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.
"I am bored with this work", my friend, WASH, confided. I recommended him not to waste his mid-life crisis. Read more...
A briefing note on the use of cellular and satellite connected sensors for near-time monitoring of rural water services in Ethiopia. Read more...
The holidays are over, so the Weekly WASH Graphs are back. This week, I will give you a sneak preview of the way we measure the strength of the WASH system at IRC. Read more...
While household toilets are necessary, they alone are not sufficient for improved sanitation. Read more...
This review confirms positive impacts of sanitation on aspects of health, but evidence gaps remain. More research is needed that rigorously describes... Read more...
This week's Weekly WASH Graph presents an infographic and a graph, the combination of which reflects what we think should be the core content of WASH investment plans. Read more...
This briefing paper is linked to a study on country-level accountability mechanisms in 25 countries for the implementation of Sustainable Development... Read more...
This report reviews the global progress made towards achieving SDG 6. It builds on the latest data available for the 11 SDG 6 global indicators. Read more...
This toolkit aims to support WaterAid's country strategy and programme development as well as 'everyday' decision making by providing a structured... Read more...
Developing viable business models to provide point-of-use safe water services to communities at the base of the pyramid (BoP). Read more...
If we want to leave no one behind, we not only need to know who is left behind, but also how far behind they are. Read more...
As the World Cup soccer gets on its way, it is time to make predictions and projections who might win the SDG 6 World Cup by 2030. Read more...
This introductory chapter describes the origin and development of Learning Alliances, key concepts, expected outcomes and the steps and activities... Read more...
As countries, regions and municipalities are making plans to reach universal access to WASH services, a frequently heard question is how much does it actually cost to provide services to everyone in the area? This week's "weekly WASH graph" will provide some magic numbers of the costs of reaching '... Read more...
Neither rural sustainability checks, nor urban benchmarking frameworks, are entirely suitable for monitoring small town water services. Read more...
Interventions that ensure women have access to private facilities with water for Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) and that educate women about... Read more...
A conceptual framework for social inclusion In WASH programmes and the dilemmas and challenges involved in ensuring that no one is left behind are... Read more...
Many countries are developing or reviewing their water sector monitoring systems to see whether they are SDG-proof. A recurring question in this is the extent to which these should use household-level data of JMP-defined access to limited, basic or safely managed water. We argue that caution should... Read more...