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ATSP RESULTS FEATURED IN A WORLD BANK BLOG POST
Aileen Castro, a Water and Sanitation Specialist of the World Bank, shared in her blog post the results of the Accreditation of Technical Service Providers (ATSP), a project that tapped OIDCI for technical assistance services to the management of the ATSP in 2013 to 2014. The ATSP is an initiative of the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) that is supported under Phase 2 of the World Bank’s Expanded Small Water Utilities Improvement and Financing (ESWIF) Project.
Another OIDCI project, Management of Survey of Water Utilities in the Development of Listahang Tubig (2014-2015) was also mentioned in the article.
Below are excerpts from Ms. Castro’s article that was published on the World Bank website in March 2017.
“The idea behind the program was to build an industry around the water sector where technical experts could gain training and accreditation, and where water utilities could easily connect with regulators and a pool of technical experts. This approach aimed to address both the demand and supply sides of the market for technical assistance.”
“One of the first water utilities assisted by the program is the Visayan Village Tagum Rural Waterworks and Multi-Services Cooperative (VITRUWASCO) in Davao del Norte, Mindanao. After three years, they have remarkable results: service connections increased by almost 50%, from 3,200 to 4,653. With increased efficiency, the cooperative started to declare higher dividends which encouraged more membership subscriptions which allowed them to expand services. From 21.7 million pesos, their assets grew to 49 million pesos (US$980,000), an increase of 126%.
“It’s not just the small water utilities that gain from the ATSP program but the accredited experts as well. This experience brought them professional rewards, with some of the experts able to substantially increase their number of clients. After completing the program as a finance expert, Ms. Stella Salas gained additional credibility and experience which opened opportunities to work with small water utilities. She now has a total of 32 clients. The same is true with one of our ‘fixits’, Engr. Marcelo Sumampong, who has assisted 18 water utilities since his accreditation in 2011. He has also provided advisory services to private entrepreneurs in Compostela Valley, Mindanao which facilitated the approval of about 63 water permits.”
“With these encouraging results, we look forward to new opportunities to scale up the program. NWRB can tap the Listahang Tubig, a comprehensive list of water utilities nationwide, to target high-impact municipalities and get consultants closer to the clients.”
For the full article, click this LINK