A collaborative approach to enable enduring change.
Genuine partnerships are crucial to effectively addressing the water management needs of countries throughout the Indo-Pacific.
AWP’s role is to be a supportive and trusted partner in the delivery of activities—and also to facilitate and help sustain partnerships that can elevate the impact of water management activities.
Our partnership values
To AWP, a partner is not just a person or organisation we are involved with. We recognise that an authentic partnership is very different to an advisory or consultancy relationship, and this principle is evident from our strategic planning through to our daily communication.
Our partnerships, and those we help broker, are always based on:
- mutual trust,
- respect,
- reciprocity,
- exchange of ideas and information,
- co-design, and
- joint problem solving.
Our ‘Water for Development’ Community
To achieve greater impact, it’s important that partnership learnings and lessons are communicated back to our community.
Our Australian Partners, our Indo-Pacific Partners and our International Allies all make up our ‘Water for Development’ Community. This community is provided with opportunities to share, collaborate and engage, while also consuming important knowledge and learnings shared by others.
We foster our Water for Development community by facilitating face-to-face events, online activities, forums and networking opportunities, and by providing access to webinars, publications, case studies and other useful resources.
Australian Partners
Australia has valuable expertise in managing water scarcity, drought and floods. Our water community is known globally for its resilience to harsh climatic conditions, and for engaging communities in complex water reform that balances the many values of water.
Our role in facilitating connections between Australian and Indo-Pacific partners enables two-way knowledge exchange and learning. The involvement of Australian partners can provide an opportunity for Indo-Pacific partners to share challenges and collectively identify solutions. At the same time, there is a concerted effort and recognition that local context and know-how is essential to achieve longer term impact.
Our Australian Partners include public and private organisations and businesses with a wide range of expertise within the field of water resources management. By partnering with AWP, Australian Partners have a mechanism for sharing their knowledge and expertise—including valuable First Nations knowledge—across the Indo-Pacific.
Indo-Pacific Partners
We have built strong relationships with many governments, water ministries and agencies in the Indo-Pacific region who are striving to ensure water is safe, reliable and sustainably managed in their countries.
Activities are often carried out in response to a request by an Indo-Pacific Partner for technical advice and assistance, and each of our engagements has a different level of expectation around outcomes, ambition and impact.
Collaboration and co-design with Indo-Pacific Partners is crucial to ensure we align effectively with each country’s unique needs, challenges and existing governance arrangements. Furthermore, local context and know-how is essential to achieve longer term impact.
Regional and International Partnerships
Regional Partners
We have built strong relationships with organisations across the Indo-Pacific region who are striving to ensure water is safe, reliable and sustainably managed in their regions.
In the Pacific, AWP is proud to partner with the Pacific Water & Wastewater Association (PWWA) and the Secretariat for the Pacific Community (SPC), two key organisations working regionally across the spectrum of water issues. Our partnership with PWWA is one of our longest-standing and has included pioneering activities on climate-resilient water utilities, support for Pacific young water professionals and PWWA’s peak annual conference.
AWP also has long-established partnerships with the Mekong River Commission (MRC), supporting their critical work across the Mekong region to sustain one of the world’s most important rivers, with the largest inland fishery globally. Our partnership with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the key regional body for the Himalaya region, focuses on shared water resources – with 10 major rivers relied on by 1.3 billion people.
AWP’s General Manager is also the Australian Board Member of the Asia Water Council (AWC), and plays a role in selecting and monitoring AWC water activities. AWP also collaborates with AWC in events, publications and advocacy for sustainable and climate-resilient water management in Asia.
Australian embassies and consulates
We work closely with Australian embassies in our key geographies to assist with requests for assistance from In-country Partners that are channelled through the Australian Government. Embassies and consulates lead on policy engagement and help to identify water-related priorities in the region.
International Allies
Multilateral Partners have been carefully selected based on common strategic aspirations with the Australian Water Partnership, and their experience and influence in the Indo-Pacific.
Our partnerships with the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank enable us to amplify our targeted support within their large-scale water resource management investment loans and grants. We provide timely and specific niche Australian water expertise to promote improved development outcomes for these loans and grants that contribute to achieving our vision and mission.
Our partnerships with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) and International Water Management Institute (IWMI) build on their long-term presence, experience and relationships in the Indo-Pacific region.
AWP has also built partnerships with key international organisations such as the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), through our involvement in World Water Week and in the water for climate space, the Water Pavilion at the annual UNFCCC Conferences of the Parties.