As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many meetings, workshops, and consultations suddenly went online. In many parts of the world, in-person meetings were impossible for a long time, and only now are slowly resuming. In other parts, hybrid meetings with online presence and in-person participation are becoming the new norm. Each of these formats comes with its pros and cons. In-person meetings allow for broader and deeper discussions, while online meetings are logistically easier to manage and make it easier for more participants to join. A new publication analyzes the impact that different formats can have on the quality of the interaction in the context of multi-stakeholder consultations. This publication makes recommendations on how to best combine different formats when designing and conducting multi-stakeholder consultations and dialogues for improving water governance. GWP, in collaboration with the SDG 6 IWRM Support Programme, analysed the experience of 61 countries that conducted multi-stakeholder consultations for SDG indicator 6.5.1 in 2020. A meta-analysis revealed trends for each type of meeting format. The publication presents four case studies that dive deeper into how SDG 6.5.1 consultation processes were carried out using various tools and modalities of engagement.
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