Benchmarking of water and sanitation utilities provides information to a range of stakeholders about utility and sector performance. It can assist utility managers in understanding how their performance compares over time, and with their peers. If benchmarking contributes to improving the utility’s performance, customers will benefit when the savings result in improved service and/or lower tariffs. Policymakers and regulators can compare sector performance with that achieved within the country and with other countries, while global institutions (such as the international finance institutions) can improve policy advice based on using available sector performance data.

There are many definitions of benchmarking. Generally, these definitions include some common themes: learning, sharing information, standards, and identifying and adopting best practices. Benchmarking is the ongoing process of comparing water and sewerage utility services and practices with those of similar organizations. The ultimate goal is to improve quality and performance.

Sharing and comparing information, however imperfect, helps to give an understanding of what improvements can and should be aimed for. Ofwat undertakes international comparisons with utilities in Australia, the Netherlands, Canada and the United States, and having started with modest skepticism, this international comparability exercise is now considered important. Similarly in Latin America, ADERASA is embarking on an international performance comparability program to provide better information to regulators and policy-makers.  In South East Asia, SEAWUN is embarking on a similar benchmarking exercise with water supply associations taking the lead. In Africa, the Water Utility Partnership (WUP) plays a similar catalytic role.

Understanding the reasons for differences in performance is crucial, but it is not always intuitive and obvious.

The facts and circumstances behind the numbers are equally if not more important…the numbers help to get to the reality.

IBNET is the International Benchmarking Network for Water and Sanitation Utilities. It is a means of linking performance information from utilities around the world and to provide support to new and existing benchmarking schemes.

The goal of IBNET is to support and promote benchmarking and its benefits to become a widespread practice in the water and sanitation sector around the world. IBNET aims to provide a set of tools and support for water and sanitation utilities to undertake benchmarking.

IBNET is the only global network for water and sanitation utilities to share performance information and it brings together utilities from developing and developed countries.

The initiative was started by the World Bank in the late 1990s. The World Bank regards benchmarking an important activity to improve the performance of water and sanitation utilities worldwide. In order to encourage and promote benchmarking the World Bank developed a suite of software tools and guidance documents to help utilities compile, analyze and share performance information.

IBNET encourages any water and sanitation utility to participate either as an individual utility or as a group working together in an Association or in partnership with their regulator or government ministry. Participation can be by using the IBNET Benchmarking Toolkit or by linking your own datasets to IBNET.

There is no problem in adding a new indicator or group of indicators to the standard indicators set as long as it is important for your utility. We just remind you that all indicators that will be collected have to follow the same set of basic principles, in that these indicators have to be “clear”:

IBNET can help to convert your data into the IBNET standard format. Alternatively, we can post both your tool and your indicators at this website.

IBNET deals with quality assurance of data in two ways. Firstly there are checks in the data-input forms that will flag up discrepancies between different data entries; and secondly the providers of the data are requested to assign a quality rating to each group of data. Guidance on quality ratings and audit procedures will be available to managers of each local benchmarking scheme.

The more data and more countries and utilities are involved, the more valuable IBNET will become to its participants. So get involved in benchmarking; start compiling and sharing performance information about your utility; and start referring to international performance and communicating with your peers in your country, region or the other side of the world.

IBNET benchmarking toolkit indicators are based on the principle that the information posted on its website is publicly accessible information. IBNET will only disclose utility information once the data owner has provided his consent to publication of the data.

For more information, please contact us.