Advances in benchmarking to improve water utility operations: a review of six IWA books

Water Policy ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 325-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanford V. Berg
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Performance Patterns ◽  
Water Association ◽  
International Water ◽  
Sector Performance ◽  
Historical Developments ◽  
Key Indicators

Six recent publications by the International Water Association underscore the growing importance of quantitative studies of water utilities for identifying (1) performance patterns, (2) trends in key indicators and (3) best practice. Since each author takes a different approach to the problem of performance measurement and incentives for improvement, the books provide different perspectives on the decision-relevance of empirical analysis and cases for managers and policymakers. Key lessons from the volumes include the use of benchmarking as a tool for establishing better internal incentives, the importance of data collection and auditing and the role of transparency in helping stakeholders become more informed about utility operations. Analysts need to help stakeholders understand sector complexities, where hydrology, topology, historical developments outside current management's control, population income levels and the amount of skilled labor differ widely across and even within nations. The six books taken together underscore the value of quantifying relative performance and improving our awareness of production processes and the institutional arrangements that support strong water sector performance.

International Report: Performance assessment in the water industry

2002 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 151-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Merkel
Keyword(s):  
Performance Assessment ◽  
Willingness To Participate ◽  
Water Industry ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Explanatory Factors ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
International Report ◽  
Water Association ◽  
International Water

National contributions from 16 countries and additional information were used for an international state-of-the-art report on performance assessment (PA) in the water industry. The purposes of this international report are i) to discuss areas of PA within the water supply and wastewater sector, ii) to analyse aspects of practical relevance and iii) to look on future trends and developments. Several aspects of PA are discussed, such as the quality and the availability of data, the importance of definitions and explanatory factors, the use of information from PA, and practical aspects such as willingness to participate and costs. Standardised PA frameworks of the International Water Association (IWA), the World Bank, and the Water Utility Partnership are presented, and an outlook on research and development of PA tools is given.

scholarly journals Adapting the IWA water balance to intermittent water supply and flat-rate tariffs without customer metering

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 396-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miran Mastaller ◽  
Philipp Klingel
Keyword(s):  
Water Balance ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Private Property ◽  
Water Losses ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Flat Rate ◽  
Water Association ◽  
International Water ◽  
The City

The International Water Association water balance is an approach applied worldwide for determining and analysing water losses in water distribution systems (WDS) up to the point of customer metering. Thus, water losses occurring ‘before’ a customer meter are at the expenses of the water utility while water lost or wasted ‘after’ the meter is paid for by the customer. This applies to systems where customer metering is in place and/or consumption is charged according to the consumed volumes. However, many WDS in the world lack customer meters, are operated intermittently and a considerable amount of water is lost or wasted within the private property, e.g. by overflows of private tanks. The flat-rate tariff applied might not cover this amount or part of the amount. Thus, actual consumption and wastage should be separately quantified or estimated with respect to the utility's water reduction measures and the calculation of revenue water. This paper presents a water balance approach adapted to WDS which are operated intermittently, lack customer metering and charge flat-rate tariffs as well as a methodology for establishing the balance. The application is demonstrated for a district metered area of the city of Tiruvannamalai, India.

British foreign policy towards the Palestinian cause since 2003

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (11) ◽  
pp. 150
Author(s):  
Mustafa Ibrahim Salman Al - Shammari ◽  
Dhari Sarhan Hammadi Al-Hamdani
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Peace Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Topic Area ◽  
British Foreign Policy ◽  
Settlement Policy ◽  
Historical Developments ◽  
Palestinian Question ◽  
Theresa May

The topic area of that’s paper dealing with role of Britain in established of Israel, so the paper argued the historical developments of Palestinian question and Role of Britain Government toward peace process since 1992, and then its insight toward plan of Palestinian State. That’s paper also argued the British Policy toward Israeli violations toward Palestinians people, and increased with settlement policy by many procedures like demolition of houses, or lands confiscation, the researcher argued the Britain position toward that’s violations beside the political developments which happens in Britain after Theresa May took over the power in Ten Downing Street

PENGARUH UPAH MINUMUM TERHADAP TENAGA KERJA DI NEGARA DENGAN TINGKAT PENGHASILAN RATA-RATA YANG RENDAH

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Veny Anindya Puspitasari
Keyword(s):  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Basic Needs ◽  
Wage Policy ◽  
Average Income ◽  
Income Per Capita ◽  
Unskilled Workers ◽  
Water Association ◽  
International Water ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Association Data

<p>The minimum wage is a macroeconomic issue that is still debated, Basically, the minimum wage policy aimed to protect workers, so that thet earn an adequate wages to finance the basic needs of their life. Practically, the minimum wage policy often encounters its purpose because it is regarged as miserable for those who have no expertise. This phenomenon is mainly happening in the low –avegrage- income countries that have many unskilled workers. Gahana, Indonesia, Costra Rica were used to be analyzed in this paper. According to International Water Association data year 2006, those countris earn income per capita less than US$ 9,200 and were categorized as low average – income countries. This research found that minimum wage impelentation in all three countries was not effective. When minimum wage policy was implemented, a lot of people felt aggrieved.</p><p>Keywords : Economic polict, Minimum wage, Income</p>

Benchmarking Risk Analysis Practice in the International Water Sector

2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
B.H. MacGillivray ◽  
P.D. Hamilton ◽  
S.E. Hrudey ◽  
L. Reekie ◽  
S.J.T Pollard
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Risk Analysis ◽  
Water Utilities ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Analysis Techniques ◽  
The Usa ◽  
International Water ◽  
Practical Guidance ◽  
The Uk

Risk analysis in the water utility sector is fast becoming explicit. Here, we describe application of a capability model to benchmark the risk analysis maturity of a sub-sample of eight water utilities from the USA, the UK and Australia. Our analysis codifies risk analysis practice and offers practical guidance as to how utilities may more effectively employ their portfolio of risk analysis techniques for optimal, credible, and defensible decision making.

Commoning or being commoned? Institutions, politics, and the role of the state in collective housing policy in Bangkok, Thailand

2021 ◽  
pp. 147309522110373
Author(s):  
Hayden Shelby
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
The State ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Slum Upgrading ◽  
The Commons ◽  
Collective Housing ◽  
Urban Commons ◽  
Active Promoter

This article theorizes the potential roles of the state in the urban commons through an analysis of a slum upgrading program in Thailand that employs collective forms of land tenure. In examining the transformation of the program from a grassroots movement to a “best practice” policy, the article demonstrates how the state has expanded from mere enabler of the commons to active promoter. In the process, the role of many residents has evolved from actively creating the institutions of collective governance— commoning—to adopting institutions prescribed by the state— being commoned. However, by comparing the work to two different groups of communities who work within the context of the policy, the article illustrates how active commoning can still take place in such contexts.

An Evaluation of a Self-Initiated Practice Exercise for Investigative Interviewers of Children

2009 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 366-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Wright ◽  
Belinda L. Guadagno ◽  
Martine B. Powell
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Investigative Interviewing ◽  
Use Of Self ◽  
Careful Monitoring ◽  
Complex Skills ◽  
Practice Opportunities ◽  
Ongoing Development ◽  
Qualitative Analyses

The current study extends debate and research on the important role of practice in promoting and sustaining complex skills in investigative interviewing. Specifically, we explored the use of self-initiated practice as one avenue for facilitating ongoing development of professionals who interview children about abuse. A group of 40 investigative interviewers were required to organise and administer their own practice opportunities and to document these sessions in a diary. The professionals were aware of the important role of practice and what constitutes best-practice interview guidelines; however no instruction was given about the desired format, structure and timing of the practice sessions. A combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed poor adherence to self-initiated practice, and the practice (among those who adhered to this model) had negligible impact on performance. Overall, these findings highlight the need for careful monitoring and evaluation of all interviewer practice tasks.

Managing multichannel coordination in retail banking: the influence of customer participation

2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 327-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loïc Plé
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Design ◽  
Retail Banking ◽  
Customer Participation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Retail Banks ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Depth Interviews

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to explore the combining of marketing and organizational literature. This paper seeks to evaluate the relationships between multichannel coordination and customer participation, as seen through the lens of potential customer opportunism. It aims at showing the impact of this opportunism on the organizational design of multiple channels structures.Design/methodology/approachThe research reports on an exploratory case study in a French retail bank. A total of 25 in‐depth interviews were conducted, and the use of other sources enabled data triangulation.FindingsThe results show first that an increase in the number of distribution channels is liable to favor customer opportunistic behavior. To counter this, the bank mainly relies on impersonal coordination modes. An emerging result highlights the role of the customer as a “perceptual filter” between the different channels of employees.Research limitations/implicationsCustomer opportunism is studied via channels employees perceptions. An investigation using a customer survey may help to better understand this construct, e.g. to identify its antecedents, and to measure it precisely. Moreover, further qualitative and/or quantitative studies with larger sample sizes are needed to try and generalize these results.Practical implicationsIt is recommended not to forget that customers can facilitate or hinder multichannel coordination. Retail banks have the power to use them conveniently, provided that they are fully conscious of the scope of the “partial employee” role played by the customer.Originality/valueThis paper broadens understanding of how multichannel distribution structures are coordinated, and in a way belies traditional organizational design literature. The emerging result gives birth to the concept of “reversed interactive marketing”, which has interesting theoretical and practical repercussions.

Is Co-working Increase Survivability? Study on how Collaborating and Networking Facilitates Open Innovation Process for Startups

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-75
Author(s):  
Elissa Dwi Lestari
Keyword(s):  
Open Innovation ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Innovation Ecosystem ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Start Ups ◽  
Community Manager

Startups, as they are bounded to their liabilities of newness and smallness, need to collaborate extensively with their external partners through the open innovation process. This study aims to depict Co-working space's pivotal role in building up a working innovation ecosystem that facilitates open innovation for startups. To get a more deep understanding of the phenomena, this study used an exploratory study based on three case studies of Co-working spaces operated in the Jakarta region. The study shows that the open innovation process among startups is not naturally existed, but instead, it is purposefully designed by the role of a community manager who acts as the ecosystem catalyst. The community manager becomes the ecosystem enablers that facilitate the networking process by connecting members. As a result, these activities will help the emerging of mutual connection and collaboration processes among members that empower open innovation among startups members. The multiple-case design makes the study conclusions might be difficult to generalize. Future research, including quantitative studies, will help the conclusions examination and the knowledge enrichment of start-ups' open innovation process. This paper will enrich the knowledge concerning how Co-working spaces member seizing opportunities that lead to the open innovation process.

scholarly journals The Ethical Dilemma of Lifestyle Change: Designing for sustainable schools and sustainable citizenship

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-155
Author(s):  
Andrea Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Learning Technologies ◽  
Luce Irigaray ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Innovative Learning ◽  
Michael Oakeshott ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Sustainable Schools

This paper explores how participation and sustainability are being addressed by architects within the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme in the UK. The intentions promoted by the programme are certainly ambitious, but the ways to fulfil these aims are ill-explored. Simply focusing on providing innovative learning technologies, or indeed teaching young people about physical sustainability features in buildings, will not necessarily teach them the skills they will need to respond to the environmental and social challenges of a rapidly changing world. However, anticipating those skills is one of the most problematic issues of the programme. The involvement of young people in the design of schools is used to suggest empowerment, place-making and to promote social cohesion but this is set against government design literature which advocates for exemplars, standard layouts and best practice, all leading to forms of standardisation. The potentials for tokenistic student involvement and conflict with policy aims are evident. This paper explores two issues: how to foster in young people an ethic towards future generations, and the role of co-design practices in this process. Michael Oakeshott calls teaching the conversation of mankind. In this paper, I look at the philosophy of Hannah Arendt, Emmanuel Levinas, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Luce Irigaray to argue that investigating the ethical dilemmas of the programme through critical dialogue with students offers an approach to meeting government objectives, building sustainable schools, and fostering sustainable citizenship.

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