Performance evaluation of water supply service providers: a review with a focus on Brazil

This study aimed to analyze recent scientific literature concerning performance evaluation in the water supply sector, focusing on Brazil, and investigate factors that could influence its performance. For this purpose, we conducted a systematic literature review, following a series of steps to identify approaches, methodologies, and contexts into which the studies were developed. The search revealed that the studies focused on different management models and market structure issues. In addition, they also showed that the performance of service providers can be influenced by political and socioeconomic context and geographic aspects. A gap was identified concerning the qualitative studies since most used econometric methods mainly aimed at technical and financial efficiency. Also, social and service user perspectives received limited academic attention. To face the challenges in water provision in Brazil, tools, such as those related to performance evaluation, are essential for sufficient system management and can guide decision-makers and service providers.