The EU-WOP Programme
The EU-WOP Programme is funded by the European Union and managed by the GWOPA Secretariat at UN-Habitat.
Initiated in 2020, the first phase of the Programme is supporting 22 Water Operators’ Partnerships (WOPs) projects across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Extended until 2030 with €14 million of additional support from the European Union, GWOPA will invite WOP project proposals for consideration in the course of 2025.
“This Programme is an excellent opportunity for operators who are committed to water and sanitation services, and who are looking to significantly improve their services by building capacity through peer support and WOPs.”
Discover the EU-WOP Projects
Why EU-WOP?
2.2 billion people cannot count on safe, clean water, available on premises whenever they need it, and 3.5 billion people lack sanitation systems that protect them from disease. Effective local water and sanitation service providers are key to ensuring this situation improves. Water Operators’ Partnerships (WOPs) have a proven track record of helping these service providers improve their operations, increase their efficiency and effectiveness, and make local progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 6.
“Doing a WOP is all about real water people helping real water people in a process where both partners learn from each other, and being the mentor allows you to expand your knowledge on how to apply it under different circumstances.”
About the European WOPs Programme
WOPs are peer support arrangements between two or more water operators, carried out on a not-for-profit basis. Through mentorship, WOPs aim to progressively strengthen beneficiary utilities’ capacity and performance on management, financial and technical levels to implement operational and organizational changes that lead to better and more sustainable services. Rather than substituting capacity, WOPs help local utility staff to make lasting improvements that continue well beyond the life of the partnership.
The EU-WOP Programme selects, funds and supports Water Operators' Partnerships projects. In selected partnerships identified through a competitive call for proposals, utility peers work together to improve their capacity and performance towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Each WOP project receives approximately €100,000 per year to engage in dedicated co-learning and capacity development activities.
EU-WOP Phase I Highlights
EU-WOP Phase II
A second phase of the EU-WOP Programme will launch in 2024 and run until 2030. The upcoming phase will support the development of 15-20 new Water Operators' Partnerships while expanding or scaling up successful partnerships from Phase I for four more years.
In Phase II, the EU-WOP programme will continue to support utilities in developing, anchoring, and applying capacity for sustainable performance improvements. The new phase will further emphasize the potential of digitalization, investment, and human rights frameworks to leverage capacity improvements for sustainable services.
Utilities in eligible countries that are committed to making transformative improvements towards the SDGs or supporting their peer utilities are encouraged to seize the opportunity presented by the new phase of the programme.
“This programme will be a crucial tool to improve the services provided by water and sanitation operators across the world, allowing for new technology and knowledge to be quickly incorporated into practices and avoid repeating the same errors.”