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The irrigation sector of development co-operation experiences considerable difficulty in delivering its services to water users on an efficient, sustainable and ecologically-sound basis. Investments have often failed to "pay off" as expected, and many newly constructed irrigation systems are under-utilized. In the first chapters, the background to the problem, definitions of the term "service", and the special features of non-commercial services are examined. Service analysis in complex organizational structures, and methods and instruments to identify and analyse the many and various services and service relationships are described. The analysis of governance modes for service provision is given in detail, and a form of analysis is presented focusing on the rules, procedures and common practices that help organize service provision between the participants or partners; the issue of how the many different individual services in a complex service network can be controlled is addressed, to achieve a specific objective, where this control cannot be left to either the market or a single responsible management. In the final chapters methods are presented to identify constellations of power and interests in service networks, a conceptual approach to the organizational analysis of services, and conclusions for future service orientation in development aid. Several case studies (mostly from Bolivia) are included.