Designing and Implementing Successful Utility Reform

Program Overview

Many water supply and sanitation utilities are locked into a vicious and downward spiral of weak performance, insufficient funding for maintenance leading to a deterioration of assets, institutional discrepancies, and high incidences of political interference. This often results from the monopolistic nature of the sector, but also poor governance, ineffective and misdirected policies.

This program has been designed to provide utility managers with a combination of knowledge, skills and tools for initiating and sustaining reform. The program enables them to understand the political influences on key decision making and assists participants to create and execute a financial and institutional strategy for sustainable utility performance.

Program Objectives

1. Understand the constraints surrounding water and how it affects key decisions

2. Diagnose performance gaps, develop and implement functional and organizational strategies for your water utility

3. Design and/or improve the essential components of a utility, including organizational governance, management systems, processes, and roles and responsibilities

4. Assess coverage areas, understand customer base, and develop service to meet consumer needs

5. Identify value and risks related to asset management, non revenue water (NRW), and related infrastructure

6. Understand the different stages of reform and identify appropriate actions within each stage

7. Construct a sustainable strategy, network with internal and external players and utilize communications and conflict management resources to maintain relationships with various stakeholders

Program Implementation

A 5-day program targeted at executives and senior managers, policy makers from struggling medium and large utilities, government officials that advise or contribute to decision making within the water sector.