Performance benchmarking in the irrigation and drainage sector. Experiences to date and conclusions

It is approximately five years since the launch of an initiative to promote the use of performance benchmarking as a management tool aimed at improving the level of service provision delivered by irrigation agencies, particularly in the developing world. This report presents the findings of a research study that began in December 2002 with the aim of supporting that initiative and documenting the constraints and opportunities for performance benchmarking as a means of improving performance in the sector. The study was funded by the British government’s Department for International Development under research contract R8164 of the Knowledge and Research programme. Direct, collaborative, field evaluation of the benchmarking process was carried out with the National Centre for Irrigation and Drainage Development in China and with the Mexican Institute of Water Technology in Mexico. The scope of the project was broadened through field visits to Maharashtra and Sri Lanka and correspondence with actors involved in the benchmarking programme in Australia. The project has also taken account of information presented at workshops hosted by the World Bank in Washington in May 2002 and March 2003 and at meetings of the ICID Task Force on performance benchmarking in Montpellier in September 2003 and in Moscow in September 2004