Supporting the Enabling Environment for Public Sector Uptake of Water and Sanitation Innovations

This report examines why innovative water and sanitation solutions in South Africa struggle to be adopted at scale, despite public institutions showing increasing interest in new technologies. Commissioned by the Water Research Commission (WRC) in 2022, the study investigated how the public procurement framework affects innovation uptake through desktop reviews, surveys, interviews and workshops with stakeholders, including National Treasury. The findings show that while the procurement framework itself is enabling and constitutionally grounded in fairness, competition and value-for-money, innovation is not actively incentivised, and challenges mainly arise from how procurement processes are applied, particularly the lack of focus on early planning and demand management. The report highlights common misconceptions about procurement rules, recommends the use of National Treasury’s Strategic Sourcing and multi-stage bidding processes to support innovation, and encourages water sector institutions to adopt innovation policies, strengthen organisational capacity, and consider incorporating innovation incentives into programmes like Blue Drop and Green Drop.

Abstract based on original source.