Water operator partnerships: Peer learning and the politics of solidarity in water and sanitation service provision

Abstract

The limitations of public–private partnerships as a way to finance and manage water and sanitation systems in developing countries have become increasingly evident since the 2000s. In response, scholars have begun to inquire about “alternatives to privatization,” with a focus on strengthening social equity and universality in access to essential services. Among the alternatives discussed are so‐called Water Operator Partnerships (WOPs), which have been promoted globally since 2006 with support from the United Nations. Today, more than 200 such peer‐learning partnerships have been formed between water and sanitation operators around the world. Yet, academic research on WOPs is still in its infancy. This article reviews the existing literature on WOPs, addressing their origins and their global evolution, along with key controversies surrounding private‐sector involvement. Relying on self‐reported WOPs data from a global online database, it further illustrates the North–South distribution and the different spatial scales of peer partnerships to date. What emerges from the analysis is that WOPs have become a proliferating, yet insufficiently understood, partnership modality in the water sector. In identifying entry points for future research, the article suggests that the comparative study of WOPs can shed new light on transnational partnerships, South–South cooperation, and the politics of solidarity in water and sanitation service provision. This article is categorized under: Engineering Water > Sustainable Engineering of Water Human Water > Water Governance Human Water > Rights to Water

Capacity development for SDG 6.5 on IWRM and transboundary cooperation: opportunities and barriers

“…An important partnership form is that of peer-to-peer collaboration (e.g. Beck, 2018) echoed in statements like 'We have achieved more engagement with CD activities that involved local community leaders in sharing good practices, and/or working together to co-create solutions to similar water problems. '…”

An introduction to the human right to water: Law, politics, and beyond

“…Concepts like remunicipalization or initiatives like the SDGs, underpinned by the human right to water, tend to promote governance and infrastructures models based on blueprints historically developed in Europe or North America-i.e., access to water through connection to centralized piped networks-that might not work everywhere to ensure inclusive and universal access to water (Kooy, Walter, & Prabaharyaka, 2018). As alternatives to fulfill the human right to water, researchers have started to explore new forms of partnerships among water operators (Beck, 2019), as well as the role of unconventional sources like bottled and packaged water 3 or informal vendors (Wutich, Beresford, & Carvajal, 2016).…”

“Aid, trade and investment”: Water operator partnerships and the Dutch water sector

“…Instead of replacing the staff of public utilities with private-sector managers or consultants, the idea of WOPs is to bring water and sanitation operators together in a peer-support exchange … carried out on a not-for-profit basis with the objective of strengthening capacity, enhancing performance and enabling the water operator to provide a better service to more people, especially the poor. (GWOPA, 2013: 10) With support from GWOPA and a number of regional and national platforms, several hundred WOPs have now been undertaken within and across different world regions, involving water and sanitation operators from both the Global North and South (Beck, 2019;Pascual-Sanz et al, 2018;Tutusaus and Schwartz, 2016;Wright-Contreras et al, 2020: 2). 2 At the same time, the WOP approach has been subject to criticism, voiced by a network of academics and activists affiliated with the Transnational Institute (TNI) in the Netherlands, the Municipal Services Project (MSP) at Queen's University in Canada, and the Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU) at the University of Greenwich in the UK.…”

“…With support from GWOPA and a number of regional and national platforms, several hundred WOPs have now been undertaken within and across different world regions, involving water and sanitation operators from both the Global North and South (Beck, 2019; Pascual-Sanz et al, 2018; Tutusaus and Schwartz, 2016; Wright-Contreras et al, 2020: 2). 2 At the same time, the WOP approach has been subject to criticism, voiced by a network of academics and activists affiliated with the Transnational Institute (TNI) in the Netherlands, the Municipal Services Project (MSP) at Queen’s University in Canada, and the Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU) at the University of Greenwich in the UK.…”

“…To situate the issue of mentor motivations in larger debates, I begin with a brief theoretical reflection on the motivations behind development assistance. I then offer a detailed case study of the Dutch public company Vitens Evides International (VEI), which is, at present, “the most active organization promoting North-South development cooperation” through WOPs (Wright-Contreras et al, 2020: 5; see also Beck, 2019). Following an overview of VEI and its approach to WOPs, I draw on 15 interviews, conducted between June 2018 and January 2020, 5 to unpack the motivations and interests behind VEI’s mentoring activities.…”