Step 3.03 , Operational Management Readiness

The Water Fund team for implementation is the technical body responsible for executing the directives of the Board of Directors. It is typically responsible for managing the implementation of specific interventions, leveraging additional resources, and supervising the operations of a Water Fund.

While the specific responsibilities of the Water Fund team are typically defined during the Design Phase of each water fund (i.e. when the governance model is developed), the core responsibility of the Water Fund team is to support and coordinate the implementation of the long-term strategy. This support and coordination role will vary depending on the selected implementation model, but in all cases this technical body is important for ensuring that the Water Fund is operating efficiently, effectively, and adapting to changing circumstances (e.g. new learning through monitoring, changes in revenue, etc.).

The timing for the establishment of this particular Water Fund team will vary between Water Funds. The anticipated role and timing for the creation of this team should be discussed early in the project cycle. In some cases, the Water Fund team may naturally emerge from the Steering Committee established under the first step of the Project Cycle and begin to operate in the Design Phase. In other cases, this team may be established as a specific body that is appointed by the Board of Directors (e.g. as a Technical Secretariat). In all cases, its members should be identified and confirmed via formal processes to ensure governance is proceeding in a democratic and transparent manner. Ideally, the document that is signed at the creation of the Water Fund has already established the roles and responsibilities.