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The International Network of Service Providers for Irrigation Excellence (INSPIRE) is a platform for knowledge exchange on service delivery among managers of irrigation and drainage (I&D) systems.

INSPIRE serves as a technical working body with a worldwide reach, supported by multiple development organizations, and initially incubated by the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID). INSPIRE meetings will present and discuss hands-on experiences, innovations, and best practices in improving the quality of I&D services. 

OBJECTIVES

Depending on demand from its members, INSPIRE meetings will present and discuss hands-on experience, innovations, and best practices in improving the quality of I&D services. This includes but is not limited to operational efficiency, managerial efficiency, finan­cial efficiency, and institutional reform.

While I&D will be the focus of INSPIRE, experience from other related sectors can be presented as well, particularly when relevant for achieving the forum’s objectives. For example, lessons will be shared from similar regional and global forums in other service sectors, such as regional utility associations and forums of water regulators.

As a new initiative, the initial focus of INSPIRE will be on setting a learning agenda and defining what should be the characteristics of a future Irrigation Manager, utilizing the following metrics:

• Operations and maintenance performance standards and resilience (including performance assessments, technical innovation in infrastructure and system operation, water and energy efficiency, rational scheduling, conjunctive use, and so forth);
• Service delivery attitude and inclusive customer orientation (including business planning, management information systems, human resources, billing and collection systems, and customer service and engagement strategies);
• Understanding of the budgetary systems to prioritize long-term investment, asset management, and institutional planning (including financial management and budgeting, management of revenues, expenditure reviews, asset management, and cost recovery mechanisms);
• Embracing of modernization and smart innovation in practical and coherent ways;
• Understanding of the context within which I&D systems operate and of the level of their integration within wider water and agricultural networks;
• Influencing the broader governance environment (such as separation of functions, advocacy of a sound legal and regulatory framework, and transparency standards).

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