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.
This briefing paper is linked to a study on country-level accountability mechanisms in 25 countries for the implementation of Sustainable Development... Read more...
This report reviews the global progress made towards achieving SDG 6. It builds on the latest data available for the 11 SDG 6 global indicators. Read more...
A conceptual framework for social inclusion In WASH programmes and the dilemmas and challenges involved in ensuring that no one is left behind are... Read more...
Many countries are developing or reviewing their water sector monitoring systems to see whether they are SDG-proof. A recurring question in this is the extent to which these should use household-level data of JMP-defined access to limited, basic or safely managed water. We argue that caution should... Read more...
Addressing the financing challenges that result from the adoption of the water Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). Read more...
The results of the water and sanitation SDG baseline report are as surprising as finding safely managed drinking water in rural Honduras. But we should be cautious in jumping to conclusions Read more...
Podcast featuring Patrick Moriarty and Stef Smits, who discuss taking on a systems approach in the WASH sector – including real-life examples from... Read more...
We cannot do it alone. Reflections from the 7th Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) Forum. Read more...
Maybe there should have been a disclaimer on the SDGs. Read more...
There are six methodological stages for selecting indicators for WaSH: define the purpose and scope; select a conceptual framework; search for... 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...
Background note prepared for the IRC event on the 4th of March 2015. 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...