From Operator Performance to Systemic Performance of Water Services: A Conceptual Framework for African Contexts

This article proposes a conceptual framework for the systemic performance of water services as an alternative to approaches focused exclusively on the operator. Based on a critical review of the literature on public service governance, public-private partnerships, and utility performance, it argues that outcomes in water services must be analyzed as the product of an institutional co-production between three interdependent functions: service operation, asset management, and strategic sector oversight. The paper develops a multidimensional model structured around six performance dimensions, grouped into three core pillars, integrating feedback loops between the institutional, organizational, and operational levels. Furthermore, it introduces four systemic indicators IAPE (Asset-Operation Alignment Index), IGC (Contractual Governability Index), ICTS (Territorial Service Coherence Indicator), and ISPS (Synthetic Systemic Performance Index) as operational tools for this approach. The case of Senegal is used as an illustrative example to demonstrate the heuristic value of the framework in African contexts, which are characterized by stakeholder plurality, territorial fragmentation, and a growing dissociation between operation, assets, and regulation. Thus, the article contributes to the scientific debate by offering a more integrated reading of water service performance and opening perspectives for future comparative empirical research.