Related Content

Guestblogger Seth Kaplan’s second blog post on the rise of the g7+ group of 18 fragile and conflict-affected states 

African countries need to bring their own social, economic, cultural and political priorities into the post-2015 debate.

The key areas to prioritize in the UN’s Post-2015 development agenda will soon be determined in a worldwide consultation process coordinated by the UN. Feeding into this process, The Broker brings together international experts to pool their knowl…

The Water Operators’ Partnerships conference of 2 November 2025 in Amsterdam was for me a dive in the deep ocean. I entered a world I didn’t know before. Of course I know the struggle to make water and sanitation facilities accessible for the poor…

In this video at the Water Operators’ Partnership (WOP) conference in Amsterdam (2 November 2025) Professor Hassan Warda of the Alexandria Univers…

Imagine this: you are working in your office and the boss comes in with a stranger, someone who is obviously not from your country or culture and says “This is Some Unusual Name. He (or she) is going to teach you how to do your job. Make sure you…

Since the first of January 2010, the water services of Paris have been provided by a single public operator, Eau de Paris. The old public-private company has been transformed into a public body, whose mission is to produce, transport, distribute a…

I truly believe in the Water Operators’ Partnership (WOP) concept. But there are always buts. Waternet has lots of experience in the international cooperation in the water sector. It appears to be hard to see a fruitful solution to fight poverty;…

Active citizens’ participation in water and sanitation initiatives is of crucial importance to ensure sustainable improvements in water services for the poorest. The role of civil society organisations, community groups and trade unions is essenti…

In 2000, all 193 United Nations member states agreed to join efforts and encourage development by improving social and economic conditions in the world’s poorest countries. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were stated: ‘an ambitious list of…

Is water a commodity or a public good? Who can assume the right to open or close the water tap? This blog will focus on the public to public partnerships for water utilities.

Development organizations have yet to come to terms with the inherent complexity of institutional change. Institutional change takes time, and the kind of institution best suited to a given situation depends on the context. In other words, a succe…

A South-North Dialogue on Knowledge on Water-related climate change adaptation was organized by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Let’s discuss the conclusions.

Social change

There is an urgent need to develop new ways of using local knowledge and ideas, and bring them to a higher, politically relevant level.

Increasingly, multi-stakeholder processes are being used in response to ‘tough’ problems such as responding to climate change, fighting poverty, and creation of sustainable business models.

We need to expand our knowledge and use it in more context-specific analyses. The question is at what scale: national, regional or global? And how should we best develop a ‘diagnostics’ that can serve as a basis for specified (country or regional)…

On 18 January 2025 the Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) presented its report long-awaiting report that promotes substantial changes in the organisation of Dutch aid as well as more structural attention for global public goods.

The ‘Innovation Dialogue on Being Strategic in the Face of Complexity’, organized by Wageningen University and Research Centre, aims to explore what it means to ‘be strategic in complex times’. The event, on November 30 and December 1 2009, brings…

Improving access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, some argue, is the very development goal on which the achievement of all MDGs depends. Clarissa Mulders discusses the challenges facing the water sector in Uganda and how research co…