Government engagement with non-state providers of water and sanitation services
journal contribution
posted on 2012-05-23, 10:50authored byKevin Sansom
Increasingly, governments in developing countries recognise that the public sector alone cannot provide adequate water and
sanitation services to all. Non-state providers (NSPs) including both formal and informal private providers, as well as civil
society institutions, also have important roles to play. There are clear challenges for governments intending to work with NSPs,
not least of which is the institutional compatibility between bureaucratic agencies and informal water and sanitation NSPs.
However, positive examples of government agencies working effectively with NSPs are emerging in many countries.
Government engagement with water and sanitation NSPs can be split into five main types: recognition, dialogue, facilitation/
collaboration, contracting and regulation. In many situations, a lack of formal recognition of water or sanitation NSPs is an
impediment to more productive forms of engagement. There are a number of potential intervention options within each of the
five types of engagement that government agencies should carefully consider when supporting the development of NSP water
and sanitation services.
History
School
Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Research Unit
Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC)
Citation
SANSOM, K., 2006. Government engagement with non-state providers of water and sanitation services. Public Administration and Development, 26 (3), pp. 207 - 217