Clear, comprehensive, and robust frameworks are required to set out how water supply and sanitation services are planned, delivered and regulated. Without these critical foundations in place, there is the danger of fragmentation, competing interests and overlapping mandates, as well as limiting the effectiveness of scarce public financing and development assistance funding.

A strong sector requires coherent policies that set out a clear vision, with a pathway for growth and clearly defined institutional mandates across and between different levels of government, various service providers - including public or private utilities or community management entities - and other key stakeholders. Critically, these foundational building blocks must also set out the regulation of services, including standard setting, oversight and reporting, regulation by incentives, sanctions and consumer and environmental protection.

Aguaconsult has a long track record of supporting the review of policy frameworks and the development of institutional and regulatory arrangements in a variety of countries. We have worked directly with governments, and development partners supporting those governments, to analyse complex challenges and develop viable solutions in the way sector institutions are organised. We carry out formative research and facilitate organisational reform processes that result in stronger, more coherent sector policies, institutions, and regulatory arrangements. Our experience in this area includes: