Advocacy guide to private sector involvement in water services

This guide has been written with Southern community and civil society organizations in mind and builds on the results of a two year research project undertaken by Tearfund and WaterAid. One of the main findings that emerged from the research was the pivotal role that community-based organizations, NGOs and civil society organizations can play in making water utility reform processes more poverty focused. This guide is aimed at contributing to capacity building to encourage effective engagement with these processes. It draws on the many useful lessons learnt by the authors of the case studies. Part 1 provides background information on why the role of the private sector is growing, types of private sector involvement, the process for privatisation, and issues behind the financing of the private sector. Part 2 looks at whether the private sector is the solution, with a summary of Tearfund and WaterAid's research findings and some lessons from the case of England and Wales. In part 3 the main steps involved in an advocacy strategy are set out, including examples from NGOs in Africa and Asia.