Working Areas
Partnership Management
Asset Management
Customer Relations
Governance & Institutional Relations
Investment Projects
Production Processes & Service Quality & Water Safety (Drinking Water)
Organizations Involved
South Western Umbrella of Water and Sanitation, Kabale, Uganda — Lead Mentee
- Ministry of Water and Environment Kampala, Uganda — Mentee
VEI Dutch Water Operators — Lead Mentor
- National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Kampala, Uganda — Mentor
The European Union
—
Funder
SDGs
6.1Universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
6.4Increased water-use efficiency and sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater
6.bSupported and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management
Project description
In-country support by VEI and NWSC (co-mentors) to MWE in strengthening South West Umbrella of Water and Sanitation (SWUWS) capacity in asset management and revenue enhancement of (semi-)rural schemes.
Project main objectives
The expected results (outcomes) of the WOP project are as follows, whereby reference is made to the 4 (above-captioned) EU WOP Programme objectives:
A. Performance Outcomes (PO):
1. Improved (enabling environment by MoE) for operational and financial performance (by SWUWS) (ref.Obj. 1)
2. Increased access to sustainable water services (SDG6) by low-income households (ref. Obj.3) through additional finance (ref. Obj. 2)
3. Strengthened Partners ability to engage in WOPs beyond the EU WOP Programme (ref. Obj. 4)
Communication and Knowledge Management (EUKnoW) activities aim to promote the WOP ‘model’ as a coste ffective modality for (‘peer-to-peer’) transfer of ‘hands-on’ knowledge and experience (ref. Obj. 4) in utility performance improvement.
PO1: Improved operational and financial performance of scheme operations by SWUWS
The EU WOP will contribute to the ongoing professionalisation (transfer of asset ownership/exploitation mandates) of water service delivery in semi-rural areas by strengthening the asset Operation & Maintenance (O&M), customer relations, billing revenue collection and debt (financing) capacity of SWUWS in its day-to-day management (or supervision) of water scheme operations.
PO2: Increased access to sustainable water services (SDG6)
The strengthened organisational and staff capacity will enable SWUWS to sustainable exploit developed assets under the parallel Service Coverage Acceleration (‘SCAP-100’) and WB-funded Integrated Water Management and Development (IWMDP) Projects. In doing so; improving and sustaining SDG6 service levels increments
towards 2030 .
PO3: Strengthen partners ability to engage in WOPs
The EU WOP will facilitate the scaling-up of VEI - NWSC collaboration in WOP implementation and promotion in the region and globally. At a global level, the active involvement of NWSC staff in the GWOPA/WWX
Communities of Practice (CoPs) will contribute to the 'regionalisation agenda' of the CoP (i.e. extending CoP coordination/moderation to from -currently mostly- 'Northern' to 'Southern' utility thematic experts ).
VEI aims at strengthening ties with NWSC, as leading WOP partners in East Africa, and its associated resource center (IREC) and other regional 'leaders' (e.g. Ghana Water Company, Dhaka WASA) in pursuing this agenda.
We aim to foster this collaboration agenda with like-minded partners (e.g. IWA, AfWA) under the GWOPA coordinated EUKnoW programme.
In practical terms, we propose to co-host (coordination, moderation, facilitation) of the ongoing WWX CoP on Asset Management as a logical first step and demonstration of this collaborations. Under these CoPs, practitioners meet on a regular (3-4 monthly) basis to share, document (news flashes, case studies) and develop relevant tools and products that can be disseminated to other WOPs through (social) media channels. See this post, for example:
https://gwopa.org/how-drones-can-change-the-water-sector-waterworx-in-ghana-explore-the-potentials
B. Capacity Outcomes (CA)
EU WOP activities will focus on strengthening the organizational and staff capacity of SWUWS in the below captioned Working Areas (WAs) to achieve the above captioned Performance Outcomes (PO1, PO2 and PO3). The technical interventions will reflect in tools and systems, as well as in procedures, manuals and organizational
structure and individual responsibilities:
CA1. Asset management (Water Production and Water Distribution assets) Schemes that are currently under the purview of the Umbrellas (SWUWS included), in most case, have been handed over from private operator to private operator multiple times. Usually engaged in concessional (or management) contracts with a relatively short duration, have not prioritised urgent (leave alone medium/long-term) capital and
operational expenditures (Costs).
Reliable information on the existing (underground) assets, too, is often lacking or inaccurate. As a result, scheme operators often operate reactively; in a firefighting mode. By introducing the asset management concept under the WOP, SWUWS (and sub-contracted operators) will get a better grip on the current assets (establish a reliable asset registry, asses asset Performance and Risk of failture) and develop medium/long-term plans to sustainable exploit these assets and accommodate system growth.
CA2. Customer relations and billing
In order to improve the financial position of the (32) individual water supply schemes and the -cumulative performance of the SWUWS as a whole, capacity development support will focus on strengthening the greenmarked sub-processes under 'Commercial operations' (see table and organisational triangle on page 7); with emphasis on acurate metering of consumption, billing, revenue colllection and debt (arrears) managements. After all, the revenue potential from growth in the customer base is limited for (semi-) rural schemes. Furthermore, customer relations (customer satisfaction monitoring, complaint management, call center), too, will receive due attention considering that customer satisfaction has a direct impact on payment performance.
CA3. Infrastructure development and investment
The EU WOP leverages TA funds with parallel investment under ongoing 'SCAP-100' (USD 600,000/year) and WB-funded IWMDP projects (USD 2M allocated to SWUWS for hardware). Assuming:
• an equal share of this budget is allocated to each of the 32 schemes (USD 600k/32 * 3 years = USD 56k
(pending clarity on the utilization of the IWMDP budget), and
• 10 (or so) schemes are prioritized under the EUP WOP = USD 560k,
• a total budget of 560k will be directed to 'small but smart' investments (to improve operational performance) and/or scheme expansion (SDG6 coverage).
With an estimated unit cost of USD 25/capita for 'last mile connectivity' (distrubution network extensions + metered service connections), an estimated 25.000 people will benefit directly from these investments.
To futher expand the coverage potenial and the service level in the target area, the EU WOP will leverage additional funds to increase production capacity. Specifically, two locations for drilling will be identified (and surveyed) and the drilling works for two boreholes will be carried out. For this, the project leverages additional USD 60,000.
CA4. WOP Project Management and Programme support
Three main activities fall under this Working Area:
• Project management: WOP team leadership, timely submission of progress reports, monitoring and evaluation (project steering)
• Communication: showcasing of project progress and results (i.e. news flashes, case studies) through websites and social media channels
• Knowledge management: showcasing of best practices, innovative products and tools to other WOP practitioners through (inter)national conferences and 'Communities of Practice' (see Performance Outcome 3 on page 9) within the context of the EUKnoW (GWOPA) and WWX programmes.
A. Performance Outcomes (PO):
1. Improved (enabling environment by MoE) for operational and financial performance (by SWUWS) (ref.Obj. 1)
2. Increased access to sustainable water services (SDG6) by low-income households (ref. Obj.3) through additional finance (ref. Obj. 2)
3. Strengthened Partners ability to engage in WOPs beyond the EU WOP Programme (ref. Obj. 4)
Communication and Knowledge Management (EUKnoW) activities aim to promote the WOP ‘model’ as a coste ffective modality for (‘peer-to-peer’) transfer of ‘hands-on’ knowledge and experience (ref. Obj. 4) in utility performance improvement.
PO1: Improved operational and financial performance of scheme operations by SWUWS
The EU WOP will contribute to the ongoing professionalisation (transfer of asset ownership/exploitation mandates) of water service delivery in semi-rural areas by strengthening the asset Operation & Maintenance (O&M), customer relations, billing revenue collection and debt (financing) capacity of SWUWS in its day-to-day management (or supervision) of water scheme operations.
PO2: Increased access to sustainable water services (SDG6)
The strengthened organisational and staff capacity will enable SWUWS to sustainable exploit developed assets under the parallel Service Coverage Acceleration (‘SCAP-100’) and WB-funded Integrated Water Management and Development (IWMDP) Projects. In doing so; improving and sustaining SDG6 service levels increments
towards 2030 .
PO3: Strengthen partners ability to engage in WOPs
The EU WOP will facilitate the scaling-up of VEI - NWSC collaboration in WOP implementation and promotion in the region and globally. At a global level, the active involvement of NWSC staff in the GWOPA/WWX
Communities of Practice (CoPs) will contribute to the 'regionalisation agenda' of the CoP (i.e. extending CoP coordination/moderation to from -currently mostly- 'Northern' to 'Southern' utility thematic experts ).
VEI aims at strengthening ties with NWSC, as leading WOP partners in East Africa, and its associated resource center (IREC) and other regional 'leaders' (e.g. Ghana Water Company, Dhaka WASA) in pursuing this agenda.
We aim to foster this collaboration agenda with like-minded partners (e.g. IWA, AfWA) under the GWOPA coordinated EUKnoW programme.
In practical terms, we propose to co-host (coordination, moderation, facilitation) of the ongoing WWX CoP on Asset Management as a logical first step and demonstration of this collaborations. Under these CoPs, practitioners meet on a regular (3-4 monthly) basis to share, document (news flashes, case studies) and develop relevant tools and products that can be disseminated to other WOPs through (social) media channels. See this post, for example:
https://gwopa.org/how-drones-can-change-the-water-sector-waterworx-in-ghana-explore-the-potentials
B. Capacity Outcomes (CA)
EU WOP activities will focus on strengthening the organizational and staff capacity of SWUWS in the below captioned Working Areas (WAs) to achieve the above captioned Performance Outcomes (PO1, PO2 and PO3). The technical interventions will reflect in tools and systems, as well as in procedures, manuals and organizational
structure and individual responsibilities:
CA1. Asset management (Water Production and Water Distribution assets) Schemes that are currently under the purview of the Umbrellas (SWUWS included), in most case, have been handed over from private operator to private operator multiple times. Usually engaged in concessional (or management) contracts with a relatively short duration, have not prioritised urgent (leave alone medium/long-term) capital and
operational expenditures (Costs).
Reliable information on the existing (underground) assets, too, is often lacking or inaccurate. As a result, scheme operators often operate reactively; in a firefighting mode. By introducing the asset management concept under the WOP, SWUWS (and sub-contracted operators) will get a better grip on the current assets (establish a reliable asset registry, asses asset Performance and Risk of failture) and develop medium/long-term plans to sustainable exploit these assets and accommodate system growth.
CA2. Customer relations and billing
In order to improve the financial position of the (32) individual water supply schemes and the -cumulative performance of the SWUWS as a whole, capacity development support will focus on strengthening the greenmarked sub-processes under 'Commercial operations' (see table and organisational triangle on page 7); with emphasis on acurate metering of consumption, billing, revenue colllection and debt (arrears) managements. After all, the revenue potential from growth in the customer base is limited for (semi-) rural schemes. Furthermore, customer relations (customer satisfaction monitoring, complaint management, call center), too, will receive due attention considering that customer satisfaction has a direct impact on payment performance.
CA3. Infrastructure development and investment
The EU WOP leverages TA funds with parallel investment under ongoing 'SCAP-100' (USD 600,000/year) and WB-funded IWMDP projects (USD 2M allocated to SWUWS for hardware). Assuming:
• an equal share of this budget is allocated to each of the 32 schemes (USD 600k/32 * 3 years = USD 56k
(pending clarity on the utilization of the IWMDP budget), and
• 10 (or so) schemes are prioritized under the EUP WOP = USD 560k,
• a total budget of 560k will be directed to 'small but smart' investments (to improve operational performance) and/or scheme expansion (SDG6 coverage).
With an estimated unit cost of USD 25/capita for 'last mile connectivity' (distrubution network extensions + metered service connections), an estimated 25.000 people will benefit directly from these investments.
To futher expand the coverage potenial and the service level in the target area, the EU WOP will leverage additional funds to increase production capacity. Specifically, two locations for drilling will be identified (and surveyed) and the drilling works for two boreholes will be carried out. For this, the project leverages additional USD 60,000.
CA4. WOP Project Management and Programme support
Three main activities fall under this Working Area:
• Project management: WOP team leadership, timely submission of progress reports, monitoring and evaluation (project steering)
• Communication: showcasing of project progress and results (i.e. news flashes, case studies) through websites and social media channels
• Knowledge management: showcasing of best practices, innovative products and tools to other WOP practitioners through (inter)national conferences and 'Communities of Practice' (see Performance Outcome 3 on page 9) within the context of the EUKnoW (GWOPA) and WWX programmes.