Role: CEO and chief architect of post-merger IWA 2000-2012

By 2013 IWA has become:

• The leading edge of water science and technology globally
• Promoting “Solutions through Innovation” that inspire change”
• Members are the top professionals in 130 countries

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Details

The Opportunity

• Two of the leading international associations for drinking water (IWSA – founded in 1947) and wastewater/drainage (IAWQ – Founded in 1963) merged to form IWA in 1999.
  
• Given the pedigree of the predecessor organizations and the obvious synergies that were made possible through the merger, the question became how to unlock the potential of the newly formed and powerful IWA? And the twin question was: under the best of circumstances, what would IWA want to become in ten years?
• Paul Reiter was asked to lead the process of creating IWA’s first strategic plan – a process that started in the summer of 2000 and was concluded, in its first manifestation in 2001. Paul Reiter stayed on with IWA and was appointed Executive Director in 2002 and left this post at the end of 2012. He remained as a strategic advisor to IWA through January 2015.

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The Vision and Plan for IWA Over Ten Years

This first strategic plan, far reaching in scope, envisioned an IWA with:

• Multiple regions and a comprehensive international membership of top water professionals in the urban water space (starting place in 2000 – one office in London and a preponderance of US and European members)
• Programs to strengthen and augment the IWA Specialist Groups covering broad ranging issues like water and climate, strategic asset management
• Programs to support assistance to developing countries and membership in IWA from these countries
• Programs to grow and encourage IWA’s membership of young water professionals, professional women in water, distinguished water professionals and leadership development within the ranks of younger and promising professionals (now called the Fellow Program).

Thereafter, strategic plans were updated every two years, renewed every four years. These strategic plans drove annual operational plans and the budget process.

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IWA in early 2013

• IWA had 6 offices including China, Asia Pacific, Africa, Eastern Europe and The Hague, with its HQ in London and a diverse membership from most parts of the world. Its Development Program and Congress have been a major success.
• IWA was and is recognized today as the largest international organization in the water field. It is the leading platform for water professionals operating in the urban water space from academia, utilities, consulting, technology providers, regulators and governments.
• The Specialist Groups (50+), originally conceived by Paul Haeromoes, remain the backbone of IWA activities and publishing.
• IWA has built all of the program originally envisioned and more programmatic themes that were identified over time. “Clusters” of allied Specialist Groups were created who now hold conferences and are beginning to have their own identity
• IWA hosts approximately one conference per week somewhere in the world. These conferences include Specialty, Regional, Development and the Biennial Congress.

Perhaps Most Importantly…

• All of the progress you have seen was done collaboratively with and through the members. Since there are 10,000 of them, we needed to create new representational tools as well as using and remodeling existing ones.
• A Strategic Council was formed in 2002, made up of cross-section of members segments (academics, utilities, consultants, technology providers and regulators to help think-through big scale changes to IWA.
• Over the years, the Governing Assembly which formally represents about 70 countries, was gradually rethought, renamed and put to work governing and expanding IWA’s post-merger scope.
• Accordingly, all plans and most ideas were developed collaboratively with the Board of Directors, the Governing Assembly, Specialist Groups leaders and a lot of one-on-one consultation with the members.
• Thus good ideas, got better through this process, were formerly adopted and assimilated. At the same time and thankfully, bad ideas got shelved early.

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Excerpts from the 2012 Strategic Plan

IWA… What We Are (2012)

Actually… What IWA is now and seeks to be:

• The premier international network of water professionals, drawing members form all disciplines in water science and practice
• The respected global authority on the urban water cycle and the delivery of resources, services and technology in the context of science-based innovation and best practice
• A highly valued partner to those organizations key to achieving effective water management worldwide
• Provider of global leadership capable of meeting the dual challenges of environmentally sustainable water provision and the economic development of the planet