US Leadership in Global WASH - Advocacy Strategy Consultant

Job Description

Scope of Work 

Analysis and Strategy Development to Preserve and Increase U.S. Championship for Global WASH  

Background

About WaterAid

WaterAid is an international not-for-profit organization working in over twenty countries, determined to make clean water, decent sanitation, and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere. WaterAid America’s U.S. Policy & Advocacy team works to elevate prioritization of global water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in U.S. foreign policy, so that investments, international development programs, and inter-governmental relations can accelerate sustainable WASH access across the globe that changes and saves lives.

A leading expert in global WASH implementation and educational advocacy, WaterAid works to inform stakeholders about the need and conditions required for smart, effective, and accountable foreign assistance programs that result in durable and self-sustaining outcomes. While WaterAid is not a major recipient of U.S. foreign assistance funding, we understand and support the critical role the U.S. has played in the broader global WASH sector and in transforming millions of lives in communities we serve. See more about our strategy here: https://washmatters.wateraid.org/global-strategy-2022-2032.

About Millennium Water Alliance
Our mission is to deliver global water security and resilience results by mobilizing a community of expert members, driving collective action, guiding thought leadership, and informing influencing strategy funding. With nearly 30 member organizations – implementing NGOs, research institutions, and private sector contractors – MWA serves as a platform for exchange of best practices, ideas on goal for the WASH sector, and opportunities for implementation collaborations at scale. MWA was one of the key leaders in the drafting and passage of the 2005 Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act, and the 2014 Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act and plays a central role in advocacy for U.S. government leadership in global WASH programming and is a voice for civil society in international forums. See more on our strategy here: https://mwawater.org/our-strategy/https://mwawater.org/our-strategy/. 

U.S. Global WASH Policy & Advocacy Context:
U.S. policy on global WASH is authorized by the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 and the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2014. Both laws remain and should be acknowledged in all discussion about the future of U.S. foreign assistance. The U.S. has been the largest global WASH grantor in the world for more than a decade. Funding for global WASH programs (previously and primarily implemented by USAID) has a strong history of bipartisan, bicameral Congressional support. We believe effective WASH programming supports U.S. foreign policy objectives.  

In public opinion polling across political parties, regions, and other demographic factors, WASH consistently gets the highest support as an important component of U.S. foreign assistance. Popular culture awareness of global WASH issues has increased as well. WaterAid recently worked with YouTube creators MrBeast and Mark Rober to launch #TeamWater, a campaign which increased awareness among new demographics, garnered an estimated 3 billion impressions and raised $41.5 million dollars in 31 days to support access to clean water.  

Despite laudable efforts by committed political actors, there are now fewer policymakers who understand and support global WASH, a situation worsened by increasing public political polarization. The U.S. policy and geopolitical contexts have changed dramatically in the last 10 years. Generational and ideological shifts in U.S. policymaker demographics and changed geo-political incentives urgently require the broader U.S. global development community to adapt and pivot.  

A new approach must be mapped if global WASH and household access to water are to remain a priority for U.S. foreign policy. Global WASH messaging, tactics, and partnerships in the U.S. advocacy space must shift to help stakeholders and policymakers understand and support this investment.  

Audience and Use
The analysis and strategy will be developed in consultation with WaterAid America’s Policy & Advocacy Team and MWA. The final product will be a targeted concise document and PowerPoint that will inform and support conversations with partners in the U.S. global advocacy community, and among philanthropic donors. The strategy will inform immediate, mid-term, and long-term stakeholder planning and actions.

Purpose and Objectives  
This project will conduct and present a brief analysis of the current and future political landscape, and develop a five-year, U.S.-focused global WASH strategy to increase U.S. policymakers’ shared understanding of, and championship for, global WASH assistance. This analysis and strategy should consider broader U.S. foreign policy matters that could impact global WASH, with a strong focus on improving basic, safe, and sustainable water access for people at the household level. This body of work will support current and future planning in support of U.S. Government engagement with global WASH. The work products will mainly be used for internal purposes by WAA and MWA. The presentation will also inform internal discussions among the WASH Funders Group, a group of like-minded foundations and philanthropists. The products are not intended to be shared widely or made publicly available.

Scope
The consultant will work with WaterAid and Millennium Water Alliance staff to consolidate already known information and to conduct up to twelve (12) one-hour interviews with a range of stakeholders (to be identified by the consultant and agreed by WAA and MWA) to inform analysis and guide strategy development. The following deliverables will be produced:  

Deliverable 1 – Within 45 Date of Agreement: 2-3 pages, a bulleted, highly distilled analytic overview that includes:

• An overview of recent changes in U.S. foreign policy and international development impacting global WASH, including reduced political championship. This should include the views of non-WASH advocates, non-development political experts.
• An outline of expected changes in the U.S. political context, U.S. Congress and Administration in the next five years and their impacts on U.S. global WASH. This should include consideration of retirements, political/power shifts, policy, and legal trends.
• An overview of the current U.S. global WASH advocacy community’s U.S. Government relationships and partners.
• A snapshot and brief analysis of the current capacity of the U.S. global WASH advocacy community, identifying strengths and weaknesses. This should include brief reference to the comparative investment made for advocacy in similar development sectors.
• Views from decisionmakers of development organizations that implement WASH but who rarely engage in WASH advocacy, noting what conditions under which they would engage in global WASH advocacy.  
• Identification of new partnerships that would benefit the advocacy work US global WASH community and what roles they would play in advocacy advancement, along with a brief assessment of potential narratives that would entice collaboration and the overall likelihood of collaboration if provided with a compelling and rallying narrative.  

Deliverable 2 – Within 160 days from Date of Agreement: (3-4 pages), a bulleted, highly distilled strategy that:

• Identifies actions to expand the WASH advocacy community and identify potential 3-5 organizations/actors to approach. Consideration of new advocacy partners should include prioritized private sector, non-profit, and security-focused entities; local communities and experts; international organizations; and partner-country representatives.  
• Utilizes analysis to provide a roadmap that includes actions and potential benchmarks for increasing bipartisan U.S. policymaker championship of WASH now and over the next five years. Identify actors to be prioritized amongst Administration structures, Congress, and related staffers.
• Identifies and captures politically neutral language and framing to present WASH to a diverse group of policymakers.
• Identifies and captures topline themes/narratives that are judged to be less effective or harmful.
• Proposes the most enticing narratives and data for various policymaker audiences, with an aim to grow Congressional and Administration understanding and championship of global WASH in the current context and near future.
• Identifies and estimates any gaps in resources required to develop advocacy partnership and execute the strategy.  
• Highlights any additional data or scope that is required to support the development of a stronger strategy.
• Prioritizes key areas of work for further investment.  

Deliverable 3 – Within 185 Days of Agreement: PowerPoint Deck and One presentation with stakeholders at a mutually agreed upon date  

• A PowerPoint deck summarizing the most salient points from Deliverables 1 & 2.  
• This deck should include key findings and recommendations, any emerging questions, caveats to analysis or strategy.

Timeline:
Deliverable one will be provided within forty-five (45) days of contractual engagement, deliverable two must be completed within one hundred and sixty (160), and deliverable three must be completed within one hundred and eighty-five days (185) of contractual engagement. A first draft of all deliverables will be provided to WAA and MWA with a minimum of five (5) business days for review and provide feedback.  

Key Questions to be Considered:  

• What must be true for global WASH to be a sustained element of U.S. foreign policy in the next 12 months and 36 months?  
• What is the current status and capacity of the U.S. global WASH advocacy sector?  
• What needs to be done in the next five years to ensure U.S. global WASH advocacy capacity remains functional or is increased? What building blocks need to be in place for the U.S. Government to support global WASH in evolving contexts?
• Which policymakers, government stakeholders, and future stakeholders should the U.S. global WASH advocacy sector approach for maximum impact both now and longer-term?
• Is there a role for public engagement on the issue, and what could be successful in achieving greater policymaker engagement? What increased capacity and resources would be required to support public engagement?
• What narratives work best for the current U.S. policymaker audiences?  
• What messages would work to best protect and promote U.S. global WASH among U.S. international development sectors and foreign policy priorities, and what data, information, or messenger is needed to support/deliver those messages to policymakers?
• How can the U.S. global WASH advocacy community best position global WASH so that both household access and geopolitically important programs are considered non-negotiable?  
• What narratives no longer work, trigger immediate negative reactions, or are not compelling for policymakers?
• Are there opportunities to bring new advocacy partners into the fold? What are the current barriers, and can they be addressed? What partners are most likely to produce success?  
• What are the top three areas were greater investment would yield the highest potential for success?