SuSanA is not itself an organisation or a legal entity but an informal network which Partners and individual Members contribute at their own expense and on their own responsibility. Its decision-making structure is based on reaching a broad consensus and giving all its diverse members and partners a voice in the process. The different elements of our structure are explained below. They include: individual members, partner organisations, working groups, core group, interim steering committee, secretariat.

Individual members

The SuSanA network currently has around 15,000 individual members. Anyone can register for free to join the network. Members can post to the SuSanA Discussion Forum and join Working Groups. They can attend SuSanA’s meetings and take part in decision making processes about the direction of the Alliance. Members can also receive forum digests by e-mail and newsmails from SuSanA.

Partner organisations

The partners are organisations working in areas related to sustainable sanitation. By joining the network they openly show their support for SuSanA's vision of sustainable sanitation.

Partners can create a profile on the SuSanA website for themselves by using the partner profile page functionality. They can also use the Discussion Forum, Working Groups and SuSanA’s social media channels to disseminate information about their activities, projects, publications, events etc.

Partners often provide funding or other support for SuSanA activities, including sponsorship for members wishing to participate.

Who are the SuSanA partners? Please see here, where you can also filter by country or type: partner database. There are now around 400 SuSanA partners, coming from both Global North and Global South.

Working Groups

SuSanA has 13 thematic Working Groups, each dealing with specific aspects of sustainable sanitation. Each Working Group has a dedicated section in the Discussion Forum.

As well as exchanging ideas, the Working Groups generate their own outputs and action plans. For more information, please visit the Working Group pages.

Core Group

The SuSanA Core Group takes operational decisions for the Alliance between SuSanA meetings, organises SuSanA meetings and events, and suggests strategic policies and plans. The Core Group is made up of Working Group leads and co-leads, Regional Chapter Coordinators, members of the Secretariat and other volunteers from the network.

Membership of the Core Group is limited, but anyone in the network can apply. If you are interested in joining the Core Group, contact the SuSanA Secretariat stating your willingness and why you wish to join the Core Group. Find out more about the Core Group’s work here.

Interim Steering Committee

The Interim Steering Committee (ISC) oversees the transition from the current structure and arrangements of SuSanA to the future ones of SuSanA 2.0, as laid out in the .

One of the principle tasks of the ISC is to ensure the establishment of the Steering Committee (as detailed in the Concept Paper). Once the Steering Committee has been established, the ISC will hand over decision making responsibilities to the Steering Committee, and will be dissolved.

Find out more about the ISC here.

Global Steering Committee

The Global Steering Committee (GSC) is delegated by members to further transform SuSanA from its current version into a so called SuSanA 2.0 and to govern SuSanA 2.0 on their behalf during the periods between triennial elections (every three year). As such, it is the principal decision-making body and governance vehicle during this period. It is responsible and accountable to members, primarily through the Annual Assembly, for ensuring sound strategic and financial functioning of SuSanA 2.0.

Find out more about the GSC here.

Secretariat

The SuSanA Secretariat facilitates and coordinates the organisation, development and outputs of SuSanA. The Secretariat is the first point of contact for any questions about SuSanA.

The main functions of the SuSanA secretariat are to manage the SuSanA online platform (website, discussion forum, social media), assist partners to use SuSanA, support the preparation of SuSanA meetings and side events, assist working group leads and core group members in initiatives that involve SuSanA where possible, and facilitate the production of SuSanA publications. More …

The Secretariat is currently located at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in Bonn, Germany.