#1: Benchmarks

Benchmarking involves a comparative analysis of performance, e.g. of the water sector in general, of organisations in river basins or of water utilities. Its purpose is to assess whether they are suitable and deliver the desired results, or whether there are possible shortcomings that need to be assessed. 

The method consists of the analysis of official policy and legal documents and a stratified set of

"[A]ny person, group or organisation with an interest or ‘stake’ in an issue, either because they will be affected or because they may have some influence on its outcome. Stakeholders may include other government bodies.” (Ridder et al. 2005).

opinion panels, assessing both the functions involved in water

Governance can be defined as the various institutionalised modes of social coordination to produce and implement collectively binding rules, or to provide collective goods (Börzel & Risse, 2010,p. 114).

Börzel, T. A., & Risse, T. (2010). Governance Without a State: Can It Work? Regulation & Governance, 4(2), 113–134. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-5991.2010.01076.x

and the

Processes describe policy implementation rather than the development of formal institutions. This focus takes into account that the bottleneck for policy effectiveness is often implementation rather than policy development.

for decision-making.
If openly accessible it can increase transparency and can help disseminating best practices. It can further create an incentive for improving current performance and promotes mutual learning and

"[A]ny person, group or organisation with an interest or ‘stake’ in an issue, either because they will be affected or because they may have some influence on its outcome. Stakeholders may include other government bodies.” (Ridder et al. 2005).

participation through increased availability of information

In the example, a 3-dimensional analysis was carried out for six countries in the MENA region. The study analysed the institutional structure of the country's water system (policies, legislation, etc.), a number of key features of decision-making

Processes describe policy implementation rather than the development of formal institutions. This focus takes into account that the bottleneck for policy effectiveness is often implementation rather than policy development.

and a number of water functions (organization and capacity building in the water sector, strategic planning, water allocation, water resources development and management, regulation of water resources and services). The interplay of these structures was plotted against each other to analyze the interactions that occur.

While the results provided initial indications of how

Water management refers to the activities of analysing and monitoring water resources, as well as developing and implementing measures to keep the state of a water resource within what has been negotiated as desirable bounds (Pahl-Wostl, 2015).

Pahl-Wostl, C. (2015). Water Governance in the Face of Global Change—From Understanding to Transformation. Wiesbaden: Springer International Publishing.

is related to the effectiveness of the water system in several countries, they provided a basis for examining the changes in water management over time.

The study argues in favor of looking at and assessing not only individual components of

Water management refers to the activities of analysing and monitoring water resources, as well as developing and implementing measures to keep the state of a water resource within what has been negotiated as desirable bounds (Pahl-Wostl, 2015).

Pahl-Wostl, C. (2015). Water Governance in the Face of Global Change—From Understanding to Transformation. Wiesbaden: Springer International Publishing.

, but also how they together affect the functionality of water management within a country.