Stef has 15 years of professional experience in water management, particularly rural water supply and sanitation, in Latin America, Southern Africa and South Asia. His main areas of expertise are: rural water supply, monitoring, life-cycle costing, integrated water resources management and the multiple-use of water.

Stef holds a master’s degree in Irrigation and Water Engineering (with distinction), obtained at the Wageningen University, The Netherlands. Before that he obtained a Bachelors degree in Tropical Land Use Engineering (with distinction), also from Wageningen University.

Stef has experience with a range of clients, including development banks, bilateral donors and research funders. Currently he is working on the following assignments:

• Senior International Advisor to a project funded by the Inter-American Development Bank that is looking into intervention models for water and sanitation services in dispersed rural areas of Honduras. In this role Stef is responsible for the overall project methodology and analysis of current practices.
• Senior International Advisor to the Para Todos Por Siempre (Everyone, Forever) initiative in Honduras. As a member of the Steering Group, Stef advises on monitoring approach, research on costs of rural water and sanitation services. His work in this role is funded by the Osprey Foundation.
• As a consultant, Stef worked in 2016 on a global study on sustainable service delivery models for rural water. He was responsible for desk studies on Brazil, India and Nicaragua. This assignment was funded by the World Bank.
• Senior Programme Officer. Watershed - empowering citizens project. Responsible for policy advice and advocacy on WASH in the Dutch development cooperation. Funded by DGIS. 2016-current.
• Lead consultant. Establishing a baseline of rural water and sanitation service delivery in Latin America and the Caribbean. Funded by the Inter-American Development Bank. 2015-2016.

Stef has 15 years of professional experience in water management, particularly rural water supply and sanitation, in Latin America, Southern Africa and South Asia. His main areas of expertise are: rural water supply, monitoring, life-cycle costing, integrated water resources management and the multiple-use of water.

Stef holds a master’s degree in Irrigation and Water Engineering (with distinction), obtained at the Wageningen University, The Netherlands. Before that he obtained a Bachelors degree in Tropical Land Use Engineering (with distinction), also from Wageningen University.

Stef has experience with a range of clients, including development banks, bilateral donors and research funders. Currently he is working on the following assignments:

• Senior International Advisor to a project funded by the Inter-American Development Bank that is looking into intervention models for water and sanitation services in dispersed rural areas of Honduras. In this role Stef is responsible for the overall project methodology and analysis of current practices.
• Senior International Advisor to the Para Todos Por Siempre (Everyone, Forever) initiative in Honduras. As a member of the Steering Group, Stef advises on monitoring approach, research on costs of rural water and sanitation services. His work in this role is funded by the Osprey Foundation.
• As a consultant, Stef worked in 2016 on a global study on sustainable service delivery models for rural water. He was responsible for desk studies on Brazil, India and Nicaragua. This assignment was funded by the World Bank.
• Senior Programme Officer. Watershed - empowering citizens project. Responsible for policy advice and advocacy on WASH in the Dutch development cooperation. Funded by DGIS. 2016-current.
• Lead consultant. Establishing a baseline of rural water and sanitation service delivery in Latin America and the Caribbean. Funded by the Inter-American Development Bank. 2015-2016.

René is s senior programme manager and joined IRC in 2003. He is a WASH generalist with a technical background in sanitary engineering and 35 years of experience, which ranges from developing urban infrastructure to participatory appraisals with community members; from carrying out action research to supporting knowledge management and networks for national sectors in developing countries.

René has been managing several large programmes. The country sector implementation programmes in Cambodia and India have provided René with extensive experience on the ground and an understanding of the sector realities. The long-term capacity building programmes for Resource Centre Networks and building capacities for advocacy of Civil Society Organisations have provided René with extensive experience in the area of organisational and institutional development. For two years René has been coordinating internal IRC planning, monitoring and learning processes and the development of IRC’s framework for monitoring WASH system change linked to IRC’s strategy 2017-2030.

In his programme work René’s strength is to apply IRC’s concepts on the ground. He focuses on developing methods and tools together with in-country programme partners. These tools support governments and civil society organisations in carrying out complex tasks of analysing sector challenges and developing solution strategies. Recently René has developed with the Wash Alliance International partners the Sustainability Monitoring Framework and Index, which is a tool to assess the sustainability of WASH services in a geographic area and supports decision-making by focusing and prioritising interventions. Another typical strength of René is his broad understanding and experience with almost all aspects of the WASH sector, which he applies often in consultancy services. A recent example is being the team leader of the support to the World Bank for developing a new country WASH programme in Lao People's Democratic Republic.

René is a native Dutch speaker and is fluent in English. He has a working knowledge of Spanish.

René is s senior programme manager and joined IRC in 2003. He is a WASH generalist with a technical background in sanitary engineering and 35 years of experience, which ranges from developing urban infrastructure to participatory appraisals with community members; from carrying out action research to supporting knowledge management and networks for national sectors in developing countries.

René has been managing several large programmes. The country sector implementation programmes in Cambodia and India have provided René with extensive experience on the ground and an understanding of the sector realities. The long-term capacity building programmes for Resource Centre Networks and building capacities for advocacy of Civil Society Organisations have provided René with extensive experience in the area of organisational and institutional development. For two years René has been coordinating internal IRC planning, monitoring and learning processes and the development of IRC’s framework for monitoring WASH system change linked to IRC’s strategy 2017-2030.

In his programme work René’s strength is to apply IRC’s concepts on the ground. He focuses on developing methods and tools together with in-country programme partners. These tools support governments and civil society organisations in carrying out complex tasks of analysing sector challenges and developing solution strategies. Recently René has developed with the Wash Alliance International partners the Sustainability Monitoring Framework and Index, which is a tool to assess the sustainability of WASH services in a geographic area and supports decision-making by focusing and prioritising interventions. Another typical strength of René is his broad understanding and experience with almost all aspects of the WASH sector, which he applies often in consultancy services. A recent example is being the team leader of the support to the World Bank for developing a new country WASH programme in Lao People's Democratic Republic.

René is a native Dutch speaker and is fluent in English. He has a working knowledge of Spanish.

Adding value to in-country efforts brings me the biggest satisfaction

René van Lieshout

Erick Baetings holds a master’s degree (MSc) in Water and Environmental Management for Developing Countries from the University of Technology, Loughborough, England. He has worked for more than 30 years in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector and gained extensive working and living experience in Nepal and Bhutan (14 years), Zambia (four years) and Lao People's Democratic Republic (four years). Since his return to the Netherlands he has travelled regularly for short assignments to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal and Vietnam in Asia, and Ethiopia in Africa.

Erick is a sanitation expert with rural and urban experience in developing result monitoring frameworks, facilitating sector learning, developing rapid assessment tools and applying these for sanitation related research (e.g. supply and demand studies and urban faecal waste flow assessments). He is currently working on a new results framework for the Global Sanitation Fund and developing an action research framework for the USAID Transform WASH programme in Ethiopia. His work to further develop the faecal waste flow calculator to assess and map urban faecal waste flows and associated practices is continuing.

Erick Baetings holds a master’s degree (MSc) in Water and Environmental Management for Developing Countries from the University of Technology, Loughborough, England. He has worked for more than 30 years in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector and gained extensive working and living experience in Nepal and Bhutan (14 years), Zambia (four years) and Lao People's Democratic Republic (four years). Since his return to the Netherlands he has travelled regularly for short assignments to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal and Vietnam in Asia, and Ethiopia in Africa.

Erick is a sanitation expert with rural and urban experience in developing result monitoring frameworks, facilitating sector learning, developing rapid assessment tools and applying these for sanitation related research (e.g. supply and demand studies and urban faecal waste flow assessments). He is currently working on a new results framework for the Global Sanitation Fund and developing an action research framework for the USAID Transform WASH programme in Ethiopia. His work to further develop the faecal waste flow calculator to assess and map urban faecal waste flows and associated practices is continuing.

My focus is on developing rapid assessment tools and delivery mechanisms that can be replicated and scaled up under local government leadership

Erick Baetings

Catarina Fonseca is trained as an economist and has a doctoral degree in water sciences from Cranfield University. She has 20 years of experience in development cooperation and non-profits of which 17 have been in the water and sanitation sector.

For five years, Catarinawas the director of the WASHCost project, an initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which has worked with countries to identify the long-term costs of sustaining rural and peri-urban water and sanitation services reliably for generations. Currently she is the programme director of Watershed empowering citizens, a strategic partnership between the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the NGOs Simavi, Wetlands International, Akvo and IRC that will assess, develop and implement a suite of tools and approaches for building civil society organisations capacity for evidence-based lobbying and advocacy. Next to this Catarina is heading IRC's international and innovation programme.

In her programme work she focusses on the development and implementation of action-research programmes with a focus on the sustainability of WASH services. In her advisory work her strength is in financial data analysis and governance processes: financing the sector, value for money assessments, costing studies, poverty analysis and service level monitoring for water, sanitation and hygiene. Carrying out institutional and financial assessments at international, national and local level for delivering WASH services is at the core of her work. Catarina works for a range of clients from governments, to multilateral and bilateral agencies, foundations, development banks and other international organisations.

Catarina is a native Portuguese speaker and is fluent in English. She has a working knowledge of French and Spanish.

Catarina Fonseca is trained as an economist and has a doctoral degree in water sciences from Cranfield University. She has 20 years of experience in development cooperation and non-profits of which 17 have been in the water and sanitation sector.

For five years, Catarinawas the director of the WASHCost project, an initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which has worked with countries to identify the long-term costs of sustaining rural and peri-urban water and sanitation services reliably for generations. Currently she is the programme director of Watershed empowering citizens, a strategic partnership between the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the NGOs Simavi, Wetlands International, Akvo and IRC that will assess, develop and implement a suite of tools and approaches for building civil society organisations capacity for evidence-based lobbying and advocacy. Next to this Catarina is heading IRC's international and innovation programme.

In her programme work she focusses on the development and implementation of action-research programmes with a focus on the sustainability of WASH services. In her advisory work her strength is in financial data analysis and governance processes: financing the sector, value for money assessments, costing studies, poverty analysis and service level monitoring for water, sanitation and hygiene. Carrying out institutional and financial assessments at international, national and local level for delivering WASH services is at the core of her work. Catarina works for a range of clients from governments, to multilateral and bilateral agencies, foundations, development banks and other international organisations.

Catarina is a native Portuguese speaker and is fluent in English. She has a working knowledge of French and Spanish.

I have a passion for evidence and data in support of good governance but I agree that it's also a tough call

Catarina Fonseca

Angela is an interdisciplinary WASH specialist who holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Chemistry and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering. She takes an action-research approach to her work and in collaboration with IRC is undertaking PhD research to better understand WASH systems strength and measure the impact of systems-change initiatives over time. Angela is focused on the monitoring and sanitation profiles at IRC, where she aims to bring holistic thinking to a practicable level when working with local partners in resource-limited environments.

Angela has a quantitative and qualitative research background including water quality analysis, participatory methods and focus group facilitation. She is experienced in the evaluation of small and medium sized drinking water systems in addition to sanitation assessments, including faecal waste mapping and the integration of essential social, cultural, and financial components impacting sustainability.

Angela is a dynamic communicator with experience of facilitating both community workshops and national government stakeholder forums in Africa and internationally. She has a natural ability to adapt language and content to her audience in order to promote collective capacity building, and is an organised group coordinator who motivates timely implementation and delivery even when working in diverse contexts. She speaks English, French and Spanish.

Angela has current activities in East and West Africa. She is working with UNICEF on the DGIS WCARO supported programme to strengthen country-led monitoring systems in west and central Africa. Angela is leading the Agenda for Change Working Group on Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning and is also working closely on the research and learning component of a USAID funded Sustainable WASH Systems action-research programme focused in Ethiopia and Uganda. She provides support to the IRC Burkina Office on sanitation and has completed working with IRC Consult on the Qualitative Participatory Assessment project with the World Bank in Tanzania.

Angela is an interdisciplinary WASH specialist who holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Chemistry and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering. She takes an action-research approach to her work and in collaboration with IRC is undertaking PhD research to better understand WASH systems strength and measure the impact of systems-change initiatives over time. Angela is focused on the monitoring and sanitation profiles at IRC, where she aims to bring holistic thinking to a practicable level when working with local partners in resource-limited environments.

Angela has a quantitative and qualitative research background including water quality analysis, participatory methods and focus group facilitation. She is experienced in the evaluation of small and medium sized drinking water systems in addition to sanitation assessments, including faecal waste mapping and the integration of essential social, cultural, and financial components impacting sustainability.

Angela is a dynamic communicator with experience of facilitating both community workshops and national government stakeholder forums in Africa and internationally. She has a natural ability to adapt language and content to her audience in order to promote collective capacity building, and is an organised group coordinator who motivates timely implementation and delivery even when working in diverse contexts. She speaks English, French and Spanish.

Angela has current activities in East and West Africa. She is working with UNICEF on the DGIS WCARO supported programme to strengthen country-led monitoring systems in west and central Africa. Angela is leading the Agenda for Change Working Group on Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning and is also working closely on the research and learning component of a USAID funded Sustainable WASH Systems action-research programme focused in Ethiopia and Uganda. She provides support to the IRC Burkina Office on sanitation and has completed working with IRC Consult on the Qualitative Participatory Assessment project with the World Bank in Tanzania.

Collaborative and iterative learning are essential to understanding the complex systems we exist in. This permits us to mindfully initiate positive change towards a better future.

Angela Huston