Capacity development - key to sustainable water operations

Water Operator Partnership and Institutional Capacity Development for Urban Water Supply

Richenel Breeveld, Leon Hermans and Siemen Veenstra

30th May 2013

Content

1. Research Approach2. Institutional Lessons 3. Discussion

Purpose of 5th Symposium

- Urbanisation and Population Growth

- Severe Poverty

- HIV crisis 2008

- Insufficient Water Production

- Commercial and Pyhsical Losses

- Lack of preventive maintenance

Water Operator Partnership and Institutional Capacity Development for Urban Water Supply

Purpose of 5th Symposium

To which extent experiences with drinking water institutions in the Netherlands, available to this particular water operator

partnership, could be used to improve the institutional capacity for urban water supply in Lilongwe in Malawi?

Research Question

Purpose of 5th Symposium

IAD Framework

Source: Adapted from E. Ostrom (2005: 15).

Interactions

Rules-in-Use

Biophysical Conditions

Attributes of Community

Outcomes

Evaluative Criteria

Action Situations

Exogenous Variables

Purpose of 5th Symposium

Key exogenous conditionsCategory: Key exogenous conditions, Lilongwe Water Board Key exogenous conditions, The Netherlands

Material and Biophysical Nature

- Lack of information on actual condition of physical components at an operational level and collective choice level

- Lack of fail-safe design in distribution network at operational level

- Insufficient water production to meet water demand

- Substantial part of distribution infrastructure are old and is expected to fail in the near future

Attributes of the Community

- High unemployment rate, affecting company culture

- HIV/AIDS epidemic, constrains on technical expertise

- Strict hierarchal culture

- Economies of scale, can enlarge investment capacity, knowledge and expertise at drinking water companies

- Risk averse attitude towards investments and maintenance issues that may affect public health

- High trust of public in drinking water supply system provides incentive to various actors involved in the water supply cycle

Rules-in-Use - Donor providing funding for investment

- Lacking of closed financial cycle

- Corrective maintenance crowds out capacity for preventive maintenance

- Strong monitoring and enforcement of rules to detect rule-breaking

- Shareholders likely to be driven by political values

- Asset management provides incentive to make investment and maintenance decisions based upon analyzed information

- Asset management provides incentive to improve data management

Purpose of 5th Symposium

Action Situations

• Samaritan Dilemma - Malawi

• Economies of Scale Dilemma- the Netherlands

• Asset Management Dilemma – the Netherlands

• Collaboration in Road Construction Projects – the Netherlands

• Aged Infrastructure Dilemma – the Netherlands

Purpose of 5th Symposium

Institutional Constrains

• Displacement of local efforts

• Disincentive to actively maintain local public infratrstucture

• Difficult for donor organisation or government to alter this behaviour

Purpose of 5th Symposium

Asset Management Dilemma

• Integrated approach on physcial and human assets

• Misalignment in interest between two departments

• Outcome: reduction in efficiency

Purpose of 5th Symposium

Institutional lessons from Asset Management

• Overcome information asymmetry

• Create transparency and build commitment

• Entrepeneurs in asset mainteance

Purpose of 5th Symposium

Institutional lessons from experiences in the Netherlands

Action Situations Institutional Components

Asset Management Dilemma - Improved information about material conditions

- In-company entrepreneurs and champions for participation of operators and engineers in asset management decisions

Economies of scale - Improved information about material conditions and environmental conditions

Collaboration in road construction projects - Early communication and joint elaboration of plans between parties

- Repeated interactions between parties

Aged infrastructure dilemma - Collaboration in research on expected life time infrastructure

- Monitoring and enforcement

- Public benchmarking and indicators

Purpose of 5th Symposium

Transplantation of Institutional ComponentsInstitutional Components Conditions in the Netherlands Conditions Lilongwe Water Board Recommendations for Malawi

Improved information about material conditions

Measurement equipment

Knowledge and expertise

Measuring equipment often defect or inadequate

Staff capacity limited as employees heavily occupied with acute problems

Set up a team committed to analyze data and estimate effects on drinking water production and maintenance

In-company entrepreneurs and champions for participation of operators and engineers in asset management decisions

Central databases for info-exchange

Entrepreneurs willing to cooperate in data collection and planning

Rewards for consistency

Expertise

Operators and maintenance engineers primarily busy with corrective maintenance, limited data collection capacity

No centralized information systems and only 25% of staff has access to computers

Absence of maintenance plans and investments programs

Improve data management and analyses, as above

Link reward system to care taker strategy

Public benchmarking and indicators

Trustworthy data

Sufficient participants

Sufficient importance

Conditions for effective benchmarking not yet in place, but of ‘care-taker’ strategy that creates local ownership in organization provides starting point

Publish benchmarking results for difference zones in LWB area

Purpose of 5th Symposium

Conclusion

• Institutional Capacity can be developed by use of lessons learned (WOPs)

• Structured approach by using IAD Framework and Policy Transfer

• Cooperative behaviour

• Overcoming information assymetry

Purpose of 5th Symposium

Thank you for your attention.

Author(s) name(s)OrganisationEmail address