The EU-WOP Programme,
funded by the European Union and managed by UN-Habitat led GWOPA, leverages the
demonstrated capacity of utilities to help one another reach the SDGs.
The EU WOP programme is an opportunity to build on European
commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, at the heart of its
2017 European Consensus for Development. It also reflects EU commitments to the
Paris Agreement Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change, the New Urban Agenda, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Reduction 2015
-2030 and Human Rights commitments, including the European Citizens´ Initiative
declaration of 2013. The new priorities of the European Commission, in particular
the EU Green Deal and responses to the current COVID-19 Pandemic, provide
further impetus for the EU-WOP Programme.
Objectives
The overall objective of the EU-WOP Programme is
to contribute to Sustainable Development Goal 6: Improved availability and
sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
The EU-WOP Programme will fund a suite of Water
Operators’ Partnerships aiming at the following specific objectives:
- Increased access to improved
drinking water source and/or sanitation within Beneficiary Partner service
areas.
- Improved operational,
financial, social, environmental and cross-cutting capacity and
performance of the water and sanitation Beneficiary operators.
- Additional finance for water
and sanitation operational or infrastructure improvements
- Strengthened capacity and
commitment among partner organizations to engage in Water Operators’
Partnerships beyond the scope of this programme.
Funding Information
Through the programme, between 250.000 and
450.000 USD is available for 20 to 30 Water Operators' Partnerships (WOPs)
projects of 36 months' duration.
Eligible Projects
To be eligible for funding under this call,
proposed projects must:
- Be Water Operators’
Partnerships (WOPs, or Sanitation-focused WOPs, SWOPs) meaning they are:
not-forprofit partnerships between two or more peer water and/or
sanitation service providers aiming to strengthen the beneficiary service
provider’s capacity and performance.
- Involve a mentor (“Lead
Partner”) and at least one designated mentee (“Beneficiary Partner”).
“Additional Partners” may also participate in the WOP in a supporting role
(including as ‘co-mentors’ if they are operators).
- Be compliant with GWOPA ‘s
Code-of-Conduct. Lead Partners and Additional Partners also commit to not
enter into commercial contracts with the WOP Beneficiary Partner(s) for at
least four (4) years after the end of the WOP.
- Fall under one of the two call
windows:
- WINDOW 1 will fund new WOPs in
which the Lead Partner and the Beneficiary Partner(s) have no previous
partnership history or up to, but not exceeding, one year of partnership
history. Projects under this window are expected to generate capacity and
initial performance improvements for the mentee utilities. (Total
indicative funding for Window: approximately 4.75 Million USD).
- WINDOW 2 will fund recent or
ongoing WOPs that build on at least one year of recent partnership
history. Such partnership history must have occurred in the last three
years. They aim to build on ongoing capacity and performance improvements
and, where appropriate, help accompany or bridge towards investments for
the mentee utility. (Total indicative funding for Window: approximately
3.5 Million USD).
- Require between 250,000 and
450,000 USD in grant funding (in addition to cash or in-kind counterpart
contributions).
- Have a fundable duration of 36
months.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applications must be submitted
by a designated Lead Partner who, if awarded a grant, will be responsible
for WOP project management and fund administration and serve as the focal
point with UN-Habitat. Lead Partners play a role of “mentor” in the WOP.
- The Lead Partner will be
responsible for managing all grant funding, including any necessary
transfers to Additional Partners, procurement or outsourcing of services,
as required. Lead Partners will be required to demonstrate their fitness
to manage the grant.
- To be eligible, a Lead Partner
must be a water/sanitation service provider that is either a government
body or publicly-owned (at least majority ownership), registered and
operating in a European or DCI–approved country.
- There can be only one Lead
Partner per WOP. There is no limit to the number of applications an
organization can make, however the Selection Committee will cap the number
of WOP Projects awarded to any given Lead Partner at five (5).
- The Lead Partner will engage in
the partnership directly and not act as an intermediary. In the spirit of
partnership, the Lead Partner is expected to design and implement their
WOP in collaboration with all WOP Partners, ensuring priorities,
capacities, and expectations of all partners are considered.
Post Date - 19-Jan-2021