Annual Review 2011 - IWA

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Corporate Members
The IWA corporate membership network of over 500
companies from around the world is an invaluable
resource for the Association. Despite the economic
downturn of recent years corporate membership
numbers are still very healthy, particularly retention
rates – the targets for 2011 have been exceeded.
This success is a result of the greater participation
in IWA from organisations in Africa, Eastern Europe,
LAC, MENA and North America, and is also an
indication that IWA’s programme of activities is
continuing to develop in line with the needs of the
corporate members.
In 2011, IWA corporate members were still predominantly
from Western Europe, followed by East Asia and the Pacific
and North America. Growth regions during the last couple of
years have been Africa, North Africa and the Middle East,
Latin America and the Caribbean, North America and
Eastern Europe.
Active Corporate Members by Region 2011
41% Western Europe
25% East Asia & the Pacific
8% North America
7% Eastern Europe
6% Africa
5% N.Africa & the Middle East
3% Latin America & the Caribbean
3% China
2% South Asia
0% Central Asia
To realise our goals of providing further value to our
corporate members and access to the unique networking
opportunities IWA has to offer, IWA membership staff
are concentrating on facilitating greater participation of
corporate members in IWA Programmes and activities, such
as Strengthening Utilities and Young Water Professional
Programmes and from low and middle income countries.
Within corporate membership, the team is also
working consistently to raise awareness of Nominated
Representatives – one of the integral benefits of IWA
corporate membership. Nominated Representatives can
take advantage of unique networking platforms and receive
all the standard benefits of membership. Nominated
Representatives’ figures are performing better than previous
years, with 7% growth compared to last year. The renewals
figures in particular have increased, thanks to the improved
renewal process and to the fact that since 2011 it has been
possible for corporate members to update their contact
details and list of nominated representatives easily online.
Segment Breakdown of Active Corporate Members 2011
Current figures show that only 10% of Nominated
Representatives are Young Water Professionals, which means
that extra effort is needed in 2012 to encourage companies
to propose young employees as Nominated Representatives to
ensure this generation is involved. By encouraging companies
to fully utilise their nominated representative quota, we are
seeking to optimise the potential for networking within IWA
and link key figures across the various sectors of corporate
membership. Building on the success of IWA’s programmes
and activities we will keep working to ensure we expand the
participation of current and new members in IWA’s network,
helping to add value and diversity for our members in the
years to come.
Corporate Membership Growth
500
400
+ 5%
+ 6%
34% Utility
16% Research Institute
13% Consultancy
13% Technology Suppliers
8% Industry
7% Other
5% University
4% Regulator
0% NGO
0% Private Utility
+ 2%
2008 2009 2010
2011
Individual Members
Our individual membership network of over
5000 professionals is an invaluable source of
expertise and knowledge, and as such is of central
importance to the future of the Association. Growth
in the number of new members has been very
positive as a consequence of our efforts to drive
growth, particularly at IWA events and amongst
target member groups (young water professionals,
women and members in low and middle income
countries).
A new membership marketing strategy has been implemented
in collaboration with conference organisers to facilitate the
application and registration process and make sure new
members benefit from discounted registration rates, which
translate into high recruitment rates ahead of events. More
work will be done to improve delegates’ experiences at
the events and expand opportunities for recruitment and
engagement afterwards.
Continued growth of IWA Academia has been supported
by the growth of the IWA University Membership, through
which we have expanded our academic network. Almost
half of the individual members belong to academia (54%
are from universities and research institutes) and there has
been continued growth in the university sector over the past
few years. The main challenge for the future will relate to
the ways in which we strengthen our relationships with the
universities and provide opportunities for further engagement.
Equally important will be the expansion of the university
package to other regions, in particular in Africa and
North America.
Active Individual Members by Region 2011
39% Western Europe
20% East Asia & the Pacific
17% North America
6% China
5% Latin America & the Caribbean
4% Africa
3% N.Africa & the Middle East
3% Eastern Europe
2% South Asia
1% Central Asia
The growth of the Young Water Professionals (YWPs)
segment is also very positive, and is reflected in the fact
that they now represent 28% of the overall active individual
membership base. The renewal rate for this segment
has been significant, a change from previous years as
YWP Growth
1500
1000
+ 14%
+ 4%
2008 2009 2010 2011
traditionally the churn rate has been quite high because
almost half of the YWPs are students and therefore have
difficulties renewing their membership because of their
income.
Looking at the different regions, there has been particular
growth in the number of individual members during the past
few years, particularly in China but also more generally in
the Aspire region and in South and Central Asia.
To reinforce the strategic ambitions of IWA, which include
an increase in LAMIC participation of 50% by 2020, we are
working to move our current membership model in line with
today’s economic landscape and technological advances and
to finally solve some of the issues that have been delaying
growth in LAMIC regions. These mostly relate to the
application process and payment facilities.
A Virtual Membership Category pilot project was launched
at the end of 2011, and we will investigate the possibility
of expanding this in the second half of 2012 to a broader
audience.
Beyond servicing members, enhancing the membership
experience is a top priority for IWA and striving to achieve
this has involved a comprehensive review of the full
membership experience. This process will continue in
2012, reflected in higher quality communications, offers of
resources and online services and networking opportunities,
both online and at our events.
Gender Distribution in 2011
+ 6%
73% Male
21% Female
6% Gender Undisclosed
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