The Desk Study on Professionalizing Rural Water highlights the evolving approaches in managing rural water services, emphasizing trends and challenges faced in low- and middle-income countries. The study underscores the importance of transitioning from community-based management to more professionalized models, such as umbrella utilities and commercial utility mandates. It identifies gaps in knowledge regarding the performance of different management models and the external factors influencing their effectiveness. The report suggests that consolidation strategies may offer benefits but require significant public investments and sector reforms to realize improved services at lower costs.