Osmo Seppälä collaborated with UNRISD for the project Commercialization, Privatization and Universal Access to Water (2003-2004), for which he wrote a draft paper Water Services in Finland: Competition for Non-Core Operations - Not for Monopolies.
Seppälä has over 20 years of professional experience in the sector, including 8 years of experience from water and sanitation projects in East Africa. He has also concentrated on matters related to institutional development and capacity building, policy and management, and the management and supervision of project implementation activities. Seppälä gained his doctoral degree (D.Tech. Civ.Eng.) from Tampere University of Technology, Finland. His doctoral dissertation focused on visionary and strategic management of water utilities and institutional reform in the water and sanitation sector, especially in developing countries.