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.
Small-scale informal entrepreneurs can provide a valuable and financially viable urban sanitation service for consumers without a sewerage connection... Read more...
unpublished manuscript, written in 2005 Read more...
“The goal of universal access to clean water is far from complete”, says IRC's Stef Smits on CNN International. "Reaching the last 10% of the population -- those living in remote rural areas and on the fringes of big cities - will become increasingly difficult and expensive," he explains in “Going... Read more...
On April 20, Ministers of Water and Sanitation from around the world will meet with their Ministers of Finance in Washington D.C. as part of the Sanitation and Water (SWA) for All High Level Meeting. There, they will discuss sector goals and progress, and it goes without saying that the recent... Read more...
José Miguel is a circuit rider: a technician responsible for providing technical assistance to a number of water committees in his area around San Vicente in El Salvador. There are around 30 water systems on his circuit which he visits regularly. Read more...
This webinar presents the results of a study into post-construction support and goes into the broader discussion on the role of post-construction support on rural water supplies. Read more...
The lack of clearly delineated roles can undermine sustainable services at scale. Read more...
This week the Joint Monitoring Program of the United Nations announced that the MDG for water supply has been reached, most likely already somewhere in 2010. 5 years ahead of the deadline the percentage of the World’s population without access to safe water supplies has been halved. This is no mean... Read more...
Behavioural change needs to happen at both user level and service provider level if water services are to remain sustainable. The Triple-S project promoted the need for rigorous learning processes for all water stakeholders in order to ensure services that last.
Read more...Paper written for the Asia regional sanitation and hygiene practitioners workshop in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 31 January -2 February 2012 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...