In basic terms, water operators all manage the same processes, with degrees of complexity under varying working environments. Effective management requires human resources with the right skills and incentives to push for improvement. To sustain the benefits of demand driven capacity building programmes, these must be tailored to the operator’s specific needs. The gradual development of a partnership under the WOPs umbrella allows for step-by-step extension of capacity and may eventually lead to a total overhaul of the recipient operator’s organization and operations.

Additionally, staffs need a suitable enabling environment and the right incentive structure to apply what they have learned. Only by applying sound human resource management can the operators expect to benefit fully from the resources invested in capacity building.

WOPs are not-for-profit partnerships

A WOP is based on mutual support and all activities involved by the partnership, whatever form it takes, should be carried out on a not-for-profit basis. However, the activities associated with WOPs will incur costs for both parties. The parties have to identify these costs and agree on their respective allocation. They should decide together either to bear these costs themselves, or to appeal for external support, or both.

The respective contributions can be in cash orin-kind, as partners are expected to contribute their skills, expertise and time; however, the nature of the contribution will depend on a range of factors including different models applied by the various financiers. Some financiers are only funding travel and accommodation costs while the time input by both mentor and recipient is provided by the operators themselves.

Though the majority of water operators (controlled by governments) are publicly owned and operated, all operators with knowledge to share, including private operators, are encouraged to be engaged in WOPs.

The main driver for water operators to share their experience and knowledge is to challenge their professional experts, to build their corporate image, or to create incentives for their human resources strategies. Others enter WOPs arrangements as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility policy.

Furthermore, in South-South exchanges some operators that have benefited from partnerships in the past feel committed to share their newly gained know-how and skills with other operators in an act of solidarity; thus giving rise to a cascading effect. It should also be noted that customers in some European countries are willing to pay a few per cent extra for their water services to support WOPs in other countries

The coexistence of diverse approaches opens up to a broader spectrum of alternatives, with more actors involved in pushing for performance improvements. This is likely to speed up the overall performance improvements and fulfillment of the MDGs.

Pre-conditions for successful WOPs

Based on experience from the implementation of a variety of WOPs there are several basic requirements to be met to achieve success. These include:

1. A demand driven approach – the recipient operator has to clearly express demand for a WOP and spell out their need for a partnership.

2. A willing and enabling environment –Frequently a partnership will give rise to suggestions for change, either in the operational process or in the governance model used (e.g. trying to create more autonomy for water operators). If there is no mandate for implementing change, this will frustrate operators engaged in the partnership.

3. Formulate and agree on clearly defined and specified targets to guide the partnership and to keep it on track

4. Incorporate flexibility in order to adjust partnership activities to the needs and demands of the recipient operator

5. Agree to open communications, a common language, and transparent financial systems as base conditions for a trustworthy partnership relationship

Before stepping into a comprehensive partnership, an initial period of up to 12months, where operators get to know each other better and assess the conditions for a longer lasting commitment to each other, might be useful.

Strengthening capacity without taking over

One of the distinctive characteristics of WOPs compared to some other forms of external support is that the mentor does not take over the ‘driver’s seat’ of the recipient operator. No (temporary) management is installed; rather the mentor assumes a coaching role, assisting the recipient. The main objective of this approach is to strengthen the capacity of existing local human resources to such an extent as to improve the overall performance of the water operator.

It is important to remark that strengthening the capacity of human resources, generating behavioral changes and sustainable achievements within an organization requires time. Therefore, achieving performance improvements in WOPs might take longer than in other partnership approaches where the management is delegated to another party. However, WOPs added value relies in enabling the operator itself to sustain improvements over the long term; ensuring interventions introduced are better institutionalized within the operator.

Funding of WOPs

The sources of WOPs funding are diverse: international financial institutions, governmental development agencies, mentoring operators, recipient operators, donations from civil society and others. Given the diversity of partnership arrangements, it is difficult to specify the budget that a typical WOP requires. However, rough estimates indicate that simple partnership projects could cost from 5,000 to 50,000 Euros per year, while a comprehensive and structured partnership could cost tenfold more.

The source of funding and related payment methods may affect the performance of the

partnerships and consequently may have an impact on the improvements of targeted performance indicators. Commonly, a mentoring operator can be fully or partially compensated for his efforts on a not-for-profit basis, while a recipient operator may be encouraged by an externally financed bonus in case of full compliance with the targeted performance indicators at the end of the partnership. A recipient operator should also, if possible, commit itself to the partnership by covering part of the costs of the supporting services, in order to internalize the project and increase accountability.

Different schemes of financial flows between water operators involved in partnerships have been observed. There are of course many variations underlying the following five examples shown overleaf.

In any given appropriate context, funding may come directly from donors and financial institutions to the recipient operator only, allowing for the coverage of costs for the mentoring operator’s support. This approach would strengthen the role of the recipient operator who would also then be more accountable to the funding institutions.

Diversity of WOPs

Knowledge sharing and professional support can take a multitude forms depending on individual circumstances. As applicable laws and norms are different from country to country it is impossible to give one general and detailed definition of a partnership.

Many of the twinning arrangements in the field of water and sanitation have involved one operator supporting another in capacity building on specific technical or managerial issues. Those arrangements are suitable incases where the water operator’s major objective is to improve in a specific field. There are other cases where the ambition for change is wider, requiring more comprehensive supporting terms of scope and duration.

Therefore, a WOP could take a simple approach with a specific focus and end there, or start with that as a first step and thereafter gradually increase the scope of the support depending on the identified needs, quality of the relationship built and the achievements. It is important to make the distinction between the different types of WOPs that currently existing practice, given that the suitability of each one differs depending on the circumstances. In some cases the relationship may become of commercial nature. However, any form of partnership between water operators that are based on the principles of profit cannot be called a partnership under the WOPs umbrella.

Simple and structured partnerships

As it is impossible to describe all forms of partnerships in this review, the various types of WOPs have been classified in a manner that makes it easy to understand the purpose and scope of each partnership type. In turn, this helps to identify good practice and the production of supporting material and advice.

The classification outlined in this document

Includes:

• Simple partnerships taking place during an introductory or courtship phase (up to one year). This form of informal and formal partnerships is a typical WOPs feature where a gradual development of a relationship can take place and eventually lead to longer lasting partnerships, as below.

• Structured partnerships taking place during an implementation phase (up to three to four years), corresponding to specific or comprehensive partnerships(often called twinning arrangements).Under this classification we have further included special purpose partnerships, where several operators work together for e.g. environmental or operational reasons

The tables below, summarizing the main classifications and characteristics, should not be seen as a constraint when developing
partnerships. Some partners may need the introductory phase; some may start with a structured partnership directly. This
classification helps to provide support to operators when searching for information and help on partnerships types.

Table 1: Characteristics of simple partnerships during the introductory phase (up to one year):

Table 2: Characteristics of structured partnerships in the implementation phase (up to 3-4 years):

Related Articles

Water Operator Partnerships: What are they?

Water Operator Partnerships: Why Use Partnership approaches for the Capacity Building of Public Water Operators?

Water Operator Partnerships: The Way Forward

Water Operator Partnerships: Worldwide

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