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WOP-Africa Benchmarking Exercise: Overview & Link to GRUBS. Vivian Castro, WSP-AF Nairobi, Kenya – 24 November, 2008. Outline. WOP-Africa Overview of the benchmarking exercise Rationale Methodology Results (emphasis on framework & types of findings) Summary and Conclusions
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WOP-Africa Benchmarking Exercise: Overview & Link to GRUBS Vivian Castro, WSP-AF Nairobi, Kenya – 24 November, 2008
Outline • WOP-Africa • Overview of the benchmarking exercise • Rationale • Methodology • Results (emphasis on framework & types of findings) • Summary and Conclusions • Link to GRUBS
Water Operators Partnerships • WOP is a joint, regional program of AFWA and IWA-ESAR • Goal is to accelerate improvements in the performance of WSS operators through more intense and systematic knowledge exchange (including support partnerships between operators) • Assumption is that there are many examples on the continent worth learning from • Secretariat will be hosted by RAND Water
Rationale for the benchmarking activity • Assist utilities to identify their strengths and weaknesses • Identify best practices under the WOP-Africa priority themes (MIS, services to the poor, HR Development, etc..) • Shift the conversation from ‘what is wrong’ to ‘how to improve’ • Uncover potential and strategic partnerships for improving utility performance
Methodology… • Utility Self-Assessment Questionnaire (USAQ), adapted from IB-Net and SEAWUN assessment tools • Two dimensions: (i) assessment of performance, strengths and needs in the WOP priority themes; (ii) assessment of the potential for peer-support partnerships • Sources: Actual performance data obtained from multiple sources, including IB-Net and National Regulators
….Methodology • Design phase —consulted select utilities and asked for feedback on the questionnaire’s design • Data collection--unclear or suspect data verified with the utility • data reported as received from the utilities unless suspicious (i.e. 0% NRW); IBNET assisted with data cleanup • Data verification-- 3 sub-regional workshops to share and verify the data [Kampala (June), Dakar (Sept), Maseru (Oct)]
Dataset - 2004,2005,2006 • quantitative & qualitative information in 7 areas • financial • technical • human resources • infrastructure development • customer care • services to the poor • experience with peer support partnerships
Analytical Framework • Ranking shows where each utility lies in relation to its peers • Lowest value within the top quartile (25%) of all utilities taken as best practice target • Overall efficiency indicator (OEI) – compares volume of water for which the utility collects revenue to the total volume it produces • Identification of potential learning areas
(1) Sub regional comparisons Presentation of findings (i)
Presentation of Findings (ii):Proportion of Utilities In “Best Performer” Groups
Presentation of findings (iv) Operating cost coverage ratio (OCCR)- defined as the ratio of total annual billed revenues to total annual operating expenses
Major challenge facing utilities is expanding coverage • Inefficiencies a major cause of poor access to water services • Real potential lies in increasing efficiency in the already existing systems (i.e. reducing losses and improving revenue collection) • The good news is that Africa is not entirely short of well-performing utilities to be emulated by those still lagging behind Summary & Conclusions
Limited availability of reliable performance data across the region presents a significant challenge to any performance improvement through partnerships and benchmarking • Indicators tend to portray an incomplete picture of a utility’s performance • How to do this on a regular and systematic basis Challenges
Geo-referencing: questions for discussion • Define the audience(s): Utilities? Governments? Consumers? Researchers? Donors? • Define the goal(s): Better informed consumers? Sharing of best practices? Helping donors target their assistance? Providing governments with a planning tool? • How do we make the data vibrant (not static) and really add value? • Connect existing data with maps but also add search engine – ‘national hygiene policies in Asia’ or ‘examples of performance contracts in water sector’? • What other existing data sources do we want to utilize? (e.g. spatial data from utilities on network coverage)