Technical cooperation

Technical Cooperation (TC) is a type of partnership focused on the exchange of technical and managerial know-how that aims to strengthen the capacities of the institutions in question, in this case, those related to water and sanitation. Therefore, these actions usually address the following aspects:

Diagnostics for subsequent implementation of their national plans or sectoral policies.
Reinforcing the results of actions already carried out.
Creating or systematising knowledge products.
Conducting pre-investment and pre-feasibility studies or pilot projects for subsequent larger operations.

So far, the FCAS has promoted this type of technical cooperation in several ways: in the framework of the Regional LAIF programme (which ended in December 2014), or through the support provided by the FCAS to Aquafund.

Technical co-operations carried out in the framework of the LAIF Regional Programme

In December 2024, the implementation of the LAIF Programme was completed Promoting climate change adaptation and integrated water resources management in the water and sanitation sector in Latin America under the FCAS.

During the year, mainly actions aimed at the closure of the programme have been carried out and some of the technical cooperation actions still under implementation have been completed. In 2024, the four remaining active operations of the 36 operations that make up the programme have been completed.

One of the last actions carried out with funds from the programme was the Technical Cooperation for the Incorporation of the indigenous peoples’ approach and work with rural schools in the water, sanitation and hygiene programmes financed by the FCAS. This consultancy, carried out by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), consisted of an initial identification of the programmes and specific actions carried out in relation to these two areas; a literature review of general and programme-specific documentation; online interviews and field visits to two countries: Guatemala, where they were able to see first-hand two of the schools in which the programme intervened with Action Against Hunger Guatemala, and Colombia, with the aim of conducting face-to-face workshops with the stakeholders involved and visiting first-hand the schools in which the programme took action, carrying out participatory dynamics with the students and teaching staff. In 2025, once all the information has been gathered, systematised and analysed, several publications will be produced covering all these experiences in order to establish what should be the lines of action, recommendations and aspects to be taken into account in the next Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation programmes.

More info on this programme can be found in the section on Delegated Cooperation / LAIF Regional

Technical co-operations carried out under AquaFund

The Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation is part of AquaFund, a multi-partner fund promoted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and with the participation, in addition to the IDB and AECID, of the Government of Austria, the Government of Switzerland, through its Agency for Development and Cooperation –COSUDE– and the State Secretariat for Economic Development –SECO–, and the PepsiCo Foundation. It is an initiative that provides non-reimbursable funding to launch pilot projects that can be replicated on a larger scale, develop products and create knowledge platforms that enhance the capacities of water-related institutions and support various technical studies.

AquaFund works specifically in areas such as:

Access to water and sanitation in sparsely populated areas.
Water security and climate change.
Corporate governance of water and sanitation service providers.
Urban drainage and flood control.

In 2024, the FCAS has contributed a total of $2.3 million to the AquaFund, bringing its total contribution to $11.8 million since its inception. This, together with contributions from other partners, has enabled the implementation of 334 technical cooperation actions for a total of $148.5 million.

Most of the technical cooperation actions promoted by AquaFund promote studies and reports that can develop future water programmes associated with the needs of each of the countries, with the aim of contributing to their development and effectiveness. These initiatives are carried out with a wide range of partners, from governmental organisations to water and sanitation utilities, academic institutions, NGOs and civil society groups, the private sector and others.

In 2024, through AECID, new funds have been provided to Aquafund:

Access to water and sanitation in sparsely populated areas.
One of them, for a sum of €300,000, will focus primarily on support for institutional, technical, operational and social strengthening of small water and sanitation service operators, focusing on rural areas, including participation in phase II of the Technical Cooperation «Compass in Colombia», called «Water Connection» or equivalent models in other countries in the region.
Access to water and sanitation in sparsely populated areas.
The other, for a sum of €2,000,000, was carried out via a Memorandum of Understanding. This funding will focus, among other aspects, on technical cooperation actions related to new forms of energy generation, such as green hydrogen and its implication in Integrated Water Resources Management, focusing mainly on its environmental and social implications in the framework of the EU Global Gateway.