The GWOPA Charter defines our Governance structure and management. The Charter is operationalized through the Code-of-Conduct, which translates the Charter’s principles into operational guidelines for members and partners directly engaged in WOPs implementation.
GWOPA Assembly
Membership in GWOPA is open to all interested water and sanitation stakeholder organizations and obtained by committing to adhere to GWOPA’s principles and code-of-conduct in the implementation of partnership activities and applying for Membership. Members participate in GWOPA’s Assemblies and are eligible to run and vote in its International Steering Committee elections.
Steering Committee
The GWOPA Steering Committee (SC) is the elected body that provides strategic guidance to the GWOPA Secretariat. Steering Committee members, act as focal points and advocate for GWOPA within their respective regions and communities of practice.
GWOPA’s current SC is comprised of a fixed number of representatives from each stakeholder category: public water operators or associations representing different regions, development partners, civil society organizations, labour unions and private operators. Current donors to GWOPA also have a seat on the SC. The composition of the Steering Committee reflects the geographical and institutional diversity of the Alliance as established in GWOPA’s charter and is chaired by the UN-Habitat Executive Director.
The Secretariat
The GWOPA Secretariat is institutionally anchored within UN-Habitat. The Secretariat is responsible for implementing the GWOPA strategy and activities in collaboration with Alliance Partners and Members and consultation with UN-Habitat and the International Steering Committee.
The GWOPA Secretariat is hosted at the UN Bonn Campus in Bonn, Germany, thanks to a funding agreement with the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
From 2013-2019, GWOPA was based in Barcelona, Spain, with the financial support of the Spanish Agency for International Development (AECID) and the City of Barcelona.
