Institutional Framework

When implementing water and sanitation measures ― including both hardware and software measures ― a framework that ensures the success of the implementation and its sustainability is needed. Without a political/legal and an institutional framework, the success any measure might be undermined by problems with legislation or missing institutions (e.g. for monitoring or enforcement) making sure the measures are implemented in a successful and sustainable way.

A proper framework is determined by national, provincial and local policies and legislation (‘legal framework’) (see policies and legal framework) that constitutes the “rules of the game” and facilitates all stakeholders to play their respective roles. The framework also includes the institutions and organisations (‘institutional framework’) created to establish these “rules of the game” and to facilitate and exercise stakeholder participation (GWP 2008).

The term “institutional framework” refers to a set of formal organisational structures, rules and informal norms for service provision. In the field of water and sanitation management, an institutional framework involves outlining the responsibilities of service institutions for various aspects of the sector (IEES 2006).

An institutional framework for sanitation and water management consists of a range of different organisations that are in place (or need to be in place) to develop and manage water resources and the delivery of water and sanitation services at different levels of society. They include: service providers, regulatory and enforcement bodies, local authorities, the private sector, civil society institutions, community-based organisations and NGOs, etc. (GWP 2008).

A lack of a sound institutional framework is the cause of many failures in service delivery — and a major reason for failed water and sanitation provision. Such institutional weakness is often the result of the lack of a clear institutional “home” for planning and management, together with a limited capacity within institutions to coordinate and manage initiatives. The all-too-common outcome are declining services leading to poor cost recovery and ultimately failed investments that do not meet either current or future demand (SCOTT et al. 2003).

The capacity to provide services effectively and efficiently is critical for the long-term sustainability of service provision, not only in the field of sustainable sanitation and water management, but in general. Most of the constraints to accelerated delivery of service are due to capacity problems at provincial and municipality levels. Appropriate management models are required to ensure that sanitation service delivery is sustained beyond the implementation of infrastructure projects (WRC 2003).

Institutional frameworks must be stable, transparent and based on the rule of law, respecting fundamental human needs and ecosystems conservation, and promoting local empowerment and appropriate cost recovery approaches (DWAF 2003). When developing new (local) institutional frameworks, it is advisable to build on and strengthen the existing structure rather than starting from the scratch (IEES 2006). Therefore, promotion of substantial institutional reform may be appropriate in many cases and could include providing support to a variety of initiatives in the sustainable sanitation and water management sector, such as: bundling and unbundling of functions (organisational restructuring), strengthening enforcement bodies, decentralisation, improving cost recovery, building public private partnerships (PPPs), privatisation parts of the water and/ or sanitation sector, nationalising parts of the water and/ or sanitation sector, enhancing participation and involvement of civil society and human resources development.

Institutional structures vary from country to country, but whatever the specific structure is like, it is essential to have mechanisms for dialogue and co-ordination. A balance has to be met between providing a fully integrated approach where specific issues may get lost due to lack of expertise or interest, and a sectoral approach where different policies are followed without any co-ordination (GWP 2008). The actors of an institutional framework need to be co-operative, and have clear and distinctive definitions of roles and responsibilities. Therefore, the organisations and actors need to work transparently and in dialogue with each other.

For a sound institutional framework, it is very important to have sustainable sanitation and water management supporting policies and legal frameworks to make sure the basis for the work of the institutions is set.

Find more information on how to create policies and build an institutional framework:

• Creating policies and a legal framework
• Building an institutional framework