The practice of integrated asset management in Ugandan small towns
Integrated asset management (IAM) has been promoted by international agencies and academics as a promising approach for water utilities in developing countries. These IAM frameworks present logical and linear approaches to managing a utility's infrastructure. In this article, we contrast these...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IWA Publishing
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Water Policy |
| Online Access: | http://wpol.iwaponline.com/content/25/3/237 |
| _version_ | 1797850629583929344 |
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| author | Bruno Emmanuel Musiimenta Mireia Tutusaus Klaas Schwartz |
| author_facet | Bruno Emmanuel Musiimenta Mireia Tutusaus Klaas Schwartz |
| author_sort | Bruno Emmanuel Musiimenta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Integrated asset management (IAM) has been promoted by international agencies and academics as a promising approach for water utilities in developing countries. These IAM frameworks present logical and linear approaches to managing a utility's infrastructure. In this article, we contrast these frameworks with the everyday practice of asset management in seven small towns in rural Uganda. In rural areas of Uganda, utility managers operating and managing assets need to maneuver between political demands, demands from the Head Office, inadequate resources, and limited capacity. As a result, the practice of asset management necessarily deviates considerably from the logical steps identified in many IAM frameworks. Without diminishing the relevance of the more conceptual IAM frameworks, the article suggests that for IAM to become more impactful for practitioners in rural areas and small towns in developing countries, these contextual factors need to be taken into account.
HIGHLIGHTS
Practices of asset management in resource-constrained contexts are more complex than infrastructure asset management frameworks often suggest.;
The prioritization of extending service coverage to achieve SDGs may come at the cost of sustainably managing infrastructure assets.;
Asset stripping, in which existing assets are stripped to repair infrastructure failures, is a common practice in resource-constrained contexts.; |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:04:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2e9bbfb671e740558a97c00231862933 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1366-7017 1996-9759 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:04:29Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | IWA Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water Policy |
| spelling | doaj.art-2e9bbfb671e740558a97c002318629332023-04-07T14:25:02ZengIWA PublishingWater Policy1366-70171996-97592023-03-0125323725210.2166/wp.2023.213213The practice of integrated asset management in Ugandan small townsBruno Emmanuel Musiimenta0Mireia Tutusaus1Klaas Schwartz2 National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Kampala, Uganda VEI Dutch Water Operators, Utrecht and IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Delft, Netherlands IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Delft and Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands Integrated asset management (IAM) has been promoted by international agencies and academics as a promising approach for water utilities in developing countries. These IAM frameworks present logical and linear approaches to managing a utility's infrastructure. In this article, we contrast these frameworks with the everyday practice of asset management in seven small towns in rural Uganda. In rural areas of Uganda, utility managers operating and managing assets need to maneuver between political demands, demands from the Head Office, inadequate resources, and limited capacity. As a result, the practice of asset management necessarily deviates considerably from the logical steps identified in many IAM frameworks. Without diminishing the relevance of the more conceptual IAM frameworks, the article suggests that for IAM to become more impactful for practitioners in rural areas and small towns in developing countries, these contextual factors need to be taken into account. HIGHLIGHTS Practices of asset management in resource-constrained contexts are more complex than infrastructure asset management frameworks often suggest.; The prioritization of extending service coverage to achieve SDGs may come at the cost of sustainably managing infrastructure assets.; Asset stripping, in which existing assets are stripped to repair infrastructure failures, is a common practice in resource-constrained contexts.;http://wpol.iwaponline.com/content/25/3/237 |
| spellingShingle | Bruno Emmanuel Musiimenta Mireia Tutusaus Klaas Schwartz The practice of integrated asset management in Ugandan small towns Water Policy |
| title | The practice of integrated asset management in Ugandan small towns |
| title_full | The practice of integrated asset management in Ugandan small towns |
| title_fullStr | The practice of integrated asset management in Ugandan small towns |
| title_full_unstemmed | The practice of integrated asset management in Ugandan small towns |
| title_short | The practice of integrated asset management in Ugandan small towns |
| title_sort | practice of integrated asset management in ugandan small towns |
| url | http://wpol.iwaponline.com/content/25/3/237 |
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