The Uptime Catalyst Facility was created by the Uptime initiative in 2020 to pilot a results-based funding approach for rural water maintenance services. Beginning in four African countries with services benefitting approximately one million rural people, the UCF is testing how a universal contract design can ensure reliable water services at scale.
The UCF is a non-repayable source of funding to bridge the shortfall between costs and revenues as service providers invest in developing sustainable service models for rural water provision.
The performance contracts that underpin the UCF are designed to incentivise behaviours from service providers that maintain high levels of infrastructure reliability, accessibility, service quality, and customer satisfaction. The contracting mechanism uses data-driven structures for performance measurement and a verification process that is optimised for efficiency, speed and scale. The objective is to accelerate progress towards sustainable service delivery models.
UCF pooled its data to help design a transparent, outcomes-based model for funding rural water services at scale; using performance contracts and verifiable indicators. An independent payment approach has also been developed for contracted service providers, with payments contingent on outcomes.
