Measuring what matters: rethinking evaluation in WASH systems strengthening programmes

Stef has worked with governments, NGOs, development banks and consultants across all areas of the international water sector: from analysing the lifetime costs of services and how they can be financed, to developing institutional arrangements and monitoring their effectiveness. He brings that analytical rigour to strategic advisory work, based on more than 25 years of experience across more than 25 countries in Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia – turning research findings into practical decisions and investment strategies. In an organisation known for thought leadership, he builds the tools that enable others to put those ideas into action.

Over the past years, he has taken on a more internal management and leadership role, with responsibilities for business development and financial management. In 2026, Stef has become CEO of Riva The Netherlands.

He has an MSc in Irrigation and Water Engineering from Wageningen University, and is based in The Hague.

A few highlights

25 years of generating research, evidence and tools that have helped reshape how governments, INGOs and development banks across Latin America, Asia and Africa approach the life-cycle costing, financing and sustainability of water services and water resources management
Director, IRC Netherlands (since 2024) – executive responsibility for a team of 30, leading business development and strategy across the Netherlands and Europe, and spearheading IRC's transition to a nationally-led network model
Managing large-scale grant programmes including “Building sustainable WASH systems”(funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs) at 1.5 million Euro/year since 2017, and WASH Systems for Health Facility (funded by the FCDO of the UK Government), a £3 million knowledge programme across six countries, linking essential water and sanitation systems strengthening to health impacts
Pioneer of the multiple-use water services concept – designing systems that serve domestic and productive water needs simultaneously
Advisory work with the Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank, DGIS, Agence Française de Development as well as with international NGOs
Served terms as Executive Steering Committee member, Rural Water Supply Network; Secretary, Multiple Use Services Group; Editorial Board, Water Alternatives journal
Working languages: Dutch, English, Spanish and Portuguese

Profile quote

Stef Smits, CEO Riva Netherlands

First name

Stef

Author role

Secondary Author

RIVA author profile link

Ruchika Shiva

Language English

Surname

Shiva

Member

Riva Asia

RIVA role

Director

Job description

Director, Global Hub and Asia Hub (Regional Programme)

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Listing introduction

Ruchika helps close the gap between what government systems promise and what communities actually receive: by building better evidence, strengthening governance, and designing services with the people most likely to be left out.

Ruchika Shiva came to her work through the people that public services most often miss. Before joining Riva, she worked on rights of children in difficult circumstances, including street children in Delhi and ran advocacy campaigns on girls' right to education. That background gave her a conviction that ripples through all of her work: a system that doesn’t reach everyone isn’t finished yet.

Ruchika works with the governments and institutions that deliver essential services – village councils deciding how to allocate and spent water budgets, city utilities trying to reach informal settlements, state governments understanding where money flows through their systems and where it stops. She helps them close the gap between what their systems promise and what communities actually receive: by building better evidence, strengthening governance, and designing services with the people most likely to be left out.

Nineteen years working in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Cambodia have given Ruchika a deep understanding of how this region's institutions work – and where they fail. She firmly believes that the first question we should ask is: who is this system designed for? Ruchika’s 2025 paper on gender equity and social inclusion, now a WASH Systems Academy course, has shifted how practitioners across six countries work. She holds an MA in Social Work from Delhi University, is fluent in English and Hindi, and is based in Delhi.

A few highlights

19 years in development; 11 years leading Riva's Asia programme across India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Cambodia
Systems leadership for water-secure cities – Water4Change programme with city governments in Bhopal, Bhuj and Kozhikode
Climate resilience and institutional strengthening in four climate hotspots in Bangladesh, in partnership with BRAC, supported by the Dutch Embassy
Lead for gender equity and social inclusion across the FCDO WASH Systems for Health programme in six countries
Co-author of the 2025 learning note on GESI-responsive systems strengthening which is also the basis for a WASH Systems Academy course
Working languages: English and Hindi

Profile quote

Ruchika Shiva, Director Global Hub and Asia Hub ( regional programme)

First name

Ruchika

Publisher

Welthungerhilfe

Page sections

content

The paper Measuring What Matters reinterprets OECD-DAC criteria through a systems lens, introduces a practical framework for assessing progress in complex system contexts, and proposes ways to design evaluations that reflect the realities of systemic change. Evaluating WASH programmes has traditionally focused on measuring tangible outputs and service-level outcomes. However, systems strengthening programmes require a different evaluative lens—one that can capture long-term change in how institutions, behaviours, and structures interact. The paper Measuring What Matters shares key insights from the evaluation of Welthungerhilfe's Global WASH Programme, which applied a systems strengthening approach across four countries. The paper reinterprets OECD-DAC criteria through a systems lens, introduces a practical framework for assessing progress in complex system contexts, and proposes ways to design evaluations that reflect the realities of systemic change.

Title

Measuring what matters: rethinking evaluation in WASH systems strengthening programmes

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measuring_what_matters_irc_whh_2025.pdf (1.09 MB)

Title

Measuring what matters

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