All sectors globally rely on data to make decisions and increase efficiency. Accurate, relevant, and actionable data is required to improve services and promote growth.
The water sector faces increasing challenges associated with climate change, increasing pressure on resources, financing, and improving infrastructure. The need for accessible data and insights for the water sector on a global scale is critical for overcoming future challenges.
The International Benchmarking Networking (IBNET) is a global information system and partnership, specifically designed for water and sanitation service providers, and hosted by the World Bank Group. IBNET has been around for over 24 years and is one of the most trusted sources of global water and sanitation data available online.
The new vision of IBNET offers data-driven services to support its members in using data for decision-making, investments, and peer-to-peer learning. All of these services are free of cost. The New IBNET promotes a data culture to help water and sanitation providers transform their services by:
- Providing services including comparative performance monitoring and reports on utility-level and country-level
- Enabling decision making using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Management Practices
- Engaging providers to learn from each other in the Community of Practice.
New IBNET has been developed using a human-centred design approach to provide insights that enable straightforward tracking of utility performance and support the allocation of investment. This will lead to improvements within the water utility provider in the following areas:
- Technical and Commercial Operations
- Human Resources
- Financial Management
- Commercial Operations
The ambition of the New IBNET is to be the global network that facilitates knowledge sharing and collaboration on improving water and sanitation services. Member utilities gain recognition on a global platform and can access communities of practice on relevant topics such as utility financing.
The New IBNET pilot, which is supported by Isle Utilities, kicked off in 2022 and more than 60 utilities in Asia, Africa, South America, Europe, North America and Oceania have already joined the global network.
The beta version of New IBNET was launched in December 2022. This consisted of a re-designed website and members portal for the existing group of utilities who participated in the New IBNET pilot data collection in 2022 and is currently undergoing testing and consultation with member utilities to ensure maximum usability and performance.
Testimonials from Water Utilities participating in the new ibnet:
“New IBNET is also a knowledge sharing platform which helps to take improvement measures using your peers’ experience across the globe by learning from the best” – Teodor Popa (Financial Manager at Compania Apa Brasov, Romania).
“New IBNET provides a platform for use of harmonized Key Performance Indicators, and data requirements that enable uniform inter-regional benchmarking of service providers as well as easier progress tracking” – Eng. Kasenga Hara (Senior Inspector, Technical at National Water Supply and Sanitation Council NWASCO, Zambia).
“New IBNET will add value to our organization as we benchmark with other water utilities and share more on financial and operational successes and challenges” – Hope Mulenga (Finance Manager at Nkana Water Supply and Sanitation Company, Zambia)
Links to the IBNET
- You can view the beta version of New IBNET dashboards and track the latest updates at https://beta.ib-net.org
- The webinar hosted by the World Bank to accompany the launch of the beta version of New IBNET is available in English and Spanish.
“We would like to encourage water utilities to participate in the NEW IBNET global network. It is a new solution with the potential to help water utilities globally to overcome current a future challenge associated to climate change, increasing pressure on resources, financing and improving infrastructure to mention a few” – Blanca Antizar (Director, Isle Utilities, Global).
