Sanitation and Water for All (SWA): Preparing for the future

Since its inception in 2009, the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) Partnership has established itself as an important global brand for universal access to safe water and adequate sanitation. It has two key outcomes: to ensure improvement in the targeting and impact of resources for sustainable sanitation and drinking water; and to strengthen the mutual accountability of governments and development partners. To achieve these aims SWA centers its activities around three priority areas: increased political prioritization for the WASH sector; promotion of a strong evidence base for improved decision-making with convergence around global monitoring frameworks for WASH; and support for strong national WASH frameworks. With around 90 partners drawn from country constituencies, donor agencies and multilaterals, academia and civil society, SWA engages in an ongoing High Level Commitments Dialogue (HLCD) and a biennial High Level Meeting (HLM) of global decision-makers with a focus on key water and sanitation issues. As a result of these activities, SWA is viewed as an increasingly important convening mechanism that enables the WASH sector to position itself among development priorities. As it moves into a more mature phase of its development, SWA now needs to ensure that its structure and systems are fit for purpose, and that it is well-positioned to play a role in the post-2015 development agenda. This progress review aims to assist SWA with this transition process by providing recommendations for how it can best achieve its overall mission going

forwards. In order to do this the review team has explored SWA’s efficiency, effectiveness and impact in relation to three key areas: vision and purpose, strategy and governance arrangements.