Links

Agency for International Business and Cooperation (EVD): Sector Page Energy and Water Supply
http://www.evd.nl/1column.asp?url=sectoren%2Fsector%2Easp?sector=enw

As part of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, the EVD provides information on international opportunities for Dutch businesses. The sector page on energy and water supply provides news, background information by country, market reports, latest projects and tenders from development banks and other multilaterals, events and links. Although this page is mainly in Dutch, some of the items (news, new projects and tenders) are in English, French or Spanish.

Community Self-Management, Empowerment & Development: Cost Recovery, Obtaining Resources to Manage a Water Supply
http://www.scn.org/ip/cds/cmp/modules/wat-cst.htm

This website, developed by Phil Bartle, PhD. and hosted by the Seattle Community Network, posts a training handout on cost recovery in a "cafeteria style" fashion with useful information about cost recovery at the community level. Most of the documents (which are available in French, English and Spanish) are designed to use as handouts at training sessions. The site is a product of the Community Management Programme (CMP) initially funded by Danida and designed by UN Habitat (UN Centre for Human Settlements). The site provides links and cross-references to other related training modules on the site.

Cranfield University: Research programme on water connection charges
http://www.silsoe.cranfield.ac.uk/iwe/projects/connection/

This is the site of a DFID funded research programme called ‘Charging to enter the water shop? Determining the charges and costs of water connections for the urban poor’. The research programme intends to determine the actual costs of connecting to the water mains for lower-income households. Besides background information on the research programme, this site provides the results of this research, as well as links to websites of related projects.

dgMarket
http://www.dgmarket.com/

A subscription-based service of the Development Gateway providing tenders and consulting opportunities worldwide. Water is the one of the main categories, while “Sewage- and refuse-disposal services, sanitation and environmental services” is a sub-category under Environment. The web site includes, DACON, a database of consulting companies maintained by the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

European Union Water Initiative (EUWI): Finance Guide (under construction)

The EU Water Initiative, launched in 2002, supports the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for drinking water and sanitation within the context of integrated water resources management (IWRM). The EUWI Finance working group has collected exhaustive information about financing mechanisms to facilitate access to funding. The prototype website provides an interactive search and browse interface to select financing opportunities by region, financing agency, type of activity, funding mechanism and type of applicant. Further resources will include case studies, FAQs and links.

International Water Association (IWA): Specialist Group on Statistics and Economics
http://www.iwahq.org.uk/template.cfm?name=home

This Group provides a forum to debate how utilities are financed, their various water tariff structures and the measurement of performance. Through periodical worldwide surveys the Group provides national-level water industry statistics on abstraction, consumption and water charging figures. Annual workshops and seminars are organised current pricing and funding practices of water utilities. There is a Task Group on Tariffs and Finance. The web site includes contact details of the Group's management committee and tasks forces, and an overview of Group meetings, workshops and publications.

IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre – Financing and Cost Recovery
http://www.irc.nl/page/113

This web page of the Thematic Group on Financing and Cost Recovery provides resources on cost recovery and financing for sustainable water supply services in developing countries. It includes an introductory fact sheet, news, an overview of IRC official publications and other documents on this topic, and web links.

Sanitation Connection: Financing and Cost Recovery http://www.sanicon.net/titles/topiclist.php3?topicId=13

Prepared by the Water and Sanitation Program for South Asia this website provides an introduction to financing and cost recovery, along with a list of publications that focus on finance and cost recovery through Sanitation Connection, a network of initiatives and resources to facilitate access to information on sanitation issues. Given the lack of attention paid to sanitation services in developing countries, this site provides a good start to thinking about the issues related to financing sanitation, and how these compare to water supply services.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID): Water Finance
http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/economic_growth_and_trade/development_credit/water_finance.htm

USAID, and in particular their Development Credit Authority (DCA), has been at the forefront of applying credit risk analysis and guarantee mechanisms to support water and wastewater infrastructure development in developing countries at a sub-sovereign level. In South Africa, India, the Philippines, and Morocco, the agency has designed guarantees to support bank loans to municipalities or water authorities; bond issuances by water authorities or municipalities; and promote extension of loans for rehabilitation and expansion of existing water facilities. This website provides information about USAID’s water-related programs, and provides a listing of related water finance websites.

Water and Sanitation for All: A Practitioner's Companion to Funding and Cost Recovery
http://web.mit.edu/urbanupgrading/waterandsanitation/funding/

This interactive site discusses things like establishing pricing policy, financial mechanisms, setting up payment systems and improving collection rates. Objectives for financing cost recovery are laid out, and specific actions are listed to help meet the objective. Tools are provided, along with case studies that offer examples of different types of funds and cost recovery mechanisms.

Water and Sanitation Program (WSP): Document Library
http://www.wsp.org/08_Category_output.asp?Category=Finance

The WSP has developed a solid foundation of policy and research around sector finance issues – from the inclusion of water sector priorities in the poverty reduction strategy process (PRSP) and corresponding budgeting process to leveraging finance (e.g. user, domestic private sector) to the sector, and developing finance mechanisms to support programmes and projects, whether community or private sector based. The URL provided offers access to the library of information produced by the WSP in recent years relating to these issues, with links to the broader WSP program of activities.

WaterAid: Policy and Research on Financing the Sector
http://www.wateraid.org.uk/in_depth/policy_and_research/financing_the_sector/default.asp

WaterAid is an international NGO focused on provision of safe domestic water, sanitation, and hygiene education. It develops policy research on a variety of topics, including financing the sector. Areas of research include economic value, community-level financing, small-scale providers, and PRSP finance and expenditure tracking. The organisation’s website also provides a listing of web-links and resources for further exploration.

World Bank: Privatizing Water and Sanitation Services
http://rru.worldbank.org/PapersLinks/Privatizing-Water-Sanitation-Services/

The papers and links gathered here are for policymakers, transaction advisers and water sector regulators, who are either planning to introduce private sector participation in water and sanitation services or regulating an existing private provider. They include sources on contract design, choice of market structure and competitive arrangements, definition of access and service targets, the economics of tariffs, subsidies and financing, and the use of benchmarking for ongoing regulation..

World Bank: Urban Services to the Poor Thematic Group Home
http://www.worldbank.org/urban/upgrading/index.html

Although this site does not have a strong focus on cost recovery, the processes for slum upgrading require a review of socio-economic impacts and issues including cost recovery for basic infrastructure services such as water and sanitation. The website includes a ten-country assessment report on urban upgrading in Africa, and information about existing and proposed projects that emphasise affordability, cost recovery, and replicability

World Water Council: Financing Water for All
http://www.worldwatercouncil.org/index.php?id=20

This website, which is a joint activity of the World Water Council and the Global Water Partnership, aims to serve as a platform for sharing information and building knowledge based on the findings of the “World Panel on Financing Water Infrastructure” (AKA the Camdessus Report). The site, which is under development, aims to provide information about finance mechanisms, including case studies, a glossary of terms, and a very useful reference page (entitled “follow up”) with additional papers, case studies, and contact information.

More

A more extensive listing of resources including case studies, book reviews and toolkits is accessible in the Thematic Overview Paper (TOP) on Financing and Cost Recovery .