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The Role of WOP Platforms in Scaling Up and Institutionalizing Partnerships

The Role of WOP Platforms in Scaling Up and Institutionalizing Partnerships - Image 1
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WaterLinks convened and moderated (by Arjun Thapan) a session on the role that WOPs could play in the creating and scaling up of partnerships. The session took place on 28 October 2026 during the 6th GWOPA Congress in Bonn, Germany, and brought together regional and national WOP platforms, utilities, and sector leaders to discuss how WOPs are driving measurable improvements in utility performance and becoming integral to local water and sanitation planning.


The session featured four partnership case studies that highlighted tangible results from WOPs and the support of regional and national platforms:


  • S/WOP between Indah Water Konsortium, Malaysia and Perumda PALD Banjarmasin, Indonesia
  • S/WOP between Società Metropolitana Acque Torino S.p.A., Italy and Odisha Water --Supply and Sewerage Board, India
  • Ethiopian Water Operators Partnership
  • WOP-Colombia

Each case presented key operational outcomes, including enhanced service delivery, improved operational capacity, and strengthened institutional collaboration. The session underscored how WOPs foster local ownership, knowledge exchange, and long-term management improvements in public utilities in different contexts.


A panel discussion followed, featuring representatives from WOP-LAC, AfWASA, and PERPAMSI. Panelists explored how WOPs can be embedded into government WASH strategies and financing frameworks, ensuring sustainability beyond short-term technical exchanges. What was clear was that partnerships needed to be both local and external. Reliance on external partnership without securing the requisite local support was unlikely to work. WASH services are a local responsibility – utilities need strong local partnerships that can help leverage external partnerships that will bring in technology and finance.


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