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Knowledge and capacity development (KCD) is increasingly acknowledged as critical for water supply development. Since KCD aims to improve institutional performance, it is often measured using technical performance targets. This paper cautions about the misleading nature of this measurement. The authors argue that technical performance improvement should be separated from competence development because the latter does not always directly translate into the former in a short time period. Drawing on empirical evidence about the management contract between Aqua Vitens Rand Limited and Ghana Water Company Limited, the paper demonstrates how the process of integrating and using competences is a necessary condition before KCD interventions can result in performance improvement. As this process often takes time, KCD providers and beneficiaries should set realistic performance targets. Not doing so creates unrealistic expectations and often leads to underestimation of the actual impact. This paper finds that knowledge management concepts common in the private sector are equally applicable in the public sector but that the latter may be constrained by short term goals and lack of insight in management processes. It is concluded that technical performance-based assessments should be complemented by capacity-based assessments in order to show fairly the contribution of KCD interventions.

Perceived positive impacts of frugal innovation for sustainable global development have triggered a variety of programmes to foster such innovation. To increase the impact of these programmes, it is important to understand how they function. In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework for the analysis of interventions that foster frugal innovations through incubation. Drawing on relevant theories and concepts in the field of innovation and related literature, the framework is based on two major categories of factors influencing the nature and outcome of frugal innovation incubation. The first category relates to the incubation process, the second to the innovation environment. The proposed framework is applied to the case study of VIA Water, a Dutch programme to foster water innovation in African cities. The framework and the case study presented in this paper demonstrate the complexity of a frugal innovation incubation process and thus the need to take a holistic approach when designing and/or analysing related interventions. We conclude that frugal innovation incubation programmes should consider that the innovation capabilities of potential frugal innovators tend to be weaker in developing than in developed countries. Therefore, incubation programmes should devise strategies that present frugal innovators possessing local knowledge and creative ideas with a realistic chance of competing.

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