What others say about ROCKBlue

ROCKBlue works with local partners in urban areas of 5 sub-Saharan African countries — impacting more than 5 million lives with clean water and basic sanitation, while helping to create healthy, sustainable cities in these developing nations.

From our Partner Utilities

“The Performance Achievement Workshop Series (PAWS) is an opportunity to interact with other utilities and share experience - giving utilities the opportunity to develop strategic partnerships.”

“The ROCKBlue Women’s Urban Leadership in Utility WASH initiative (WULUW) is a great opportunity to deal with gender issues which most of our utilities suffer from - especially lack of female leadership. This initiative is of great importance to us.”

“The ROCKBlue Utility Benchmarking Initiative is essential as it gives a true picture of where we are so that we can accurately measure progress and implementation of improvement initiatives.” - Water and Sewage Company (WASCO) Maseru, Lesotho

“We were and are grateful for the opportunity that you offered us, to learn from the best - who are very keen to see us improve not for the better but best. It was a good experience and we hope what we learnt will go a long way in helping the communities we serve. Once more I would like to thank you on behalf of the Mutare team for all the efforts you made. It was a memorable experience and we promise that all your efforts won’t go in vain; we shall do our best and work closely so that we achieve the best”. - Municipality of Mutare, Zimbabwe

“ROCKBlue’s Knowledge Management Initiative has enhanced the City’s appreciation of the water supply situation and the shortcomings thereof, as well as how to improve the service. This is through the practical water saving tips as well as the newsletter for information dissemination.” - Municipality of Masvingo, Zimbabwe

“ROCKBlue’s utility performance achievement workshop series (PAWS) has opened our eyes to the experiences of colleague water utilities in the Region and the sharing of possible solutions.” - Municipality of Masvingo, Zimbabwe

From Professionals in our Sector

“Water is life, and as countries urbanize at a rapid pace, ensuring the delivery, quality, affordability and sustainability of water to the population is increasingly a matter of survival. At the forefront of this effort are numerous local and regional water utilities but the performance of these utilities face many impediments to success.

These agencies need real-time, practical and customized solutions, not broad exhortations. The solution-focused partnership model pioneered by ROCKBlue represents a true departure from business as usual.

Having watched Peter Macy carefully conceive, articulate and then operationalize this model over a period of years, I am highly confident that Peter and his team will make a real difference by supporting and strengthening agencies and practitioners in the frontline.

I am equally confident that they will carry on this work with utmost professionalism, commitment and humility. I look forward to ROCKBlue fulfilling its potential — at utilities around the world.” - Nazir Ahmad, Founder and President, GivingWorks

“I’ve worked in international development for over 50 years and have witnessed too many failed projects and approaches as well as successful ones. I was involved and been a staff member in the World-Bank, WHO and others and worked or coached in more than 60 countries in America (north and south), Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia.

Recently I was introduced to the unique ROCKBlue approach, such as the low-cost, long-term commitment to work with a utility’s senior management, and was highly impressed.

After watching hundreds of failed utilities, I am fully supportive of this approach which is long overdue; and I offer my strong endorsement of the ROCKBlue team and NGO at large. Wishing them the best of my support.” - Shaul Arlosoroff, formerly World Bank Global Program Manager for Water, Sanitation and Urban Management

“ROCKBlue recognises a critical gap in our understanding and support for utilities operating in the complex and often ‘messy’ reality of urban water service delivery. Experience has shown us over the last decades that there is no simple or any one single ‘silver bullet’ solution to the complexity of urban water provision.

Going beyond the conventional approaches of offering technical assistance over a short-term or prescribed time period linked to ‘project funding’, I understand that ROCKBlue is in it for the long-haul and plays the role of long-term supporter and facilitator often working in partnership with the utility leadership over many years to navigate the political economy of the sector. As such, ROCKBlue brings a new way or working and has a unique role to play in supporting utility management to find flexible solutions to some of the sector’s more intractable problems.” - Harold Lockwood, Director, Aguaconsult

“I have known and worked closely on projects with Peter Macy for almost 20 years. I am a specialist in institutional development with 38 years of experience and have long appreciated Peter’s deep understanding of the central role of institutional development in achieving sustainable solutions in the WASH sector. Peter is a visionary coupled with a keen sense of what is practical and feasible. If anyone can make ROCKBlue’s vision come to reality, it’s Peter. His long experience, understanding of the African context, his network of practitioners, and his drive are key elements in establishing ROCKBlue and ultimately leading to well-functioning utilities that can provide sustainable services to urban populations in Africa.” - Fred Rosensweig, Training Resources Group

“I have worked to strengthen publicly-owned utilities in low-income and low-middle income countries for over 25 years. I know first-hand the frustrations of trying to help to strengthen utilities without access to adequate resources and of seeing performance improvements atrophy, after project end, due to a lack of expertise. I have known Peter Macy, the founder of ROCKBlue, for at least ten years. Peter is an extremely capable and caring individual who is now solely focused on improving the provision of public water and sanitation services by public institutions in countries that do not have the expertise or resources to do it themselves. In my opinion, ROCKBlue, a non-profit with a talented, respected, widely-connected management team, fills two critical needs. The first is the need for low-cost and thus sustainable advisory assistance to utility management. The second is the need for a “connector”, someone to help match utilities that need help with international development organizations and private sector entities, with resources, that want to help to improve public water and sanitation services in lesser-developed countries.” - John Sitton, President, NPWSP.org

Partner with

ROCKBlue

ROCKBlue recognizes the importance of partners in building a future where everyone has access to clean water and basic sanitation, and we welcome NGOs, corporations and international financiers as collaborators.

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