Concerns over rural water service functionality and sustainability have led to a range of alternative rural water supply (RWS) management models being investigated and trialled, including the private operator (PO) management model. This study aimed to construct a rapid assessment framework (RAF) to determine if the PO management model is appropriate for RWS. Data collection consisted of a review of literature and interviews conducted with key informants involved in RWS in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The synthesis of the literature review and interview analysis findings resulted in six themes, critical to the PO management model, being identified. In the right circumstances, PO management models can be a viable option to help address the sustainability of RWS in SSA. However, private sector involvement is not a panacea for RWS and, therefore a mix of management models is required if sustainable development goal 6 is to be achieved.

Abrams, L., Palmer, I. and Hart, T. (1998) Sustainability Management Guidelines for Water Supply in Developing Communities, Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, South Africa.

Adank, M., Le Gouais, A., Lockwood, H. and Dzansi, P. (2011) ‘Service delivery indicators and monitoring to improve sustainability of rural water supplies in Ghana’, in 6th RWSN Forum, Kampala, Uganda.

Adank, M., Smits, S., Verhoeven, J., Bey, S. and Pezon, C. (2013) ‘Development and use of service delivery indicators for monitoring rural water services in Ghana, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Honduras, Paraguay, El Salvador’, in IRC Monitoring Sustainable WASH Services Symposium, 2013, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Annis, J. and Razafinjato, G. (2012) ‘Public-private partnerships in Madagascar: increasing the sustainability of piped water supply systems in rural towns’, Waterlines 31(3): 184–96 <http://dx.doi.org/10.3362/1756-3488.2012.020>.

Banks, B. and Furey, S. (2016) ‘What’s working, where, and for how long: a 2016 water point update [poster]’, in 7th RWSN Forum, Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Burnard, P. (1991) ‘A method of analysing interview transcripts in qualitative research’, Nurse Education Today 11(6): 461–6.

Chowns, E.E. (2014) The Political Economy of Community Management: A Study of Factors Influencing Sustainability in Malawi’s Rural Water Supply Sector, PhD thesis, University of Birmingham, UK.

Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) (2014) Performance Benchmarking Guidelines for Water Supply and Sanitation Authorities, Tanzania: EWURA.

Fereday, J. and Muir-Cochrane, E. (2006) ‘Demonstrating rigor using thematic analysis: a hybrid approach of inductive and deductive coding and theme development’, International Journal of Qualitative Methods 5(1): 80–92.

Foster, T. (2012) Private Sector Provision of Rural Water Services, A Desk Study for Water for People, Colorado, USA: Water for People.

Harvey, P.A. and Reed, R.A. (2007) ‘Community-managed water supplies in Africa: sustainable or dispensable?’ Community Development Journal 42(3): 365–78 <https://doi.org/10.1093/cdj/bsl001>.

IRC (2014) Service Delivery Indicators for Strengthening Local Monitoring of Rural Water Service Delivery in Uganda, IRC Briefing Paper, The Hague, Netherlands: IRC.

Kleemeier, E.L. (2010) ‘Private operators and rural water supplies: a desk review of experience’, World Bank Water Papers, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Koestler, L. (2009) ‘Private sector involvement in rural water supply: case studies from Uganda’, in 34th WEDC International Conference, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Koestler, L., Koestler, A.G., Koestler, M.A. and Koestler, V.J. (2010) ‘Improving sustainability using incentives for operation and maintenance: the concept of water-person-years’, Waterlines 29(2): 147–62 <https://doi.org/10.3362/1756-3488.2010.014>.

Landstrom, H. (1995) ‘A pilot study on the investment decision-making behavior of informal investors in Sweden’, Journal of Small Business Management 33(3): 67–76.

Liddle, E.S. and Fenner, R. (2017) ‘Water point failure in sub-Saharan Africa: the value of a systems thinking approach’, Waterlines 36(2): 140–66 <https://doi.org/10.3362/1756-3488.16-00022>.

Lilleker, D.G. (2003) ‘Interviewing the political elite: navigating a potential minefield’, Politics 23(3): 207–14 <https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9256.00198>.

Lockwood, H. (2016) Kampala Wash Symposium Background Note, Wivenhoe, UK: Aguaconsult.

Lockwood, H. and Le Gouais, A. (2011) Service Delivery Indicators and Monitoring to Improve Sustainability of Rural Water Supplies in Ghana, Triple-S Briefing Note, The Hague, Netherlands: IRC.

Lockwood, H. and Smits, S. (2011) Supporting Rural Water Supply: Moving Towards a Service Delivery Approach, Warwickshire, UK: Practical Action Publishing.

Lockwood, H., Smits, S., Smets, S. and Mansour, G. (2016) ‘Global study on sustainable service delivery models for rural water’, in 7th RWSN Forum, Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Matichich, M., Hasit, Y., Yeager, F., Englesmith, J., Paralez, L., Francisco, W. and Greenwood, R. (2014) Performance Benchmarking for Effectively Managed Water Utilities, Denver, CO: Water Research Foundation.

Menzies, I. (2016) Delivering Universal and Sustainable Water Services Partnering with the Private Sector, Water and Sanitation Program: Guidance Note, Water and Sanitation Program, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Migan, S.A. (2015) Benin: Innovative Public Private Partnerships for Rural Water Services Sustainability, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Ministry of Urban Development (2008) Handbook of Service Level Benchmarking, Government Printer, New Delhi: Government of India.

Moriarty, P., Batchelor, C., Fonseca, C., Klutse, A., Naafs, A., Nyarko, K., Pezon, C., Potter, A., Reddy, V.R. and Snehalatha, M. (2011) Ladders for Assessing and Costing Water Service Delivery, WASHCost Global Working Paper, The Hague, Netherlands: IRC.

Moriarty, P., Smits, S., Butterworth, J. and Franceys, R. (2013) ‘Trends in rural water supply: towards a service delivery approach’, Water Alternatives 6(3): 329–49.

OECD and IMTA Publishing (2009) Optimising Private Sector Participation in Water Infrastructure, Paris, France: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Rigby Delmon, V. (2014) Structuring Private-Sector Participation (PSP) Contracts for Small Scale Water Projects, Water and Sanitation Program, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Seppälä, O.T. (2015) ‘Performance benchmarking in Nordic water utilities’, Procedia Economics and Finance 21(15): 399–406 <https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(15)00192-6>.

Sterman, J. (2000) Business Dynamics: Systems Thinking and Modeling for a Complex World, Boston, MA: Irwin/McGraw Hill.

Valfrey-Visser, B., Schaub-Jones, D., Collignon, B. and Chaponnière, E. (2006) Access Through Innovation: Expanding Water Service Delivery Through Independent Network Providers. Considerations for Practitioners and Policymakers, London: Building Partnerships for Development in Water and Sanitation.

van der Byl, W. (2017) A Review and Analysis of Private Operator Models for the Management of Rural Water Supply Services in Sub-Saharan Africa, unpublished MPhil thesis, University of Cambridge.

WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (2017) Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: 2017 Update and SDG Baseline, Geneva, Switzerland: WHO and UNICEF.

World Bank (1999) World Bank’s Benchmarking Water and Sanitation Utilities Project and the Benchmarking Start-Up Toolkit, Washington, DC: World Bank.

World Bank (2009) Bangladesh Water Utilities Data Book, 2006–07: Benchmarking for Improving Water Supply Delivery, Washington, DC: World Bank.

World Bank Group (2017) Sustainability Assessment of Rural Water Service Delivery Models: Findings of a Multi-Country Review, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Abrams, L., Palmer, I. and Hart, T. (1998) Sustainability Management Guidelines for Water Supply in Developing Communities, Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, South Africa.

Adank, M., Le Gouais, A., Lockwood, H. and Dzansi, P. (2011) ‘Service delivery indicators and monitoring to improve sustainability of rural water supplies in Ghana’, in 6th RWSN Forum, Kampala, Uganda.

Adank, M., Smits, S., Verhoeven, J., Bey, S. and Pezon, C. (2013) ‘Development and use of service delivery indicators for monitoring rural water services in Ghana, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Honduras, Paraguay, El Salvador’, in IRC Monitoring Sustainable WASH Services Symposium, 2013, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Annis, J. and Razafinjato, G. (2012) ‘Public-private partnerships in Madagascar: increasing the sustainability of piped water supply systems in rural towns’, Waterlines 31(3): 184–96 <http://dx.doi.org/10.3362/1756-3488.2012.020>.

Banks, B. and Furey, S. (2016) ‘What’s working, where, and for how long: a 2016 water point update [poster]’, in 7th RWSN Forum, Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Burnard, P. (1991) ‘A method of analysing interview transcripts in qualitative research’, Nurse Education Today 11(6): 461–6.

Chowns, E.E. (2014) The Political Economy of Community Management: A Study of Factors Influencing Sustainability in Malawi’s Rural Water Supply Sector, PhD thesis, University of Birmingham, UK.

Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) (2014) Performance Benchmarking Guidelines for Water Supply and Sanitation Authorities, Tanzania: EWURA.

Fereday, J. and Muir-Cochrane, E. (2006) ‘Demonstrating rigor using thematic analysis: a hybrid approach of inductive and deductive coding and theme development’, International Journal of Qualitative Methods 5(1): 80–92.

Foster, T. (2012) Private Sector Provision of Rural Water Services, A Desk Study for Water for People, Colorado, USA: Water for People.

Harvey, P.A. and Reed, R.A. (2007) ‘Community-managed water supplies in Africa: sustainable or dispensable?’ Community Development Journal 42(3): 365–78 <https://doi.org/10.1093/cdj/bsl001>.

IRC (2014) Service Delivery Indicators for Strengthening Local Monitoring of Rural Water Service Delivery in Uganda, IRC Briefing Paper, The Hague, Netherlands: IRC.

Kleemeier, E.L. (2010) ‘Private operators and rural water supplies: a desk review of experience’, World Bank Water Papers, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Koestler, L. (2009) ‘Private sector involvement in rural water supply: case studies from Uganda’, in 34th WEDC International Conference, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Koestler, L., Koestler, A.G., Koestler, M.A. and Koestler, V.J. (2010) ‘Improving sustainability using incentives for operation and maintenance: the concept of water-person-years’, Waterlines 29(2): 147–62 <https://doi.org/10.3362/1756-3488.2010.014>.

Landstrom, H. (1995) ‘A pilot study on the investment decision-making behavior of informal investors in Sweden’, Journal of Small Business Management 33(3): 67–76.

Liddle, E.S. and Fenner, R. (2017) ‘Water point failure in sub-Saharan Africa: the value of a systems thinking approach’, Waterlines 36(2): 140–66 <https://doi.org/10.3362/1756-3488.16-00022>.

Lilleker, D.G. (2003) ‘Interviewing the political elite: navigating a potential minefield’, Politics 23(3): 207–14 <https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9256.00198>.

Lockwood, H. (2016) Kampala Wash Symposium Background Note, Wivenhoe, UK: Aguaconsult.

Lockwood, H. and Le Gouais, A. (2011) Service Delivery Indicators and Monitoring to Improve Sustainability of Rural Water Supplies in Ghana, Triple-S Briefing Note, The Hague, Netherlands: IRC.

Lockwood, H. and Smits, S. (2011) Supporting Rural Water Supply: Moving Towards a Service Delivery Approach, Warwickshire, UK: Practical Action Publishing.

Lockwood, H., Smits, S., Smets, S. and Mansour, G. (2016) ‘Global study on sustainable service delivery models for rural water’, in 7th RWSN Forum, Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Matichich, M., Hasit, Y., Yeager, F., Englesmith, J., Paralez, L., Francisco, W. and Greenwood, R. (2014) Performance Benchmarking for Effectively Managed Water Utilities, Denver, CO: Water Research Foundation.

Menzies, I. (2016) Delivering Universal and Sustainable Water Services Partnering with the Private Sector, Water and Sanitation Program: Guidance Note, Water and Sanitation Program, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Migan, S.A. (2015) Benin: Innovative Public Private Partnerships for Rural Water Services Sustainability, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Ministry of Urban Development (2008) Handbook of Service Level Benchmarking, Government Printer, New Delhi: Government of India.

Moriarty, P., Batchelor, C., Fonseca, C., Klutse, A., Naafs, A., Nyarko, K., Pezon, C., Potter, A., Reddy, V.R. and Snehalatha, M. (2011) Ladders for Assessing and Costing Water Service Delivery, WASHCost Global Working Paper, The Hague, Netherlands: IRC.

Moriarty, P., Smits, S., Butterworth, J. and Franceys, R. (2013) ‘Trends in rural water supply: towards a service delivery approach’, Water Alternatives 6(3): 329–49.

OECD and IMTA Publishing (2009) Optimising Private Sector Participation in Water Infrastructure, Paris, France: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Rigby Delmon, V. (2014) Structuring Private-Sector Participation (PSP) Contracts for Small Scale Water Projects, Water and Sanitation Program, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Seppälä, O.T. (2015) ‘Performance benchmarking in Nordic water utilities’, Procedia Economics and Finance 21(15): 399–406 <https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(15)00192-6>.

Sterman, J. (2000) Business Dynamics: Systems Thinking and Modeling for a Complex World, Boston, MA: Irwin/McGraw Hill.

Valfrey-Visser, B., Schaub-Jones, D., Collignon, B. and Chaponnière, E. (2006) Access Through Innovation: Expanding Water Service Delivery Through Independent Network Providers. Considerations for Practitioners and Policymakers, London: Building Partnerships for Development in Water and Sanitation.

van der Byl, W. (2017) A Review and Analysis of Private Operator Models for the Management of Rural Water Supply Services in Sub-Saharan Africa, unpublished MPhil thesis, University of Cambridge.

WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (2017) Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: 2017 Update and SDG Baseline, Geneva, Switzerland: WHO and UNICEF.

World Bank (1999) World Bank’s Benchmarking Water and Sanitation Utilities Project and the Benchmarking Start-Up Toolkit, Washington, DC: World Bank.

World Bank (2009) Bangladesh Water Utilities Data Book, 2006–07: Benchmarking for Improving Water Supply Delivery, Washington, DC: World Bank.

World Bank Group (2017) Sustainability Assessment of Rural Water Service Delivery Models: Findings of a Multi-Country Review, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Abrams, L., Palmer, I. and Hart, T. (1998) Sustainability Management Guidelines for Water Supply in Developing Communities, Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, South Africa.

Adank, M., Le Gouais, A., Lockwood, H. and Dzansi, P. (2011) ‘Service delivery indicators and monitoring to improve sustainability of rural water supplies in Ghana’, in 6th RWSN Forum, Kampala, Uganda.

Adank, M., Smits, S., Verhoeven, J., Bey, S. and Pezon, C. (2013) ‘Development and use of service delivery indicators for monitoring rural water services in Ghana, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Honduras, Paraguay, El Salvador’, in IRC Monitoring Sustainable WASH Services Symposium, 2013, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Annis, J. and Razafinjato, G. (2012) ‘Public-private partnerships in Madagascar: increasing the sustainability of piped water supply systems in rural towns’, Waterlines 31(3): 184–96 <http://dx.doi.org/10.3362/1756-3488.2012.020>.

Banks, B. and Furey, S. (2016) ‘What’s working, where, and for how long: a 2016 water point update [poster]’, in 7th RWSN Forum, Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Burnard, P. (1991) ‘A method of analysing interview transcripts in qualitative research’, Nurse Education Today 11(6): 461–6.

Chowns, E.E. (2014) The Political Economy of Community Management: A Study of Factors Influencing Sustainability in Malawi’s Rural Water Supply Sector, PhD thesis, University of Birmingham, UK.

Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) (2014) Performance Benchmarking Guidelines for Water Supply and Sanitation Authorities, Tanzania: EWURA.

Fereday, J. and Muir-Cochrane, E. (2006) ‘Demonstrating rigor using thematic analysis: a hybrid approach of inductive and deductive coding and theme development’, International Journal of Qualitative Methods 5(1): 80–92.

Foster, T. (2012) Private Sector Provision of Rural Water Services, A Desk Study for Water for People, Colorado, USA: Water for People.

Harvey, P.A. and Reed, R.A. (2007) ‘Community-managed water supplies in Africa: sustainable or dispensable?’ Community Development Journal 42(3): 365–78 <https://doi.org/10.1093/cdj/bsl001>.

IRC (2014) Service Delivery Indicators for Strengthening Local Monitoring of Rural Water Service Delivery in Uganda, IRC Briefing Paper, The Hague, Netherlands: IRC.

Kleemeier, E.L. (2010) ‘Private operators and rural water supplies: a desk review of experience’, World Bank Water Papers, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Koestler, L. (2009) ‘Private sector involvement in rural water supply: case studies from Uganda’, in 34th WEDC International Conference, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Koestler, L., Koestler, A.G., Koestler, M.A. and Koestler, V.J. (2010) ‘Improving sustainability using incentives for operation and maintenance: the concept of water-person-years’, Waterlines 29(2): 147–62 <https://doi.org/10.3362/1756-3488.2010.014>.

Landstrom, H. (1995) ‘A pilot study on the investment decision-making behavior of informal investors in Sweden’, Journal of Small Business Management 33(3): 67–76.

Liddle, E.S. and Fenner, R. (2017) ‘Water point failure in sub-Saharan Africa: the value of a systems thinking approach’, Waterlines 36(2): 140–66 <https://doi.org/10.3362/1756-3488.16-00022>.

Lilleker, D.G. (2003) ‘Interviewing the political elite: navigating a potential minefield’, Politics 23(3): 207–14 <https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9256.00198>.

Lockwood, H. (2016) Kampala Wash Symposium Background Note, Wivenhoe, UK: Aguaconsult.

Lockwood, H. and Le Gouais, A. (2011) Service Delivery Indicators and Monitoring to Improve Sustainability of Rural Water Supplies in Ghana, Triple-S Briefing Note, The Hague, Netherlands: IRC.

Lockwood, H. and Smits, S. (2011) Supporting Rural Water Supply: Moving Towards a Service Delivery Approach, Warwickshire, UK: Practical Action Publishing.

Lockwood, H., Smits, S., Smets, S. and Mansour, G. (2016) ‘Global study on sustainable service delivery models for rural water’, in 7th RWSN Forum, Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Matichich, M., Hasit, Y., Yeager, F., Englesmith, J., Paralez, L., Francisco, W. and Greenwood, R. (2014) Performance Benchmarking for Effectively Managed Water Utilities, Denver, CO: Water Research Foundation.

Menzies, I. (2016) Delivering Universal and Sustainable Water Services Partnering with the Private Sector, Water and Sanitation Program: Guidance Note, Water and Sanitation Program, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Migan, S.A. (2015) Benin: Innovative Public Private Partnerships for Rural Water Services Sustainability, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Ministry of Urban Development (2008) Handbook of Service Level Benchmarking, Government Printer, New Delhi: Government of India.

Moriarty, P., Batchelor, C., Fonseca, C., Klutse, A., Naafs, A., Nyarko, K., Pezon, C., Potter, A., Reddy, V.R. and Snehalatha, M. (2011) Ladders for Assessing and Costing Water Service Delivery, WASHCost Global Working Paper, The Hague, Netherlands: IRC.

Moriarty, P., Smits, S., Butterworth, J. and Franceys, R. (2013) ‘Trends in rural water supply: towards a service delivery approach’, Water Alternatives 6(3): 329–49.

OECD and IMTA Publishing (2009) Optimising Private Sector Participation in Water Infrastructure, Paris, France: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Rigby Delmon, V. (2014) Structuring Private-Sector Participation (PSP) Contracts for Small Scale Water Projects, Water and Sanitation Program, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Seppälä, O.T. (2015) ‘Performance benchmarking in Nordic water utilities’, Procedia Economics and Finance 21(15): 399–406 <https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(15)00192-6>.

Sterman, J. (2000) Business Dynamics: Systems Thinking and Modeling for a Complex World, Boston, MA: Irwin/McGraw Hill.

Valfrey-Visser, B., Schaub-Jones, D., Collignon, B. and Chaponnière, E. (2006) Access Through Innovation: Expanding Water Service Delivery Through Independent Network Providers. Considerations for Practitioners and Policymakers, London: Building Partnerships for Development in Water and Sanitation.

van der Byl, W. (2017) A Review and Analysis of Private Operator Models for the Management of Rural Water Supply Services in Sub-Saharan Africa, unpublished MPhil thesis, University of Cambridge.

WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (2017) Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: 2017 Update and SDG Baseline, Geneva, Switzerland: WHO and UNICEF.

World Bank (1999) World Bank’s Benchmarking Water and Sanitation Utilities Project and the Benchmarking Start-Up Toolkit, Washington, DC: World Bank.

World Bank (2009) Bangladesh Water Utilities Data Book, 2006–07: Benchmarking for Improving Water Supply Delivery, Washington, DC: World Bank.

World Bank Group (2017) Sustainability Assessment of Rural Water Service Delivery Models: Findings of a Multi-Country Review, Washington, DC: World Bank.