Co-director | Growth Hub
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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.
IRC and Water For People have developed a roadmap to achieve universal piped water coverage in 30 focus districts in Honduras as well as having plans... Read more...
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have the target of reaching universal access to water and sanitation by 2030. But can this target realistically be achieved in the most difficult of settings: fragile states? Read more...
Een cruciaal onderdeel van de financiering van de nieuwe ontwikkelingsdoelen 2015 - 2030 is belasting, zo pleiten Stef Smits en Catarina Fonseca in vakblad voor ontwikkelingssamenwerking Vice Versa. Zonder belasting zouden wij in Nederland geen duurzame water- en sanitaire voorzieningen hebben. In... Read more...
Ultimate success in water service delivery is defined by the service level received by households. There can be excellent infrastructure and impeccable administration, but if households don't receive enough water of good enough quality without spending an excessive amount of time collecting it,... Read more...
Honduras es uno de los países estrella que alcanzó los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio (ODM) de agua y saneamiento unos años antes de su tiempo. La pregunta ahora es si el país está bien preparado para los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS), que se están aprobando ahora. Read more...
An introduction to ten building blocks to support sustainable service delivery. Read more...
At the start of the New Year, newspaper and magazines are all busy making predictions of what the year may have in store. Personally, I always enjoy reading The Economist’s “ The World in… ”. In that magazine, predictions are made of how political events may unfold in the year to come, how the... Read more...
Several Dutch water sector organisations have written to Minister Ploumen (Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation) about the Dutch targets for water supply. Read more...
I am waiting for the moment that the newspapers report it is all quiet on the waterfront. Read more...
Para Todos, Por Siempre (Everyone, Forever) is an initiative to promote universal access to sustainable water and sanitation services in some 28 municipalities in Honduras. IRC is one of the partners in this initiative. Read more...
Opiniebijdrage van Stef Smits in Vice Versa Read more...
Veel van de geschenken die NGO's hebben gebracht zijn Trojaanse paarden gebleken, betoogt Stef Smits, senior programme officer van IRC, in deze opiniebijdrage voor Vice Versa . Maar hij is hoopvol over de strategische partnerschappen tussen ministerie en maatschappelijk middenveld. 'Ik hoop op een... Read more...
Met nog twee weken te gaan tot de verkiezingen voor het Europees Parlement, staat de EU volop in de publieke belangstelling. Maar een van de grootste vormen van betrokkenheid van burgers bij Europees beleid lijkt in het verkiezingsspektakel verloren te gaan. Read more...
Para Todos, Por Siempre es una iniciativa que promueve e impulsa la universalización y sostenibilidad de los servicios de agua potable y saneamiento en Honduras. IRC es uno de los socios fundadores de la iniciativa. Read more...
We understand sustainability in terms of whether water continues to flow over time, and whether people maintain access to an adequate and convenient toilet. Read more...
Last week it was World Water Day 2014 , with the topic of "water and energy". I see obvious issues coming by on the water-energy nexus (which by the way is one of those development sector buzz words that I start disliking more every day. I hope the next buzz word is a bit more, uh, sparkling), such... Read more...
Ensuring long-term services on a large scale. Read more...
Users want to know what they are entitled to receive: the quality, quantity, reliability and accessibility of their water supply. Read more...
Triple-S think piece examining the rates of change in coverage of different groups (rural and urban) and in different services (water and sanitation). Read more...
Water For People adopted an approach of Everyone, Forever. This video presents the perspectives of the local stakeholders involved in that approach in the municipality of Chinda, Honduras. It is based on a study that IRC did of Water For People's approach there.
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