Water Expert Team

To achieve these objectives, the WET mobilizes specialized, high-level expertise that is not usually available to teams working on World Bank projects in a flexible, fast, and responsive way. The WET maintains databases of consultants who have the skills and experience needed to tackle complex or highly technical water issues. The consultants work to increase the World Bank clients’ and staff understanding of complex water scenarios, especially in situations that require the translation of technical advances into practical tools to solve specific water problems. This support adds value to World Bank operations by facilitating the implementation of activities that could not be implemented without this input and by offering operational teams the expertise needed to pilot innovative approaches.

The WET also serves as an advisory team that assists in addressing the most pressing emerging water challenges facing client countries, organizes and conducts technical events, and prepares knowledge products such as briefing notes, case profiles and technical publications.

“I would like to record our appreciation of the quality assistance we received from [the Expert Support Team, which] brought international experience to our clients and the World Bank preparation team through a consultant who developed a realistic sector analysis and a proposed roadmap for reaching the MDG targets for sanitation. The net result was that we gained Ministry of Health agreement to triple the commitment to ‘Improving Hygiene and Sanitation Behavior and Services’ in the national RWSS program under preparation.” Nilanjana Mukherjee Senior Community Development Specialist and Indonesia Country Team Leader, Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) - East Asia and Pacific

WET History

The WET is funded by the Water Partnership Program (WPP), a Multi-Donor Trust Fund created to enhance the World Bank’s efforts to reduce poverty through improved water services and Water Resources Management. The WET is managed by the Water Anchor (TWIWA) in the Department of Transport, Water and Information Communication and Technology (TWI) in the Sustainable Development Network (SDN) of the World Bank.

It was created in January 2011 by merging the existing Expert Support Teams (ESTs) in the Water Anchor – the Groundwater Management Advisory Team (GW-MATE), the Hydrology Expert Facility (HEF), and the Sanitation, Hygiene and Wastewater Support Service (SWAT). The WET will continue to cover these themes, but will also support other themes in the water sector as demand develops.

Getting WET!
Only World Bank task teams can request and receive WET support. The application process is simple and quick. Tasks Teams must submit a short request form describing the assignment. Requests will be evaluated in terms of their contribution to Bank business development, and/or their value added through en¬hancement of current or future operations, above and beyond the normal technical needs of a project. WET will give priority to requests for full‐support of an activity. Consideration will also be given to requests to support a particular consultant for a given task, requests to finance a consultant or third party making a presentation at a relevant technical event, and requests to identify and select consultants and/or draft the Terms of Reference for consultants when the region has the funds to contract them.

For more information, including request forms, please contact WET: whelpdesk@worldbank.org.

World Bank staff can access internal WET resources through the WET group on SCOOP.