GPR cover_V4-3.qxp:GPR cover_V4-3 7/26/10 2:26 PM Page 1 GPR GPR The Global Water Partnership (GWP) was established by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), the United Nations Development Programme, and the World THE GLOBAL WATER Bank in 1996 in response to international concerns about deteriorating fresh water resources. Its mission has been to support countries in the sustainable management of their water resources through an advocacy network based on the principles of integrated water PARTNERSHIP resources management (IWRM). The GWP functioned as a unit of SIDA until July 2002. Then it became an independent intergovernmental organization under international law known as the Global Water Partnership Organization (GWPO), which provides support to the network — now comprising more than 2,100 individual partners that have grouped them- selves in regional, country, and area water partnerships. A joint donor group led by the U.K. Department for International Development commissioned an evaluation of the GWP at the end of its 2004–08 strategy period. This evaluation found that GWP’s global policy leader- ship continued to be recognized,especially in facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogues on IWRM. Major growth occurred at the country level, with the maturing of country partnerships, the development of national IWRM plans, and the facilitation of bilateral funding to support IWRM initiatives, although the GWP did not achieve the ambitious targets it had set in 2004. More time is clearly needed for IWRM to take root. The present review found that the GWP is generally rising to the many challenges in governing and managing a global advocacy and knowledge network. The World Bank was one of the three founding partners of the GWP in 1996, contributing $5.7 million from 1996 to 2002, and it remains one of the 10 sponsoring partners. In spite of the Bank’s continuing legal responsibility to contribute to GWP's gover- nance, the review found that the Bank has effectively been a silent partner since it stopped contributing financially in 2003. The Bank needs to clearly establish its pos ition among the sponsoring partners in the GWP to avoid raising false expectations and risk. The GWP, in turn, would welcome strengthened collaboration with the World Bank on IWRM at global, regional, and country levels as a means of enhancing the quality and sustainability of investments in the water sector. GLOBAL PROGRAM REVIEW Volume 4 Issue 3 GPR cover_V4-3.qxp:GPR cover_V4-3 7/26/10 2:26 PM Page 2 THE WORLD BANK GROUP The Global Program Review Series WORKING FOR A WORLD FREE OF POVERTY The following reviews are available from IEG. The World Bank Group consists of five institutions—the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development Volume #1, Issue #1: ProVention Consortium (IBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Development Association (IDA), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Issue #2: Medicines for Malaria Venture Disputes (ICSID). Its mission is to fight poverty for lasting results and to help people help themselves and their envi- ronment by providing resources, sharing knowledge, building capacity, and forging partnerships in the public and Issue #3: Development Gateway Foundation private sectors. Issue #4: Cities Alliance Volume #2, Issue #1: Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund Issue #2: Association for the Development of Education in Africa THE INDEPENDENT EVALUATION GROUP Issue #3: Population and Reproductive Health Capacity Building Program Issue #4: International Land Coalition IMPROVING DEVELOPMENT RESULTS THROUGH EXCELLENCE IN EVALUATION Volume #3, Issue #1: Consultative Group to Assist the Poor The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) is an independent, three-part unit within the World Bank Group. Issue #2: Global Development Network IEG-World Bank is charged with evaluating the activities of the IBRD (The World Bank) and IDA, IEG-IFC focuses on assessment of IFC’s work toward private sector development, and IEG-MIGA evaluates the contributions of MIGA Issue #3: Global Forum for Health Research guarantee projects and services. IEG reports directly to the Bank’s Board of Directors through the Director-General, Evaluation. Issue #4: Global Invasive Species Program The goals of evaluation are to learn from experience, to provide an objective basis for assessing the results of the Volume #4, Issue #1: Stop Tuberculosis Partnership Bank Group’s work, and to provide accountability in the achievement of its objectives. It also improves Bank Group work by identifying and disseminating the lessons learned from experience and by framing recommendations drawn Issue #2: International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology from evaluation findings. for Development Issue #3: The Global Water Partnership Global Program Review The Global Water Partnership July 2, 2010 Corporate and Global Evaluations and Methods http://www.globalevaluations.org ©2010 Independent Evaluation Group, The World Bank Group 1818 H Street NW Washington DC 20433 Telephone: 202-458-4497 Internet: http://www.globalevaluations.org E-mail: [email protected] All rights reserved This volume is a product of the staff of the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank Group. It is part of an ongoing series that reviews global and regional partnership programs in which the World Bank is engaged as one of the partners. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this volume do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent. IEG does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of IEG concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Rights and Permissions The material in this publication is copyrighted. IEG encourages the dissemination of its work and permits these reviews to be copied or otherwise transmitted, with appropriate credit given to IEG as the authoring body. Cover image: River and terraced farmland in Bhutan. Photo by Curt Carnemark, courtesy of the World Bank Photo Library. ISBN-13: 978-1-60244-148-4 ISBN-10: 1-60244-148-0 Printed on Recycled Paper Independent Evaluation Group Communication, Learning, and Strategy (IEGCS) E-mail: [email protected] Telephone: 202-458-4497 IEG Mission: Improving Development Results Through Excellence in Evaluation The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank reviews global and regional partnership programs (GRPPs) in which the Bank is engaged as one partner among many for two main purposes: (a) to provide accountability in the achievement of the program’s objectives by providing an independent opinion of the program’s effectiveness, and (b) to identify and disseminate lessons learned from the experience of individual GRPPs. The preparation of a global or regional program review (GPR) is contingent on a recently completed evaluation of the program, typically commissioned by the governing body of the program. The first purpose above includes validating the findings of the GRPP evaluation with respect to the effectiveness of the program, and assessing the Bank’s performance as a partner in the program. The second purpose includes assessing the independence and quality of the GRPP evaluation itself and drawing implications for the Bank’s continued involvement in the program. Assessing the quality of GRPP evaluations is an important aspect of GPRs, since encouraging high quality evaluation methodology and practice more uniformly across Bank-supported GRPPs is one of the reasons why IEG embarked on this new product in 2005. IEG annually reviews a number of GRPPs in which the Bank is a partner. In selecting programs for review, preference is given to those that are innovative, large, or complex; those that are relevant to upcoming sector studies; those for which the Executive Directors or Bank management have requested reviews; and those that are likely to generate important lessons. IEG also aims for a representative distribution of GPRs across sectors in each fiscal year. A GPR is a “review” and not a full-fledged “evaluation.” It assesses the independence and quality of the relevant evaluation; provides a second opinion on the effectiveness of the program; assesses the performance of the Bank as a partner in the program; and draws lessons for the Bank’s engagement in global and regional programs. The GPR does not formally rate the various attributes of the program. A GPR involves a desk review of key documents, consultations with key stakeholders, and a mission to the program management unit (secretariat) of the program if this is located outside the World Bank or Washington, DC. Key stakeholders include the Bank’s representative on the governing body of the program, the Bank’s task team leader (if separate from the Bank’s representative), the program chair, the head of the secretariat, other program partners (at the governance and implementing levels), and other Bank operational staff involved with the program. The writer of a GPR may also consult with the person(s) who conducted the evaluation of the GRPP. Each GPR is subject to internal IEG peer review, Panel review, and management approval. Once cleared internally, the GPR is reviewed by the responsible Bank department and the secretariat of