Marieke is a WASH expert with over 18 years of experience in the sector. She has a special interest in small town WASH, participatory strategic planning processes and evidence-based decision making in WASH.
After graduating as an Irrigation and Water Engineer from Wageningen University, Marieke joined IRC as a Junior Professional Officer (JPO) in 2003. As JPO she was stationed with NGO Forum (Bangladesh) and with TREND Group (Ghana). In 2006, she joined the IRC team in the Netherlands.
Marieke has led and participated in action-research studies in Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe on issues like monitoring sustainable WASH service provision, small town water supply, Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM), multiple-use water services, and cost recovery and financing.
Marieke has experience in working closely with ministries (e.g. the Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation and electricity in Ethiopia) and government agencies (e.g. Community Water and Sanitation Agency in Ghana) in identifying and addressing sector challenges. She has supported knowledge management and sector learning processes in various contexts and countries (e.g. support to the establishment and development of Learning Alliance Platforms in Ghana and Ethiopia and the Resource Centre Network Ghana).
Marieke is supporting the Accountability and Adaptation team, responsible for monitoring, with special emphasis on monitoring service level and financial indicators. She is also supporting various action research projects, with special focus on monitoring and sustainability issues. She is leading the development of a District WASH Master Planning Facility.
The process, benefits, challenges, and learnings of water safety planning (WSP) in an Ethiopian district, using a mixed method approach and a six-... Read more...
A new IRC Thematic Overview Paper discusses the different pathways under which the 'utilitisation' of rural water supply can take place. The factors that drive these processes, the strengths and weaknesses of the resulting models of utility-managed rural water supply, and possible areas for support. Read more...
In Ethiopia, prioritising access to groundwater, supported by responsive and proactive operation and maintenance, increases rural water supply... Read more...
This report summarises the strengths of the decentralised local systems that deliver services in two locations in Ethiopia, describing key actors,... Read more...
Baseline assessment report on rural water service levels in Mile, Afar and South Ari, SNNPR. Read more...
This review is the first comprehensive evaluation of the External support programs (ESP) literature. It derives a definition of external support... Read more...
This guidebook introduces rural and small water and wastewater systems in the United States to ten key areas of effectively managed systems. Read more...
This case study examines how the Multiple Use water Services (MUS) approach was applied in Kalu to develop joint domestic water supply and irrigation... Read more...
The Millennium Water Alliance Ethiopia Programme (MWA-EP) has experimented with the Multiple Use water Services (or MUS) approach to improve water... Read more...
Sustainable groundwater use is more likely in Indian villages if farmers, other village community members and NGOs work together with researchers and... Read more...