Water Supply Performance Assessment: A Framework for Evaluating Urban Service Delivery Efficiency

Abstract

Cities face a continuous challenge of providing the required infrastructure and services to their growing population. The challenge lays both in the provision of services and maintaining quality and efficiency of the services. There already exist various indicators and methodologies that measure performance, efficiency, and quality of different services in the urban environment. Despite this, a composite indicator that measures the efficiency of urban service delivery from the provider-level, as well as consumer-level, is still missing. This study aims at formulating a framework to assess the efficiency of one such urban service being delivered to the citizens by evaluating both quantitative and qualitative aspects (supply, effectiveness, reliability and consumer satisfaction) using a multi-dimensional approach. The research involves identifying variables for formulating indicators, creating a framework for assessing the service delivery performance and subsequently demonstrating its application to evaluate the efficiency of water supply system in the city of Kochi in Kerala (India) as a pilot study. This led to computation of an overall performance score of 68.75 on a scale of 100. The framework is customisable and can also be employed as a tool for evaluating the performance of other urban services as well. Additionally, this framework shall also prove helpful in identification of the shortcomings in any urban service delivery mechanism, and can thus act as a planning tool for the concerned services provider.