It’s Time we see the connections.
The W12+ Blueprint is a platform for water solutions.
A dynamic, interactive knowledge-sharing database of best-practice water solutions and insights by the world, for the good of all.
You know something needs to change, but you’re not sure where to start. The W12+ Blueprint opens a portal to solutions from around the world. Whether you are facing challenging conflicts or constraints, the Blueprint provides solutions where you can constantly Learn, Connect, Share, and Create bringing all of us one step closer to a water-secure future.
Learn
Insights and information help Blueprint users engage stakeholders, innovate for new WASH projects, study new financial mechanisms, and more. Case studies combined with open-source resources are a powerful combination to help support and empower your next water initiatives.
Connect
Change begins with our relationships. Through the Blueprint, engage with a network of like-minded individuals and organizations to help support you with your work. Collaborate on projects, exchange knowledge, and more.
Share
Cross between silos by sharing your perspectives and joining the conversation. When you contribute, you help us grow towards collective growth and combined action.
Create
Be a part of creating an accessible, detailed, and dynamic knowledge-source for water professionals around the world. Upload your solutions and communicate with others directly on the platform.
The W12+ Blueprint is targeted at city-level decision-makers or local authorities making decisions related to water security in their communities.
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24 Countries
30 Cities
32 Case Studies
24 Upcoming Countries
24 Upcoming Cities
North America
Case Studies
Upcoming Case Studies
South America
Case Studies
Upcoming Case Studies
Africa & Middle East
Case Studies
Upcoming Case Studies
Europe
Case Studies
Upcoming Case Studies
Asia
Case Studies
Upcoming Case Studies
Enter
It’s Time we share what we know.
The W12+ Exchanges are online conversations discussing the frontiers of water challenges.
Facilitated online conversations for leaders and change agents to analyze challenges and solutions.
W12+ Exchanges bring together leaders and change agents across multiple sectors in thoughtfully facilitated online conversations. The challenges we face require hearing from all of us across civil society, the private sector, academia, donors, and more. By harnessing the power of constructive dialogue and shared experiences, W12+ Exchanges catalyze innovative ideas, generate insights, and forge dynamic ongoing collaboration.
It’s Time for local voices to lead.
The W12+ Hubs facilitates on-the-ground partnerships.
Boosting long-term local capacity through proven solutions and partnership in innovation.
The W12+ Hubs are carefully-chosen location-based programs that focus on the development of urban water solutions via progressive partnerships between local water professionals, specialized water institutes and organizations, and local water champions.
Through an international network of support, W12+ Programs backs local leaders in addressing key areas for water security improvement in their own communities through locally-led interventions. Our approach encourages “outside the box” thinking and facilitates collaboration that might not happen otherwise while striking a balance between short-term action and long-term thinking. Local community visions, goals, and values are maintained throughout with the local organization taking full ownership of the Hub.
W12+ South Sudan Hub Roundtable Workshop.
Walking Together for Water Security.
Working together with Water for South Sudan (WfSS), an NGO based in both Wau, South Sudan and in the United States, W12+ Programs facilitated a visioning, backcasting, and roadmapping workshop to convene stakeholders and identified four priority project areas for water security.
In 2023, the W12+ South Sudan Hub launched the Water Institute, addressing the first priority area in drinking water quality monitoring. All four priority areas are shown below.
Nature based solutions
for source water protection
Drinking water quality
monitoring for
public health improvement
Groundwater monitoring for
improving knowledge
of existing water supplies
Progressive, inclusive, and water smart urban planning for increased urbanization and climate change
W12+ supplements WfSS’s expert localized knowledge with internationally available resources, including cutting-edge technical solutions, innovative finance, up-to-date climate projects, and regional socio-economic and environmental analyses.
Projects have received government endorsement from the Directorate General of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation and from South Sudan’s Urban Water Corporation. Partnerships to design these projects including collaborating with the International Capacity Development Network for Sustainable Water Management (Cap-Net) and Michael Schaefer, Ph.D. (groundwater monitoring).
The Water Institute South Sudan
In South Sudan and across sub-Saharan Africa, roughly one in four handpumps are reported as non-functional. There is often no capacity to rehabilitate the equipment due to a shortage of pump mechanics and those trained in electromechanical skills. This leaves about 40% of people in the country unable to access water.
As part of the W12+ South Sudan Hub, W12+ Programs and WfSS launched the Water Institute to improve technical capacity for drinking water quality monitoring and to reduce waterborne disease and illness incidence in the country. In March 2023, the pilot module on “Water Quality for Climate Adaptation” was launched.
The Water Institute has been endorsed by the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the Ministry of Education and is registered under the WfSS Foundation. About Education (Netherlands) and the Agency for Professional Development (South Sudan) have supported the curriculum.
W12+ El Minya Hub Roundtable Workshop.
Stakeholder Consultation for Long-term Water Interventions in El Minya.
In partnership with Life from Water, W12+ Programs co-facilitated a deep-dive workshop on identifying actionable pilot projects relevant to water security in El Minya (Egypt). The workshop brought together stakeholders from across the country, creating new connections and introductions for many participants.
W12+ Johannesburg Hub Roundtable Workshop.
Through the Eyes of the Consumer.
In South Africa, W12+ Programs is working with the National Business Initiative’s (NBI) water team in Johannesburg. The W12+ South Africa Hub will focus on the greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Area, including the cities of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and Tshwane. Following the model established in South Sudan and El Minya, W12+ Programs and the NBI teams work closely to produce research documents, including a benchmarking report and a SWOT analysis. The teams will then identify key opportunities for water security initiatives.
Emerging key thematic issues include: natural vulnerability, financing and revenue, targeted water demand management strategies, aging water infrastructure, water and sanitation delivery, and supply constraints.
It’s Time to drive-in new beginnings.
The W12+ Drive-in is an award winning innovative conference model.
Creating compelling connections in the Covid climate.
The necessity for collaborative co-creation around critical urban water issues, did not magically evaporate because the pandemic took sudden precedence. If anything, the huge current focus on hygiene makes this even more pressing. Now, the W12+ Drive-Ins provide a trailblazing hybrid model of physically gathering at a safe social distance, to devise dynamic water-related solutions for our cities, as we congregate together-apart in the same shared space, under endless open skies. They represent the type of innovative solution, regardless of circumstance, which is the bedrock of all W12 initiatives - unveiling a dynamic new format, which allows us to safely congress, conference, convene and carry on with crucial water work that has become more urgent than ever.
Winner of the 2021 African Society of Association Executives (AfSAE) for Outstanding Community Impact
The W12+ Drive-in was held in October 2020 to complement the reputation of Cape Town as a world leading event hosting city by creating high energy events within business and the water sector as the number one water saving city worldwide.
The Drive-in aimed to provide quality entertainment and activities for visitors and locals, in order to attract a broader range of participation globally, even in the difficult COVID-19 times. It developed a unique environment for investors and businesses and encouraged their interaction with local and wide stakeholders and provided additional income and job opportunities for the struggling event industry.
This carbon neutral event encouraged dialogue, partnerships, and solutions to reach new levels, ultimately enhancing the uptake of sustainable and resilient water projects in cities across the globe through other W12+ Programs including the W12+ Blueprint Database and W12+ Hubs.
It’s Time to come together.
The W12+ Congress is large scale convening.
Bringing the world together
to sculpt tomorrow’s water
future, today.
Initially launched as the “First International Congress for Cities Facing Escalating Water Shortages” and temporarily postponed due to COVID-19, the W12+ Congress drew attention from over 2000 worldwide delegates. Currently set to resume in 2024, this annual international event hosted in the beautiful but water-stressed Cape Town, South Africa - will evolve into the world’s premier annual conference to solve critical urban water crises and challenges around the globe.
It’s Time we answer critical questions.
The HOW: Channeling Water Solutions
The HOW: Channeling Water Solutions is a W12+ Programs podcast connecting listeners with leaders who are pushing the boundaries on what is possible for a water-secure future.
Each episode asks a question: How water goes digital in Malawi? How to uncover the most important story of our time? How localization is dignity?
We explore the problem and its potential solutions. Come learn from our guests and hear how complex problems can be solved one episode at a time.
