Over the past year, researchers from the Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU), part of the Centre for Political Economy, Governance, Finance and Accountability (PEGFA), at the University of Greenwich, have played a significant role in national and international debates on sustainable water reform. Led by Dr Emanuele Lobina, Associate Professor in Water Service Reform, PSIRU’s work on the water sector continues to inform policymakers, trade unions, civil society organisations and public service providers across the globe.
PSIRU specialises in examining how public services, including water, energy, waste management, health and social care, are organised and financed. With growing public concern about the sustainability and performance of water systems, the team’s research has been in high demand.
In December 2024, Dr Lobina and PSIRU’s Professor David Hall presented Clean Water: A case for public ownership at the UK Parliament. Commissioned by UNISON , the report explores the impacts of water privatisation in England and Wales. Hosted by MP Clive Lewis, the event supported his Private Members’ Bill: Overhauling the failing water system, which draws directly on PSIRU’s findings. Their work has since gained further recognition: it is cited 10 times in the June 2025 report of the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Select Committee and referenced twice by journalist George Monbiot in The Guardian in July 2025.
International impact
In March 2025, Dr Lobina presented a draft report on the Global Commission on the Economics of Water at the Spanish Parliament. Coauthored with PSIRU Research Assistant and PhD student Conor Gray, the work was commissioned by Public Services International and the Spanish network of public water operators. During this visit, Dr Lobina spoke alongside UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation, Professor Pedro Arrojo Agudo, and was later interviewed by Público.
Days later, PSIRU Director Dr Vera Weghmann delivered a keynote address in Brussels on the EU Water Resilience Strategy, at an event organised by AK Wien and the European Federation of Public Service Unions. Separately, Dr Lobina presented the opening summary of the People’s Commission on the Water Sector’s first event, which focused on international water systems. At the same event, Dr Weghmann gave a talk on water remunicipalisation – the process of returning water services to public ownership – in Germany. Professor Hall was subsequently invited to contribute to the Commission’s fourth event, Securing Public Value, in June 2025.
In April 2025, Dr Lobina delivered a guest lecture for the University College London Development Planning Unit, sharing international lessons on water justice and transformative remunicipalisation with participants from Bahia state’s water utility company in Brazil.
PSIRU’s research is also reflected in major national reviews. In July 2025, the Independent Commission on Water published the Cunliffe Review, recommending reforms to improve regulation of water services in England and Wales. The report cites a 2021 PSIRU study by Dr Lobina and Dr Weghmann, commissioned by the City of Barcelona and Aqua Publica Europea.
Engagement continued throughout the autumn of 2025. In October, Dr Lobina spoke at UNHABITAT’s Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance Congress in Bonn, contributing to a panel on strengthening water utilities through worker participation. Most recently, in December 2025, he presented an overview of alternative approaches to water provision at a high-level meeting in Lagos, Nigeria, attended by local civil society groups, the Lagos State House of Assembly and the Lagos Water Corporation.
Reflecting on PSIRU’s extensive engagement, Dr Lobina emphasises the global relevance of their work:
“Water supply and sanitation are essential public services, and PSIRU has a longstanding tradition of analysing empirical evidence on the role of public and private ownership in sustainable water development. These issues matter to communities in both the Global North and South, and that’s why national and international stakeholders are interested in PSIRU’s research.”
This sustained programme of engagement demonstrates the University of Greenwich’s commitment to research and knowledge exchange that leads to meaningful, real-world change. By informing public debate, supporting evidence-based policy-making and working directly with communities and service providers around the world, PSIRU’s work exemplifies how Greenwich researchers are helping to address some of today’s most pressing global challenges.
