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.
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...
This report on Self-supply aims to help fill some of the gaps in our knowledge about the existing performance of traditional wells, especially water... Read more...
Estudios de caso mostraron que la práctica de usos múltiples del agua es una realidad en muchas comunidades rurales de Honduras. Se desarrolló una guía para anticipar estos usos en el diseño y la gestión de los servicios de agua, y se la aplicó en comunidades del departamento de La Paz. Read more...
Two weeks ago, the “management and support” working group of the RWSN had its first meeting. This meeting focused specifically on management models and support arrangements for piped water supply in small towns. Read more...
Una sistematización de experiencias con el uso múltiple del agua en 14 comunidades en diferentes partes de Honduras revela que es una práctica casi universal, con impactos tanto en la economía familiar como en la sostenibilidad de los servicios. Read more...
Various case studies confirm that multiple-use of water is a common practice in rural communities in Honduras. IRC and FHIS developed a guideline to support consideration for these uses in the design and management of rural water supplies. This guideline was applied in a number of communities in... Read more...
unpublished manuscript, written in 2005 Read more...
The multiple-use water services (MUS) approach considers the multiple needs of (poor) water users and communities' own priorities as the starting... Read more...