The three-party agreement known as the “Strategic Alliance” between the Cambodian Ministry of Rural Development, the World Bank Water and Sanitation Programme, and Partners for Development was signed on 13 September, 2001. The purpose of the Strategic Alliance was to assist Cambodian communities to gain sustained access to safe water and sanitation services through reform efforts within the rural water and sanitation sector. Partners for Development acted as the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Programme’s Cambodia liaison and program manager under the terms of the Strategic Alliance.
The Alliance project, as originally conceived, was intended to be a 14-month project designed to meet the following four specific objectives in Stung Treng and Kampong Cham:

1. PDRD and selected rural communities develop the capacity to assess the effectiveness, equity of service, and sustainability of community RWSS services using the MPA tool;
2. Selected rural communities become skilled in the selection, financing, implementation, and maintenance of community RWSS services;
3. MRD develops the capacity and identifies the resources needed to scale up implementation of the RWSS sector strategy; and
4. The Alliance Project is effectively and efficiently managed within agreed budgets and schedules, and liaison between WSP-EAP, MRD, and PfD is maintained.