Applying Results-Based Financing in Water Investments

A Guide to Results-Based Financing in Water Investments
 
Given the broad array of issues and the complexity faced by the water sector as a whole (from irrigation to flood protection, to water conservation and hydropower), there is a great demand for future exploring the potential of RBF and tacklikng the questions still unanswered about many of its operational dimensions.

Results-based financing (RBF) is an effective approach for achieving better quality and timely delivery of services in development projects. RBF has been mostly used for water supply and sanitation investments but some questions remain unanswered on the operational dimensions of RBF in other water sub-sectors, such as irrigation, flood protection, water conservation and hydropower.
 
The Water Partnership Program (WPP) and the Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid (GPOBA) joint study (Applying Results-Based Financing in Water Investments) takes a closer look at some of the practical aspects of implementing various RBF schemes in water-related investments, from access to water services and household sewage connections to irrigation and deforestation. This study contributes to a better understanding of RBF instruments, based on reward-delivery-output/outcome-incentive, and the conditions for success or failure of such approaches.
 
The study provides an analytical framework to explore if and when RBF can be a viable option and some key factors that are necessary for this approach to work. It offers a selection of case studies based on actual projects implementing RBF instruments and some of the key challenges in designing an RBF scheme in the water sector.