Lessons from 17 Years of GWP

LESSONS FROM 17 YEARS OF GWP + Assessment of 2009-2013 GWP Strategy

Dr Ania GrobickiExecutive Secretary, GWP June 2014

Outcomes of GWP fundraising strategy 2009-2013Outcomes of GWP fundraising strategy 2009-2013

GWP Outcomes to 2013:

• 182 outcomes identified so far in the current Strategy period• Steady progress during the Strategy and since 1998• Lower progress in 2013 compared to 2012 :

• gearing-up water and climate and other thematic programmes

• Higher incidence of outcomes within programmatic approach since 1998• Still very difficult to quantify and attribute benefits and value added

Outcome level governance toolsclustered by GWP ToolBox classification 2013

Strategy 2009 to

2013

Total since 1998

A Enabling Environment 16 55 93

B Institutional Roles and Capacity 9 46 100

C Management Instruments 10 81 128

Total: 54 182 321

Four Strategic Goals

• Promote water as a key part of sustainable national development [operational]

• Address critical development challenges [advocacy]

• Reinforce knowledge sharing and communication [knowledge]

• Build a more effective network [partnering]

GWP visionWater security

A key contributor to sustainable socio-economic

well-being and national development

Goal 3Reinforce knowledge sharing and

communicationsRaising awareness, creating and

disseminating knowledge, and building capacity

Goal 2Address critical

development challengesDevelop and advocate

solutions to help governments take better decisions to

improve resilience

Goal 4Build a more effective network

Government, civil society and the private sector strengthen the

partnership to improve governance and sustainable funding

Goal 1Promote water as a key part of

sustainable national developmentGovernments make water

resources management a top priority and invest in its

development

GWP Strategy :• 4 Interconnected goals• A theory of change

2010 2011 2012 2013

From outcome mapping to results• Identifying

plausible linkages between outputs and outcomes

• Achievement of Progress Markers based on monitoring and reporting

• GWP´s influence on boundary actors

Steps in GWP´s evolution as a Partnership (I) :• Originally accepted both individual and institutional members as Partners

from 1996• Partners created Regional Technical Advice Committees in a number of

regions (R-TACs)• Current Policy on Partners :

– Only organizations/institutions can become Partners (from 1998 onwards)– Any type of organization (government/private sector/NGO)– Any water use sector, any level– Supporting the Dublin-Rio principles– Acting in accordance with the GWP Statutes

• Emphasis on establishing Partnerships at country and regional levels as neutral multistakeholder platforms for dialogue

• Accreditation of Country Water Partnerships (CWPs) :– a critical mass of Partners in one country – various categories and sectors as stakeholders

• 2002 : GWP Organization (GWPO) established in Sweden as an IGO with 10 Sponsoring Partners (States and UN organizations)

• R-TACs transformed into Regional Water Partnerships from 2002• Accreditation of RWPs in various regions ongoing

– the newest region (GWP Central Africa) accredited 2009– RWPs are semi-autonomous entities (Regional Statutes, Regional Steering

Committee, Regional Strategy)

Steps in GWP´s evolution as a Partnership (II) :

• World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg, South Africa

• Johannesburg Plan of Implementation

• The ”IWRM mandate” : National governments committed to developing national plans for integrated water resources management and water efficiency (by 2005 !)

• Sponsoring Partners formed GWPO under international public law as an intergovernmental organization, hosted by Sweden

What happened in 2002 ?

Common vision : Building water security world-wide

Innovative structure:• Works at all levels in a non-hierarchical way• Promotes inter-regional learning and knowledge-sharing• Supports joint initiatives – the art of partnership!• The multiplier effect

Dimensions of Partnership :Interdisciplinary / Intersectoral / Govt – business – civil society

Some lessons from 17 years of GWP:

(with important variations from region to region)

- 27% government/public sector - 12% private sector - 35% NGOs - 19% academic / research / professional orgs - 7% other (eg. international orgs, media)

KEY STRENGTHS : A neutral multistakeholder platform Inclusive yet clear structures at all levels Strong knowledge base Moving from advocacy to implementation

Overall structure after 17 years of GWP :

Analysis of GWP partners by type and across regions• 121 new partners in the 12 month period Oct 2012 to Oct 2013• total: 2844 partner organisations in Oct 2013

Summing up GWP – An innovative action network

Knowledge base Policy base

Action network

Partnership at all levels + a network on the ground

The second step in the evolution of GWP : A partnership supported by an IGO (2002)

GWP: Network, Partnership and InterGovernmental Organization

“A partnership is not the sum of its parts, it is the product of the parts' interaction.”

Challenges :

# 1 : Working in partnership• Difficult to demonstrate attribution

# 2 : Working at the policy level• Difficult to demonstrate impact on the ground• Difficult to assess numbers of beneficiaries• Moving from policy to implementation

#3 : A voluntary association (not fee-based)• Constant challenge to raise funding at local level, at country level, at

regional level, and at global level

Some lessons from 17 years of GWP:

Financial Partners (core funding)• Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain,

Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom

Designated fund providers (multilaterals)• Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Commission

Regional, national, local support (incl.private sector etc)• Finland, USA, Coca Cola, etc

Voluntary and in-kind contributions from Partners

$64million question : How are we funded?

BUILDING FOCUS AND SUBSTANCE :

2009 :

« Strategy update»

« Building climateresilience throughwater security »

2011 :

« Future Directions »

Climate changeFood securityUrbanizationTransboundary watersFinancing water management

2013 :

Thematic focus areas proposed following participatory global/regional strategy process

Climate changeFood securityUrbanizationTransboundary watersEcosystemsEnergy security

Thank you !

A growing international network since 1996