The Global Water Operators’ Partnership Alliance:
Guiding Principles
I. Background
A key recommendation of the “Hashimoto Action Plan” announced by the United Nations Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB) was the establishment of a global mechanism to promote Water Operators Partnerships. The Hashimoto Action Plan includes the following principles for water operator partnerships:
“The operators who deliver water services need help. Publicly owned and managed water operators currently provide more than 90 percent of the world’s piped water, and even small managerial improvements could yield major benefits. The Board recommends a new mechanism – water operators’ partnerships. This would be a structured programme of cooperation among water operators, based on mutual support and a not-for-profit basis.
Cooperation between water operators, or Water Operators Partnerships (WOPs), can be a useful mechanism for providing support for capacity building of public water operators. Given the preponderance of public sector undertakings, it is envisaged that most operating partnerships will be between public operators. However, we do not exclude private sector operators, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), or those who can contribute to the performance of public water undertakings on a not-for-profit basis.”
II. The Concept
The Global WOPs Alliance (GWOPA) wants to facilitate and to promote the building of partnerships to improve the performance of public water and sanitation operators at the technical, institutional and social level, and improve the prospects of meeting the water and sanitation related MDGs. To achieve this, it requires an approach that ensures that it is owned and managed by public utility operators and implemented in a structured, integrated and consistent manner, to support and monitor the performance.
III. Guiding Principles for the Global WOPs Alliance
Complying with the Hashimoto Action Plan text and spirit, the GWOPA includes not-for-profit partnerships established between water operators. Activities under the umbrella of the GWOPA will be guided by the following Guiding Principles:
Inclusiveness: The Global WOPs Alliance shall be as inclusive as possible and reach out to all stakeholders in the water supply and sanitation sector including public and private water operators, non-governmental organizations and representatives of civil society, academia, and private sector players at the global, regional, and national levels.
Non-profit based partnerships: Funding of partnerships – under a broad spectrum of collaborative arrangements including “twinning” of utilities – should recover direct costs only without any profit of any sorts for any participating party. This principle should be followed whenever funding is secured through the Global WOPs Alliance.
Mutuality of benefit: Mutuality of benefit should always be promoted whenever possible in implementing “twinning” and other activities of exchange of experience and expertise among utilities. Such mutuality shall be used as an incentive, whenever possible, for utility cooperation on non-profit basis.
Learning from the Past and Others: The Global WOPs Alliance seeks to draw lessons and learn from past experiences to promote best practices for utility partnerships and capacity building.
Supporting WOPs Processes Worldwide: The Global WOPs Alliance shall not seek to recreate, but to reinforce, efforts worldwide to strengthen mutual exchange between water operators. In this sense, the Global WOPs Alliance supports all national, regional and global initiatives that champion WOPs activities and principles.
Fostering Sustainable Change: The Global WOPs Alliance shall support efforts to build lasting positive change within water utilities using mechanisms that are increasingly independent of external financial support.
Building a Culture of Solidarity: The Global WOPs Alliance shall embrace and promote a spirit of solidarity and mutual support between water operators and all sector actors working towards the goals of the Alliance.
English
Logo Contest
All are invited to our logo contest, which is organized for the purposes of disseminating the concept of Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance widely at the global level and raising awareness on the importance of Water Operators’ Partnerships.
Contest rules
The logo must incorporate the logotype “Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance.” The design should be four colors, and also produce a black/white version. It should be accompanied by a brief [60 words] description in English. It must be new and, can be submitted by a group or organization. UN staff are excluded.
1. How to enter
Entry should be made by e-mail to HYPERLINK "mailto:logo.wateroperators@unhabitat" logo.wateroperators@unhabitat and include: 1) Full Name, 2) Occupation, 3) E-mail Address, and 4)Telephone Number.
• Formats accepted: bmp, gif and jpeg Compressed file should be ZIP.
• The design image size should be 15cm*15 cm at a resolution of at least 72dpi.
• The size of the attached file should be less than 1.5MB.
• Fonts should be outlined.
2. Entry period
From August 25 to 31 December 2009 (Extended from 31 October 2009)
3. Announcement of the winner
World Urban Forum 5 on 22-26 March 2010 in Rio de Janeiro
4. Prize
US$ 3000
5. Selection process
20 works will be selected as preliminary finalists. The panel of judges comprising representatives from the Global Water Operators’
Partnerships
Alliance Steering Committee, designers and water experts will select 3
finalists, from which the Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance Steering Committee will make a final decision on the winner at its 3rd Steering Committee Meeting to be held on 21 March, 2010 in Rio de Janeiro.
Note
Copyright of the winning entry will belong to the Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance Secretariat
Entries submitted will not be returned.
The selected works might be reworked by professional designers to prepare it for use.
