supply,... Read more...
Pour changer les systèmes, il faut un «Conteur, un Expert et un Homme Politique». Histoires d'acteurs du changement au Malawi, au Honduras, en... Read more...
Para cambiar los sistemas se necesita un "narrador de historias, un experto y un político". Historias de agentes de cambio en Malawi, Honduras,... Read more...
It takes a 'Story Teller, an Expert, and a Politician' to make systems change happen. Stories from change makers in Malawi, Honduras, Uganda,... Read more...
Presentations from the WASH Learning theme 1 - Delivering Safe WASH Services session of the All Systems Connect International Symposium 2023. Read more...
Achieving scale through associations of municipalities Read more...
In de nasleep van orkaan Eta steunen IRC en Water For People de oproep van de Hondurese overheid aan de internationale gemeenschap en roepen ze op tot onmiddellijke actie voor de wederopbouw van talloze water en sanitaire voorzieningen die door de oorkaan verwoest zijn. Read more...
In the wake of Hurricane Eta, IRC and Water For People support government appeal and call for immediate action to restore a decade's worth of water and sanitation development in Honduras Read more...
Last week, the Para Todos, Por Siempre (Everyone, Forever) initiative presented its results over 2019. It led me to reflect on the good, the bad and the ugly of our experiences with monitoring in Honduras. Read more...
As countries, regions and municipalities are making plans to reach universal access to WASH services, a frequently heard question is how much does it actually cost to provide services to everyone in the area? This week's "weekly WASH graph" will provide some magic numbers of the costs of reaching '... Read more...
The motto of the Sustainable Development Goals is "leaving no one behind". For water and sanitation this implies that all people – including those families who live in the last house on top of the mountain - must have access to water and sanitation services. Water For People and IRC in Honduras... Read more...
El lema de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible es "no dejar a nadie atrás". Para el objetivo de agua y saneamiento implica que todas las personas – hasta las que viven en la casa más alejada, en la cima de una montaña – deben de tener acceso a dichos servicios. El proyecto "modelos de... Read more...
Supply and demand for water and sanitation services in dispersed rural areas of Honduras Read more...