Deadline: 07-Nov-2025
The European Union Water Operators’ Partnerships Programme has entered a new phase, offering a substantial opportunity for water and sanitation operators in eligible European Union partner countries to improve their capacity and performance in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Following the successful first phase, which launched in 2020 and supported 22 partnerships across Africa, Asia, and Latin America from 2022 to 2025, the programme now moves into its second, more ambitious phase.
Running from 2025 to 2030, EU-WOP Phase 2 aims to fund up to 30 new Water Operators’ Partnerships. These initiatives will support utilities over a period of up to 48 months, starting in 2026. Each selected partnership will receive administrative and technical backing from GWOPA/UN-Habitat and will participate in a broader network of knowledge-sharing activities across the programme.
The call for proposals is structured under two distinct funding windows. The Expanding Partnerships window is open to initiatives that build on existing EU-WOP Phase 1 projects. These partnerships must take place in the same country as a Phase 1 resident operator, involve the same or most of the previous partners, and seek to deepen the results achieved in the earlier phase. The Emerging Partnerships window is designed for entirely new collaborations that have not been funded under the programme before.
All eligible proposals must constitute not-for-profit partnerships between two or more peer water or sanitation service providers. These Water Operators’ Partnerships—or Sanitation-focused WOPs—must aim to strengthen the resident partner’s capacity and performance in areas such as operational efficiency, financial management, social equity, and environmental sustainability.
Each proposal must include at least one resident partner and one supporting partner who are GWOPA members and commit to its Code of Conduct. This includes a requirement that supporting partners do not enter commercial contracts with resident partners for at least four years after the WOP ends. Proposals must also request between USD 200,000 and USD 400,000 in grant funding, with additional counterpart contributions in cash or kind.
Projects should span 48 months and incorporate one or more of the EU-WOP Levers—digitalization, financial linking, or human rights. Furthermore, all proposals must be co-developed and jointly supported by all members of the partnership consortium, ensuring collective ownership and alignment from the outset.
This call presents a timely and impactful opportunity for utilities committed to collaborative, non-commercial improvement efforts. It offers not only funding but also access to a global network of peers, technical support, and a platform to share and grow capacity in ways that create long-term public service benefits.
For partnerships building on Phase 1 collaborations under the Expanding WOPs window, the submission deadline is 26 September 2025. For new partnerships applying through the Emerging WOPs window, the deadline is 7 November 2025.
For more information, visit GWOPA.
