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.
Increasing repair and maintenance funds leads to higher borehole functionality and water access rates in the drought-prone regions of Turkana, Kenya... Read more...
Research found a strong relationship between variation in seasonal water access and reported emotional response. Water security improvement could be... Read more...
This article demonstrates the effectiveness of facilitation of a learning alliance by a non-governmental organization providing funding and expert... Read more...
The two utility models present in Kabarole outperformed the community management model, with the existing national utility demonstrating greater... Read more...
In Ethiopia, prioritising access to groundwater, supported by responsive and proactive operation and maintenance, increases rural water supply... Read more...
An approach is developed to assess WASH risks in marginal populations that are poorly understood and served through conventional approaches. Read more...
Approximately one in four handpumps in sub-Saharan Africa are non-functional at any point in time, which in 2015 was roughly equivalent to 175,000... 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...
Lessons and recommendations drawn from case evidence collected in eight countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Read more...