Examples of recent or ongoing projects are presented below. For a complete list of projects, refer to our current English CV and French CV.
World Bank, 2004. Evaluating management contracts for electricity and water services in Rwanda and Albania. The objective of those case studies is to document the experience with management contracts and assess the validity of this type of contract as a first step for the introduction of private sector participation in the utility sectors, particularly when the risk appetite of international operators has dwindled, as witnessed in recent years. Both Rwanda and Albania have resorted to a management contract with an international operator to improve the performance of their distressed utilities when no other PSP option could be envisaged. It is still early days in Rwanda to assess the performance but the operator definitely seems on the right track. In Albania, the electricity sector has been brought back from the brink of collapse, thanks to tremendous efforts on the part of the Government and donors and with private sector assistance.
World Bank, 2004. Surveys on regulatory transparency and on human and financial resource constraints for utility regulators. Many countries in both the developed and the developing world followed have created regulatory agencies since the early 1990s, with an estimated 200 new such institutions. Although many private sector reforms have achieved substantial results in terms of efficiency improvements and better services for customers, some of them have failed or encountered difficulties. In many cases, inappropriate or weak regulatory frameworks have been a major cause for those difficulties. This series of surveys explores key themes relating to the constraints on establishing sound regulatory institutions: human resource may be inappropriate or difficult to retain or the overall institutional framework may hinder transparency. The findings of these surveys, based on practical experiences with regulation in both developed and developing countries, form the basis for recommendations for improving the design of regulators and the type of support for institutional building that can be provided by institutions such as the World Bank.
Asian Development Bank, 2003-2005. Kathmandu Valley Water Management Support Project, Nepal. The focus of this technical assistance is to carry out necessary reforms in order to allow the effective introduction of private sector participation in the management of the water and sanitation services in the Kathmandu Valley. Main project elements include: the letting of a performance-based management contract, the establishment of a sound legal and regulatory framework, major institutional reforms and restructuring of the utility and the preparation of an ADB loan project. The letting of the management contract and associated institutional reforms is well underway. Update on progress can be found on the project's website: www.kvwmsp.com
World Bank/PPIAF, 2004. Study on institutional restructuring options in the electricity, water and sanitation sectors in Djibouti. The Government of Djibouti and donors need guidance on how to improve the performance of ailing public utilities in Djibouti. Although the electricity operator is fairly well managed, high electricity tariffs weigh on the development of this small Republic, tucked away in the Horn of Africa. Water resource availability is poor and is compounded by high leakage rates and poor operational management. Coverage rates are very low, with only 50% of the urban population having access to electricity and almost nobody in rural areas. Key questions addressed in this study included whether electricity, water and sanitation should be grouped in order to reap economies of scale and other benefits from consolidation and whether private sector participation could improve performance, and if so, under what type of contract.
World Bank, 2003-2004. "World Bank Toolkit for Private Participation in Water and Sanitation" (upcoming publication). The World Bank's toolkit on private participation in water and sanitation, first published in 1997, provided a useful guide to the first wave of privatisation contracts in the water sector, and helped many understand the various types of available contractual options. This new version of the toolkit, totally revamped, places PSP in the context of broader sector reforms and provides a wealth of practical examples and tools to design the best possible contract. Sophie was a key contributor to the toolkit, working on specific chapters and case examples and reviewing the drafts. See the last draft of the toolkit for consultation on: http://rru.worldbank.org/Toolkits/WaterServices/Details.aspx .
Agence Française de Développement/Suez-Environnement, 2004/05. Methodological guidance for the design of Output-Based Aid schemes for expanding coverage in water concessions. The objective of this project, piloted by a working group AFD/Suez is to put the OBA approach for extending water service coverage to the test on the basis of real examples. Those pilots are conducted in two existing water service contracts held by Suez in Morocco (Casablanca) and South Africa (Lukhanji). Sophie is providing overall guidance for the study, based on a methodological note on the use of OBA for water expansion schemes, which will form the basis for a methodological guide drawing lessons from the case studies.
World Bank, 2003/04. Analysis of demand for water and sanitation services in Piura and Tumbes, Peru and Tegucigalpa, Honduras.These studies are part of a global initiative by the Bank Netherlands Water Partnership to examine what can be done to improve the pro-poor features of water transactions. Sophie worked with ERM to carry out a survey of the urban poor in the areas of Piura and Tumbes in Peru to determine willingness to pay for water and sanitation services, and draw out recommendations for structuring planned private sector contracts. She is currently carrying out similar tasks on a demand survey carried out by ESA Consultores in Tegucigalpa, Honduras for orientating PSP reforms.
World Bank Institute, 2004/05. Training on water regulation in Senegal. Drawing on a series of activities on regulation institutions and procedures and previous training courses for the World Bank Institute or the Inter-American Development Bank, Sophie will carry out a training course on water regulation in Senegal where the issue of defining regulation arrangements is being hotly debated.