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.
Financing Post-Construction Support (direct support)", is a video documentary which explores various options and opportunities for post construction support for water and sanitation facilities in Ghana. It draws largely on efforts by two of IRC Ghana's programmes, the Triple-S and WASHCost projects in facilitating sector dialogue and innovations to addresses the situation.
This video was produced in collaboration with the Ghana Watsan Journalists Network.
Read more...We were here to find out what the water committee does about water supplies, but only a local government official was around to explain it all. Read more...
Self supply is an approach that can improve the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of water services. Read more...
Water for People has helped Sagar and Patharpratima boost coverage and improve sustainability. Read more...
A special issue of ' Water Alternatives' journal looks at trends in water services in rural areas. Read more...
It would be easy, and wrong, to say that global conferences rarely deliver results, for sometimes they offer brand new ways of seeing things. Read more...
A new report shows the impact of post-construction support on rural water supply in Colombia. Read more...
Elder Joe is the proud secretary of a water committee managing a handpump on the outskirts of Odumase town in Ghana. But the committee would rather manage a different type of system. Read more...
The costs of getting spare parts for handpumps can sometimes be higher than the costs of the parts. But a new SMS-based system might help. Read more...
I cannot resist visiting the odd water works or taking photographs of the local water and sanitation facilities during my holidays. Read more...
This includes the structured support activities to service providers as well as to users or user groups. This may be provided in a variety of ways by either local governments directly, by regional utility agencies, specialized agencies or external contractors or a by combination of these modalities. Read more...
Alternative service provider options refer to models such as self-supply and public-private partnerships, that are a departure from the conventional model of community-based management that has tended to dominate rural water supplies. Read more...