Water Operator Partnerships: What are they?
Experienced water operators, donors, financiers and water authorities are challenged to assist the thousands of public water operators that are in urgent need of improving their services. Partnerships between operators present a way to improve and extend basic water and sanitation services to all consumers.
A WOP is defined as any form of simple or structured partnership aimed at capacity building on a not-for-profit basis. Partnerships can take a multitude of different forms and have various technical, legal and social dimensions depending on individual circumstances.
Identified by the United Nations Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB) as a critical step for improving access to water for the world’s poorest, the WOPs initiative is led by the Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance– an international network of concerned
partners hosted by UN-HABITAT.
All relevant stakeholders are invited to participate in WOPs using the information presented in this review: which includes experience related to characteristics of successful WOPs, financing models, and a WOPs classification illustrated with specific examples. There are several fundamental advantages behind operator partnerships as an approach:
1. WOPs are the right fit
2. WOPs give value for money
3. WOPs provide inspirational support
4. WOPs focus on public utilities and are propoor
5. WOPs offer anchoring capacity
6. WOPs help catalyse reform
A WOP can typically start with a simple collaboration where the partners learn about each other and find common ground for continued joint activities. Such collaboration can over time develop into a full fledged partnership between two or more focused and engaged partners. At the regional level, professional water associations and development banks are
working with specific WOPs programmes.
These programmes, and their supporting networks, are highlighted; ongoing WOPs are listed region by region, contact details for local WOPs secretariats, programme coordinators and financiers is provided.
This review further systematically collects and analyzes experience on existing operator’s partnerships, providing advice on best practices, partnering preconditions and financing models. Compared to the huge investments in the water and sanitation sector, WOPs are relatively cheap, while they may substantially extend the service life of infrastructure and increase efficiency of water operators. Executive summary
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