Governance

An agreement, usually an MoU or collaborative charter, between multiple parties outlining how they will and will not work together to accomplish a shared goal. In this model stakeholders often execute their own, separate implementation plans based on their own theory of change, and signatories agree to loosely coordinate with one another on certain aspects; most commonly, sharing data around implementation and monitoring and evaluation. Signatories do not usually work together to mobilize funding, but that is not always the case. The exception is usually when applying for public funds where it may benefit many programs to jointly apply, especially if the funding pool requires match.

In an umbrella agreement, there may or may not be a steering committee depending on the desired degree of coordination among parties and, in some cases, an organization, permanent or rotating, may serve that coordinating function as the chair. Their roles may include the following:

• Convening and co-designing an annual meeting for signatories, including those who are not on the steering committee
• Coordinating organizations interested in advocating for policy change that could widely benefit the WIP
• Collecting, synthesizing and publicly publishing data for all signatories to access
• Reporting the WIP’s impact

One organization primarily manages the development of the WIP but is usually guided by a steering committee of relevant partners. Relationships are typically defined in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) or Administration Agreement. As the program moves through the phases and its objectives become more defined, the hosted program may choose to develop one or more working groups or sub-committees focused on specific aspects of the program, like monitoring and evaluation, that may benefit from dedicated attention.

The steering committee’s role is to give direction to the WIP and act as a consultative forum for partners. As the WIP moves through the program preparation and implementation phases, its mandate—and therefore its role and responsibilities—may change. The steering committee’s role often includes:

• Reviewing, evaluating, and endorsing the WIP’s investment portfolio, SMART objectives, and annual operating manual
• Monitoring and evaluating performance against objectives
• Representing partner organizations
• Allocating resources and overseeing resource allocation [in some circumstances]
• Ensuring accountability
• Oversee activities, 
• Elevating and mitigating risks to the WIP
• Coordinating and sharing information among implementers
• Advising and endorsing communications strategies
• Ensuring organizational and institutional alignment
• Advocating for the WIP

The hosting organization (sometimes referred to as the Secretariat) is responsible for keeping the WIP on task, whether moving through the program development phases or maintaining impactful implementation. Like the steering committee, the role of the hosting organization is likely to change as the WIP moves through the phases and can include:

• Leading the creation of Terms of Reference, vetting and contracting expertise, and project managing the required analyses for each phase, for example, Return-on-Investment Analyses or Regulatory &
• Policy Mapping
• Developing the WIP’s investment portfolio, SMART objectives, and annual operating manual
• Implementing and/or coordinating on-the-ground activities, including sub-contracting implementation
• Creating the Monitoring & Evaluation plan and coordinating implementation
• Raising funding for program development and implementation
• Conducting or coordinating data collection and analysis
• Managing stakeholder relationships
• Reporting to donors, the steering committee and other stakeholders
• Communicating about the WIP, including outreach and awareness raising, developing messaging and speaking with media

Under a hosted program arrangement, implementation can either be executed by the hosting organization or contracted out to other entities. This does not necessarily mean that all implementation must be executed or managed by the hosting organization; in many cases, other partners are also implementing in the desired area. It will, however, be important for the hosting organization to foster transparency among all implementing organizations and, at a minimum, share data among one another regarding the where, what, when and how of execution. This will be important to ensure programs’ efforts are additive to one another and to track impact at scale, even if they are not formally engaged with your WIP.

A hosted program can be nested within a number of entities, including a government agency, basin authority, utility, corporation and/or nonprofit. The WIP requires dedicated capacity and time from the hosting organization to be successful; the hosting organization should be aware of the commitment and resources requirements.

An autonomous, legal entity with its own staff and standard operating procedures. The most common dedicated vehicle is a tax-exempt organization, also commonly referred to as a not-for-profit, nonprofit, or public benefit organization, which can take from 6 to 18 months to establish, depending on the country. For this reason, many WIPs wait until they’ve executed for a few years before exploring the potential for a dedicated vehicle. As autonomous entities, dedicated vehicles are subject to local regulations and must comply with specific laws that impact how they operate. It’s recommended that, if exploring this model, the promotor acquire experienced legal capacity, contracted or in-house, to help them understand the pros and cons of the approach, to navigate the specific legal requirements, and to eventually apply for status.

If stakeholders agree to move forward with a dedicated vehicle, there are several common models to consider:

• Dedicated vehicle managed by a separate organization through a management contract or an MoU. In this case, the dedicated vehicle could have a group of founding members, but a separate entity would be contracted by or enter into a mutual agreement with the board to perform select functions on behalf of the dedicated vehicle.
• Dedicated vehicle managed by in-house staff that functions as an independent entity. In this case, the dedicated vehicle usually has a group of founding members, a board, and its own staff, including a managing or executive director who reports to the board. The director is responsible for executing on the WIP’s strategic plan. This can include hiring staff, implementing either in-house or through contractors, delivering annual impact reports, securing funds and more.

In any case, a dedicated vehicle will usually have established formal partnerships with one or more stakeholders to support different aspects of the WIP’s execution, for example, data management and impact reporting and/or in-situ monitoring and evaluation. The objectives of the WIP, the potential funding sources and the stakeholders involved should inform your decision.