Water for a changing world Developing Local Knowledge and Capacity

There are legitimate reasons why many feel the issues related to the use and management of water have reached a critical stage. The figures are well known by now and overwhelming in their impact: indeed, the availability of water has dropped from approximately 13,000 to 6,000 cubic meter per person per year; every day we witness 6,000 children dying of waterrelated diseases and disasters; there are still one billion human beings out there who are not being served with clean drinking water and two billion who are lacking access to proper sanitation. While population has increased threefold during the 20th century, collective water thirst has grown six fold, a clearly unsustainable trend.On the other hand, a positive aspect of these developments is that the crisis has become so important to so many productive sectors that water is now internationally recognized as a top priority at the highest political levels. Some say it is the single most limiting factor for investment. As a result, governments at all levels, as well as other organs of civil change, are taking any number of initiatives. Investment in “pipes and pumps” is up, but this is the “easy” part of the solution. Still required are more tangible commitments and decisions that will impact water management over the longterm. Generating and disseminating new knowledge, and building capacity at all levels, are inescapable parts of any sustainable solution, and investments in these aspects will pay dividends for years into the future. While these benefits are not as easy to measure as those from investments in physical infrastructure, they are equally vital to our being able to actually reach the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs). As the world is in a state of accelerated change, part of the challenge has been “catching up” in terms of both human and physical capacity. The knowledge and capacity to deal with these new challenges sometimes exist but they often are not in the right “place” and need to be transformed in order to be understood and applied appropriately.

WATER FOR A CHANGING WORLD – DEVELOPING LOCAL KNOWLEDGE AND CAPACITY

Water for a Changing World –

Developing Local Knowledge and

Capacity

Editors

G.J Alaerts

The World Bank, Washington, DC, USA

UNESCO-IHE, Delft, The Netherlands

N.L Dickinson

UNESCO-IHE, Delft, The Netherlands

PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM WATER FOR A

CHANG-ING WORLD – DEVELOPCHANG-ING LOCAL KNOWLEDGE AND CAPACITY, DELFT,

THE NETHERLANDS, JUNE 13–15, 2007

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Water for a Changing World – Developing Local Knowledge and Capacity – Alaerts & Dickinson (eds)

© 2009 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47757-4

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements viiForeword ix

Symposium conclusions and recommendations 27

Water for a changing world: Developing local knowledge and capacity

PART 2: A Sector Analysis

Water security: What does it mean, what may it imply? 41

B Schultz & S Uhlenbrook

The environmental integrity of freshwater resources 57

J O’Keeffe, P Lens, E de Ruyter van Steveninck, W Douven,

A van Dam & P van der Steen

Water for a crowded planet: An emerging global challenge for earth

C.J Vörösmarty

Challenges for urban water supply and sanitation in developing countries 81

K Khatri, K Vairavamoorthy & M Porto

Glocal water governance: Controversies and choices 101

J Gupta

PART 3: Knowledge and Capacity Development

Capacity and capacity development: Breaking down the concepts

H Baser

Thinking out of the ordinary—promoting knowledge generation and

P van der Zaag

Challenges in knowledge and capacity enhancement: A southern perspective 179

L Brito

The role of knowledge generation at UNESCO-IHE: Past-present-future 187

S Uhlenbrook, P van der Zaag & R.A Meganck

Capacity challenges on the path towards water security 201

P van Hofwegen

Water knowledge networking: Partnering for better results 215

J Luijendijk & W.T Lincklaen Arriëns

Enhancing nations’ capacity: From theory to practice

The role of the World Bank Institute 243

K von Ritter & A.S Ramsundersingh

Toward good water governance: Knowledge is power? 249

L.A Swatuk

A negotiated approach in ensuring use of local knowledge and capacity

M.M Alam & D Hirsch

Knowledge modelling for the water sector: Transparent management of

Closing speech for “Water for a changing world: Enhancing local

His Royal Highness The Prince of Orange

Water for a Changing World – Developing Local Knowledge and Capacity – Alaerts & Dickinson (eds)

© 2009 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47757-4

The editors would like to specifically express their thanks to the numerous leagues who in minor and major ways have contributed to the Symposium and the development of this book Foremost we express our thanks to those who took initiative and provided the intellectual and practical guidance for the Symposium, including Jan Luijendijk, Jetze Heun, Pieter van der Zaag, Stefan Uhlenbrook, Roland Price, Bart Schultz, Joyeeta Gupta, Kala Varavaimoorthy, Erik de Ruyter van Steveninck, Jay O’Keeffe, and Huub Savenije of UNESCO-IHE, Atem Ramsundersingh of the World Bank Institute, Washington, DC, Wouter Lincklaen-Arriëns of the Asian Development Bank, Manila, and Paul van Hofwegen of the World Water Council, Marseilles Ilona van der Wenden, Erwin Ploeger and Cristina González-Dominguez were key for the logistic arrangements For the assistance in the preparation of this book we are especially thankful to Stephen Dickinson for the substantial editing of the manuscripts under tight timelines, and to Peter Stroo for the graphic and technicalediting Reviewers have helped select and improve the papers, notably Roland Price, Meine-Peter van Dijk, Pieter van der Zaag, Stefan Uhlenbrook, Paul van Hofwegen, Rhodante Ahlers, Anne van Dam, Klaas Schwartz, Andrea Jonoski, Huub Saven-ije, Dimitri Solomatine and Jetze Heun, all academic staff of, or associated with UNESCO-IHE

col-Water for a Changing World – Developing Local Knowledge and Capacity – Alaerts & Dickinson (eds)

© 2009 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47757-4

manage-On the other hand, a positive aspect of these developments is that the crisis has become so important to so many productive sectors that water is now internationally recognized as a top priority at the highest political levels Some say it is the single most limiting factor for investment As a result, governments at all levels, as well as other organs of civil change, are taking any number of initiatives Investment in “pipes and pumps” is up, but this is the “easy” part of the solution Still required are more tangible commitments and decisions that will impact water management over the long-term Generating and disseminating new knowledge, and building capacity at all levels, are inescapable parts of any sustainable solution, and investments in these aspects will pay dividends for years into the future While these benefits are not as easy to measure as those from investments in physical infrastructure, they are equally vital to our being able to actually reach the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) As the world is in

a state of accelerated change, part of the challenge has been “catching up” in terms of both human and physical capacity The knowledge and capacity to deal with these new challenges sometimes exist but they often are not in the right “place” and need to be transformed in order to be understood and applied appropriately

2 UNESCO-IHE

Fifty years ago, in mid-1957 a seed was planted and a dream born, and when one templates this decision, it is easy to understand how simple and yet how visionary and

con-catalytic a decision it was The 50th anniversary of UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education is the realization of the efforts of countless people who have contributed to make this institution what it is in service to the Member States of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization On this occasion, UNESCO-IHE is proud to have hosted the symposium “Water for a Changing World: Developing Local Knowledge and Capacity” in response to the combination of a demand for action and the need to develop new and sustainable approaches for the water sector.

UNESCO-IHE is an educational institution, with education, research and capacity building pillars supporting its relevance, particularly to developing and transition econ-omy countries In its 50 year history, 46 as a Dutch institute with an international focus and the last four as an integral part of UNESCO, it has awarded more than 13,500 Masters level diplomas to mid-level water professionals from 162 countries, 99% of whom return

to their home countries after graduation and 85% of whom remain active in the water tor 15 years after leaving Delft This in itself makes this institute unique It is in a class of one in the United Nations system in terms of its being able to offer accredited MSc and PhD degrees UNESCO-IHE graduates form an amazing list, a virtual “who’s who” of those who have influenced the development of the water sector in recent decades.Over the years, UNESCO-IHE has continued to play a cutting-edge role in the devel-opment of water science, and particularly in the essential role of science in supporting logical policy and investment decisions to improve water management Since becoming part of UNESCO, the intensity of this function has increased, as the institute’s involve-ment with the International Hydrological Programme and the World Water Assessment Programme attests In addition, the ability of UNESCO-IHE to develop new knowl-edge, and better understanding of the context of its institutional application, has led not only to interaction at the international level through groups such as the World Water Council and its World Water Forum, but also to practical demonstrations of the efficacy

sec-of our theory in the real world, with tangible results measured against, for example, the MDG targets To continue to develop this is a challenge for all of us

Development implies progress in the quality of the human condition In this text, there is no negative development, but rather errors or mistakes—sometimes

con-by design, sometimes due to gaps in planning or the lack of citizen involvement, among many other causes Our role is to augment and build on the positive, based

on solid science interpreted in ways that convince and win the support of so-called beneficiary populations We also are firmly committed to engender support for what

we title the Partnership for Water Education and Research, a long-term cooperative effort that develops the education and capacity building goals of the Institute

In this context, this collection presents an exciting series of articles that appeal to diverse interests and, with a focus on the local context, elucidate the challenges in knowledge and capacity development that face us all

3 UNESCO

At the heart of reaching the Millennium Development Goals is the objective of improving the way water challenges are dealt with at all levels of civil society We

all know that there are areas throughout the world where we have major capacitylimitations in this regard Therefore, the mission of UNESCO-IHE is extremely important, and in addition, the UNESCO Education for All programme has a role to play in tackling the gaps in water knowledge When Member States recognize that water should be a cross-disciplinary development priority, they implicitly recognize that education is going to be crucially important to help secure needed investments

in new infrastructure for the long-term

In recent years UNESCO has responded to this change in the global agenda by making water a principal priority UNESCO has reinforced its activities significantly over the past six years, based on three pillars inside, and one pillar outside, the Orga-nization The first is the International Hydraulic Programme (IHP), which is a global science programme The second is UNESCO-IHE The third is the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP), which is a joint effort of 24 UN agencies, “UN Water” The fourth pillar is the network of UNESCO Category II Centers: national water related institutions, think-tanks, and research facilities that align their goals and strategies with those of the UN system and particularly the IHP There are now

10 UNESCO Category II Centers related to water The latest, opened in Japan, is the International Center of Water Hazards and Risk Mitigation Further development is now focused on how to forge closer links among the centers, with UNESCO-IHE, serving as the central hub This is an example of what the UNESCO Director General referred to as a “new model” for moving an entire sector forward on the international scene, joining the UN system with other organizations in order to address issues of great importance in a consolidated manner

While the entry of UNESCO-IHE into the United Nations system is recent, its significance will be measured by the long-term future It is our hope and dream that the pillars of UNESCO action, including UNESCO-IHE, will together be able

to assist our Member States, and particularly the developing countries, to meet the Millennium Development Goals relating to water, and other international goals such

as integrated water resources management Both now and in the future, through the application of UNESCO-IHE’s outstanding qualities and capacity, we hope to be able to go farther and faster to address complex water-related problems like floods, droughts, and the impacts of climatic changes UNESCO-IHE will not only be a key player, but it will also act as an inspiration to others and, through its network of partner institutions, help replicate the force of knowledge institutions as a vital link

in overcoming complex challenges

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Both UNESCO and UNESCO-IHE want to thank the many individuals and zations that have contributed to the organization of the gathering, which inspired this book, “Water for a Changing World: Developing Local Knowledge and Capacity” at UNESCO-IHE, June 2007 That we are able to declare it a success is a given New concepts are an inevitable outcome when one has more than 250 scientists and policy makers in a single room What will be our ongoing challenge is to transform that new

organi-knowledge into the reality of improved institutions that positively impact the future

of the water sector for all For some countries, such as the Netherlands, water has been a critical development issue for several centuries The recognition that water was going to be a critically important item on the global agenda is a much more recent development We are confident in the ability of UNESCO, UNESCO-IHE, and their partners to meet the challenges of developing new knowledge, of helping build the capacity that science can generate, and of inspiring the far sightedness of decision-makers to use this information wisely

PART 1: Background

Water for a Changing World – Developing Local Knowledge and Capacity – Alaerts & Dickinson (eds)

© 2009 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47757-4

Purpose and structure of the Proceedings

PURPOSE

These Proceedings are the outcome of the International Symposium which was part

of the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education—known initially as the International Institute for Hydraulic Engineer-ing, and thereafter as the International Institute for Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering (IHE) This Institute has been an exponent of Knowledge and Capacity Development (KCD) efforts in the water and environment sectors for half a century This Symposium is the fourth in a series on capacity development, with the earlier ones held in 1991, 1996, and 2001, and all co-organized with the partners in UNDP and the World Bank Institute This Symposium aimed to explore the “next agenda”

in KCD and would draw from the global experience on the subject including that of the Institute itself The recommendations are aimed at the international development community, and also highlight those issues that are of particular relevance for the Institute given its mandate as an international organization for water education The objectives of the Symposium were to achieve:

• A more operational and technical understanding of the emerging challenges for sustainable water management over the next two decades;

• A better grip on what priorities need to be addressed in knowledge and capacity enhancement, especially at local level, and at the global scale, to respond to these challenges;

• Recommendations on the strategy, priority actions, and preferred tools and ments, to develop knowledge and capacity to make decisions and actions more effective

instru-The Symposium proceedings, therefore, proceed along the following two levels of questions, with the outcome from the first discussion feeding into the second:

1 Taking an integrated perspective on the water resources and recognizing the ing pressures on the environment and the water system—What are the technical challenges that the changing world has to prepare for? What are the benefits of more effective management of water and environment, and who bears the risks of ineffectual management?

grow-2 Learning from the past decades of achievements, and of unfulfilled promises—How can the effectiveness of KCD efforts be improved? How can development

be made more effective through KCD? What knowledge can be generated locally, what can best be shared? Is there need for more “integrated approaches” or rather for more mono-disciplinary efforts? What is necessary, in particular at the local

level—of communities, of local governments and at national level—to achieve better informed decision making, more effective operations, and more sustainable operation and management? What kind of partnerships and support are required

in knowledge and capacity enhancement? What is the special role of universities,

“centers of knowledge”, of NGOs, of development agencies, and governments?

STRUCTURE AND AUDIENCE

The Symposium was organized as a sequence of parallel working groups The ing groups allowed to first assess the first questions set (see above) and would review the current understanding of the challenges and the state of the art in the existing knowledge to formulate responses Based on the identification of the knowledge gaps, the institutional constraints to apply this knowledge appropriately, would then

work-be reviewed along the questions second set, and recommendations would work-be lated These Proceedings contain the papers written to support and guide the working group discussions, as well as the overall Recommendations

articu-Thus, the first series of parallel working groups focused on the following gent challenges: water security; environmental integrity; urbanization; information and knowledge; and governance The second series concentrated on the following: knowledge for development; sharing of knowledge; and generation of knowledge, and innovation

emer-The active audience of the Symposium comprised a representative group of fessional and scientific staff from around the world—partly UNESCO-IHE alumni—and recognized specialists from the water sector and specialists in KCD, as well

pro-as representatives of the institute’s international partners, of the major international development agencies and NGOs, of water sector agencies, and of the UNESCO-IHP partner institutes

Water for a Changing World – Developing Local Knowledge and Capacity – Alaerts & Dickinson (eds)

© 2009 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47757-4

Knowledge and capacity development (KCD) as tool

for institutional strengthening and change

G.J Alaerts

The World Bank, Washington, DC, USA*

UNESCO-IHE, Delft, The Netherlands

ABSTRACT: Knowledge and capacity are intricately related, and are essential for development Knowledge can be either explicit or tacit, with the latter referring the contextual knowledge and the knowledge that cannot be easily captured in symbols and language Each type of knowledge has its own most effective modes of transfer Knowledge is also thought of as capacity-to-act, hence, possesses a dynamic qual-ity Knowledge and capacity development (KCD) is necessary to inform decisions

on water sector management and translate these decisions into action on the ground Capacity is required at the levels of the individuals (human resources), organizations and the enabling environment Governments and other stakeholders need to devise strategies for KCD, based on the recognition that capacity is complex They can draw from KCD tools, notably education and training, and technical advice, on how to best institute procedures and incentives to build capacity, as reflected in competences for technical skills, for management, for governance and for continual learning KCD is

an essential part of, and shapes, institutional development and change

1 BACKGROUND

The first UN Conference on Water, in 1977 in Mar del Plata, sounded for the first time the alarm bell over the vulnerable and finite nature of water in light of the rapidly grow-ing demands on the resource The Mar del Plata Action Plan prioritized the provision

of drinking water and sanitation—“drinking water and sanitation for all by 1990”—and the need to save water and protect it from wastage and pollution The 1981–1990 Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade managed to drastically increase the cov-erage for water services but proved on many counts less effective It was overwhelmed

by population growth, and it led to the recognition that strong institutions and proper social behavior are as important as the infrastructure itself The UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio in 1992, and then again the 2002 UN Millen-nium Development Goals, re-iterated the same priorities In addition, they highlighted

* The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion

of the World Bank.

the strong mutual dependence of water and environment After three decades of major investment efforts, and further calls at global forums, the world has much achievement

to show for, yet serious challenges remain, both old and new

The exponential growth in demand for water, the strong urbanization, and the

persistent poverty have kept the coverage rates for drinking water supply and

sanita-tion at modest levels in some regions, though other regions are well on their way to

close the gap Still, major challenges remain: the water use efficiency and service ability are often unacceptably low; many water supplies are precariously vulnerable; and pollution taints water quality much faster than pollution control measures are put

reli-in place Weak performance of the reli-institutions and of the users alike, remareli-ins the tleneck, especially in sanitation and in general service delivery Yet, it could be argued

bot-that the main future concern will be on water resources sustainability, as the

large-scale and steady transformation of the earth’s surface by human interventions as well

as by climate variability is rapidly adding new stresses on the natural eco-hydrological systems that will have to support the continual generation of water resources to meet the demand for water–for food production, for drinking, for hydropower and naviga-tion, flood management, etc Competition for access to water will rise

Part of the knowledge to address these challenges is available However, key straint are the gaps in our knowledge regarding how the global changes are going to affect us and what the responses should be, and how the water service delivery and the resource should be managed more effectively Equally important, one observes that often this knowledge does not get readily translated into proper planning or effective action Weak institutions, specially at local levels of government, and in many com-munities, form a second key constraint, in particular in developing nations

con-2 THE ROLE OF KNOWLEDGE AND CAPACITY IN DEVELOPMENT 2.1 Knowledge in industrial economies

Classical economic theory has long held that economic development is created through the input of three production factors: physical resources (such as iron ore), work force, and capital More recently, it has been recognized that development also rests on another input factor, namely knowledge In his seminal analysis, Romer (1990) proposes to consider knowledge as input factor in the separate forms of human capital (as measured, e.g by cumulative years of education, school enrollment and university graduates numbers) and ideas (as measured, e.g as the number of indus-trial patents) This new proposition allowed to explain the re-invigorated economic growth since the 70s, with its rapid transition from the classic main sectors of agri-culture, manufacturing and heavy industry to service industries, and electronics and internet-based industries These have come to be known as “knowledge industries”.The singular association of these “new” sectors with knowledge, however, obscures the fact that also the other more traditional sectors have depended on knowledge and innovation for their development Even though more superficial analysis may have found that competitiveness and progress in these sectors in the

19th and early 20th century were determined rather by the first three production factors, knowledge and innovation too demonstrably have played a major role in their development even though their role was more difficult to separate out or quantify In the past, knowledge was perceived as some constant attribute of the learned sections

of society and tradesmen, and as a black box Nowadays, it is becoming ized” and treated as a human faculty that can be enhanced, shaped and guided to attain higher goals in society—whether for economic growth, for social development, or to make this development more sustainable by understanding better how to manage our natural environment But even though this instrumental role is only now understood better, knowledge has always taken a central position in the development of societies.The economies in the industrialized countries are nowadays called “knowledge intensive” This pertains obviously to the industrial sectors and firms that are particu-larly reliant on innovation and knowledge to retain their competitive lead, such as elec-tronic and software firms and pharmaceutical industries However, as globalization has made the market place more open and transparent, all industrial sectors, including such traditional ones as agriculture and manufacturing, are experiencing stronger com-petitive pressures To survive and grow, they need to continually invest in knowledge, for product design, production improvement, marketing and management Agriculture has become knowledge-intensive, allowing cold The Netherlands and semi-arid Israel

“instrumental-to become highly successful exporters of agricultural products Therefore, knowledge and innovation are indeed generic input factors of any development endeavor, be it at the level of a firm, an industrial sector or a nation’s aggregate economy

2.2 Explicit and tacit knowledge

Wittgenstein and Polanyi analyzed knowledge as object Polanyi (1958) distinguishes explicit or focal, and tacit knowledge Tacit knowledge is the tool to handle what is being focused, and which often is taken for granted For example, knowledge often

comes in words (focal or explicit knowledge) but to give a word a meaning we need

a tool, i.e our broad, culturally defined understanding of the language (tacit

knowl-edge) Certain knowledge can be easily articulated in symbols, such as mathematics,

and this allows in turn easy replication, transfer and sharing But other knowledge, such as defining cultural values, or for bike riding, cannot be condensed into a manual Transfer requires more laborious interaction and different learning proc-esses Consequently, information in itself is low-value and receives its meaning only through the context of tacit knowledge

Hence, Polanyi distinguishes two modes of knowledge transfer: information transfer (say, class-room teaching), and tradition Explicit knowledge can be well transferred

by the first, but the risk exists that this is eventually ineffective or unreliable because

it is the recipient who attributes the meaning to the information For example, one can

be proficient in chemistry by learning from textbooks, yet be incapable of solving

a practical problem of water pollution, or of relating the learned concept to the real life phenomena Tacit knowledge, therefore, is more crucial, and needs to be recre-ated from scratch by the apprentice who is mimicking what the mentor demonstrates Polanyi calls this tradition, comparable to the apprentice-master education in trades

Knowledge-based enterprises have become acutely aware of the particular challenges

in managing, creating and (internally) transferring knowledge (Nonaka and Takeuchi

1995, Sveiby 1997) What pertains to such enterprises equally holds for other edge-intensive systems such as the water sector and education in general

knowl-Polanyi further concluded that knowledge is by its nature action-oriented All knowledge is acquired through sensory impressions using the abilities the individual already possesses Polanyi, therefore, prefers to talk about the process-of-knowing Sveiby (1997), aiming at the practices in private businesses, argues that knowledge alone does not suffice to explain why certain things work and others don’t He pro-

poses to replace it with the word competence, or with capacity-to-act, which is also

formed by the cultural and social network in which the individual operates This leads us to hypothesize that part of the intellectual value of a professional is derived

from his continuing interaction with like-minded problem-solvers or peers, and with

problem-bearers who continually force him to test the validity of his assumptions,

and adjust and improve his knowledge In a business environment, the professional finds the latter primarily represented by his clients In other words, we can conclude that no knowledge can be generated without prior problem, but that the identification and understanding of that problem requires knowledge as well Hence, knowledge begets questions, begets knowledge

2.3 Knowledge in the public sector

Whereas the role of knowledge in industry and economy has become subject of intense research, surprisingly little is being written about knowledge management in the public sectors However, most of the recommendations emerging from the corpo-rate world pertain equally well to the public sectors Accepting that the public sector

is not managed to maximize returns and profit, it does share the more fundamental objective with the private sector that it aims to minimize expenses while maximizing the combination of the quality of the public service and the environmental sustain-ability Though inefficient public services cannot be suspended like bankrupt firms, the introduction of proxy tools such as benchmarks to measure performance, and deregulation, have helped to bring more discipline to public administration Applica-tion of knowledge can be instrumental to enhance this performance, through sharper definition of objectives, better implementation systems, and better, more responsive management of human resources and of the interaction with society

Water and environment pre-eminently depend on knowledge as they are larly complex because of the interdependencies between the different compartments

particu-in water resources and their numerous particu-interfaces with society These complexities are of a higher order than in other public sectors, such as transportation, energy and education Foremost, there are physical dependencies, e.g between upstream and downstream water bodies, between surface water and groundwater, between the land use and its local hydrology and aquatic ecosystems, and between the quanti-tative and the qualitative characteristics of water Water is also fugitive and non-territorial—it is always moving from one location to another and a unit of water is more expensive to retain, control, store or transport than, say, a unit of energy in

the form of a liquid, gas or as electricity In addition, in economic terms, water can assume at the same time the characteristics of a private good (e.g when it is sold as drinking water), public good (e.g when the destructive force of floods must be con-trolled by levees, pumps and dikes) and a common-property resource (e.g when water

is a fishing ground, or supports wildlife or aquatic biodiversity that belongs to “the community” or society at large) Managing and developing such resource demand sophisticated knowledge While this may be obvious for our modern societies, it is equally true for ancient societies that had progressed far in their water management, such as the Maya in Central America or the Assyrians in the Middle East Similarly, many smaller and less well-know groups and communities have developed bodies of experience and knowledge—“social capital” and indigenous knowledge—to achieve and sustain proper water supply, irrigation and flood control at local scales Knowl-edge and capacity, thus, as instruments to further human development are a generic attribute of successful societies, across history

2.4 Capacity constraints to apply knowledge—the case of developing

economies

The knowledge to address the challenges emerging in the water sector as outlined in section 1 above—and to address the challenges in global development in general—may be considered at least partially available However, even when existing, this knowl-edge is often observed being not readily communicated and shared, and translated into proper planning or effective action that has an impact or outcome at field level This lagging or constraining effect is especially visible in countries that are developing into modern economies, although it affects all societies Many countries—i.e their gov-ernments as well as their civil society—are observed to have a weak “capacity”: weak knowledge bases, small numbers of professionals with the right education and skills, and in general, administrative and managerial arrangements, and laws and regulations (the “enabling environment”) that, taken together, fail to facilitate the swift and effec-tive action that can deliver the desired results on the ground Figure 1 schematizes this flow First, knowledge is required that can identify and describe the issue, challenge

or problem that one desires to be addressed A different knowledge is required to then articulate how to address this Then, this knowledge needs to be communicated, shared, refined and confirmed among experts, peers and decision-makers as prereq-uisite for action, after which implementation of the action necessitates a functional and capable organization and enabling policy and administrative environment to do so and ensure the financial and other resources The implementation capacity in turn also depends on the knowledge and skills of the implementing agency, and the incentives it responds to This creates the potential to act However, this potential will materialize only in presence of positive incentives (such as, financial or political incentives, or personal motives to further one’s career, etc.) which outweigh negative ones

The action, thus, comes as the aggregate of a series of sequential co-causal steps and decisions The eventual outcome or impact from that action can be observed much later, at substantial distance from the original knowledge Hence, it is often difficult to correlate the outcome with that knowledge, or with the capacity of the

administration and the quality of the enabling environment This difficulty to detect causalities is further compounded by the fact that similar outcomes can also be gen-erated by several other sets of knowledge and capabilities.

2.5 Defining capacity

The concept of capacity refers to development in general, and several definitions have been proposed that reflect the theoretical (or political) frameworks from which the subject is approached (see box 1) Firstly, because of this concern with effective public administration systems, public administration science was one of the first disciplines to attempt to define “capacity” referring to its organizational structure and operational procedures The public administration receives its capacity from education and training, proper procedures, and appropriate incentives Secondly, drawing experience and insight from the only modestly successful efforts in devel-oping countries with the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Dec-ade spanning the 1980s, the water sector was one of the first to devise a practical definition with a strong interest in making development programs more effective

and sustainable, and to articulate in a coherent fashion the need for knowledge and

capacity development (KCD) (e.g Alaerts et al 1991, Alaerts et al 1999, Visscher

et al 2006) This experience also brought into consideration aspects beyond public administration, and recognized the critical functions of the “enabling environment”

of the policy, legal and regulatory frameworks in which the public administration, and the investment projects funded by the international donor community, had to operate It also recognized that the water users and other stakeholders in civil society

shared knowledge

potential to act

ACTION OUTCOME

ment

knowledge on

solution

presence of positive incentives, absence

of negative incentives

other sets of knowledge,

capa-bilities and incentives

Figure 1 Flow diagram with the sequencing of knowledge and capacity creating the tial to act The eventual action will materialize when in addition positive incentives outweigh negative ones

poten-have to play equally important roles in making things work at the local operational level of the household or the small irrigation plot Indeed, as mentioned before, in developing countries the public administration has only a limited reach and capac-ity, and much depends on how local users and communities are willing to cooperate and contribute This approach, in addition, also for the first time linked capacity with knowledge—as generated and disseminated by educational institutions locally and at a global level Thirdly, UNDP took this definition to a higher level, relating capacity to international development across the board That definition, however, tends to dissociate the capacity and the knowledge components Fourth, recent work emphasizes the systems or complex nature of capacity in development efforts This approach argues that the capacity of an organization is both a distinct entity by itself and the resultant of the capacities of the individuals in that organization It

is also the resultant of a wide variety of inputs (types of knowledge that have been transferred, structure and procedures, leadership and managerial capabilities of the individuals, etc.) All these attributes tend to change over time and mutually influ-ence each other This complexity tends to blur the relationship between the capacity development input, and its outcome This school of thought rejects any normative or deterministic approach and posits the pivotal role of process in which all stakehold-ers are involved in determining the objectives that are consistent with the capacity (e.g Pahl-Wostl 2002)

Box 1 What is capacity?

Shafritz (1985) approached capacity from the perspective of public administration ences: “ … any system, effort, or process … which includes among its major objectives strengthening of elected chief executive officers, chief administrative officers, depart-ment and agency heads, and program managers in general purpose government to plan, implement, manage or evaluate policies, strategies, or programs designed to impact on

sci-social conditions in the community” The 1991 Delft Declaration (Alaerts et al 1991)

suggested “Capacity comprises well-developed institutions, their managerial systems, and their human resources, which in turn require favorable policy environments, so as

to make the [water] sector effective and sustainable” UNDP states that “Capacity is the ability of individuals, groups, institutions and organizations to identify and solve devel-opment problems over time” (Morgan 1993, UNDP 1993) Hilderbrand and Grindle (1994) emphasize the dynamic nature of capacity: “Capacity is the ability to perform appropriate tasks effectively, efficiently, and sustainably This implies that capacity is not a passive state—the extent of human resources development, for example—but part

of an active process.” More recently, the complexity or systems nature of capacity has been emphasized: “Capacity is … the emergent combination of attributes that enables a human system to create developmental value” and “… the overall ability of a system to perform and to sustain itself: the coherent combination of competencies and capabilities” (Zinke 2006) “Emergent properties, such as capacity, come from the dynamism of the interrelationships in the system The challenge is not so much to build or enhance them

as it is to unleash them or find ways to encourage their emergence” (Morgan 2005)

In addition to these four approaches, we can further distinguish two other tant approaches The fifth one refers to the epistemological approach as enunciated

impor-by Wittgenstein and Polanyi and described above Sixth and finally, the behavioural

and business management sciences have extensively researched behaviour of humans and of organizations Sveiby (1997) e.g draws from this body of knowledge but also builds on Polanyi’s dynamic concept of knowledge (see section 2.2) The resulting definitions complement each other The management approach helps to make the concepts more practically manageable, in contrast with the complexity approach which tends to dispute the notion that capacity can be managed.

Knowledge and capacity, in these definitions, are intricately linked For our poses here, capacity can be defined as the capability of a society or a community

pur-to identify and understand issues, pur-to act pur-to address these, and pur-to learn from

experi-ence and accumulate knowledge for the future This definition emphasizes the age with knowledge as well as with a verifiable impact on-the-ground, and it also emphasizes the critical “extra” capacity for continual learning and improvement that characterizes the “learning organization’

link-This definition pertains equally to individuals—from technicians and munity members up to ministers and politicians—and to the institutions in which

com-they work and operate together and carry out their work Overall performance thus depends on the simultaneous effect of capacity of the individuals as well as of the institutions Developing countries tend to possess weak institutional and human capacity, with administrative systems that tend to be static and bureaucratic, and pre-occupied with technical aspects and standardized solutions Especially local governments and local communities are at risk and may have little capacity to anticipate, and adapt to the changing demands and environment effectively Not-withstanding, many of these local communities have generated over generations

a body of traditional knowledge regarding the local conditions and how to cope with them Some tribal communities in the Andaman Islands in the Gulf of Bengal appeared better prepared to deal with erratic devastating natural events like the December 26, 2004 tsunami than the urbanized and wealthier communities in west Indonesia and east India

This weak capacity and knowledge impede the proper targeting and absorption of development funds and the sustainable operation and management of investments Very different from the situation up to the 1990s, the current experience in most developing countries suggests that it is the shortage of sensible and “feasible” invest-ment proposals that is impeding development, not any longer the shortage of funds

per se Feasible proposals are those that have been designed properly based on sound

analysis and with respect to realistic outcomes, and that are embedded in a policy and administrative structure that is able to ensure sustained use and maintenance

3 A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR KNOWLEDGE

AND CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT

3.1 Knowledge and capacity development of the water sector

Water sector management, and the knowledge and capacity development of this tor, are to be considered a sub-set in the broader field of public administration (Fig 2)

sec-The capacity (and knowledge) development is applied to strengthen the institutions

in the sector The outcomes of such strengthening—and, of the capacity ment—are basically change processes (such as, introduction of new technologies; re-organizations; and reforms) Indeed, organizations that are not undergoing change,

develop-do not require capacity development Other possible outcomes comprise improved ernance, in the sense of situations where civil society becomes capacitated to become part of the decision-making and even implementation of some sectoral functions For example, the success of rural water supply, sanitation, irrigation and the management

gov-of upstream catchments and gov-of fishing grounds, depend heavily on the sense gov-of ership and involvement of local communities and water users in the management of their resources and infrastructure The enhanced governance can also take the form

own-of increased accountability and transparency in decision-making and joint ment of local infrastructure and of the resource proper The tools of KCD, then, are multi-disciplinary as can be derived from the definitions above It draws from several disciplines As figure 2 suggests, a key knowledge pool rests in the public administra-tion (and related) sciences The way the organizations are functioning and are to be managed, is the subject of management and business administration sciences Several concepts are derived from political economics and sociology These disciplines guide the KCD efforts Important tools concern the modes of delivery and conveyance of this knowledge, through didactically and educationally appropriate formats

manage-Figure 2 Water sector management and its capacity development are part of the broader field of public administration The diagram indicates the key disciplines and tools applied for this development, and the main potential outcomes

WATER SECTOR

MAN-AGEMENT

← TOOLS

OUTCOMES

↓ Knowledge and capacity development

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

3.2 A rationalized flow diagram for knowledge and capacity development

Figure 3 brings together the different elements of KCD The diagram specifies in broad terms, for each of the three levels of action—the individual, the organization and the enabling environment—the sequence of what knowledge and capacity imply,

by what means the knowledge and capacity development can take place, what the outcomes are and how these could be potentially assessed The sector’s performance derives from the effective action of individuals with the proper knowledge and capac-ity, who function in larger (sector) organizations (such as ministries, local govern-ments, water user associations, civil society organizations, etc.) The effectiveness of these organizations is dependent both on the effectiveness of those individuals and

on the typical features that shape the capacity of the organization itself through its skills mix, operational procedures, etc In turn, organizations with the right capacity still need an enabling environment to put in place the facilitating factors including

an enabling legal and regulatory framework, financing and fiscal rules that late proper action, and a broadly supportive political inclination in parliaments and among the voters and consumers As mentioned above, KCD is essential to support and implement improvement of institutions or change in institutional arrangements Often it is difficult to distinguish KCD proper from institutional development, and, indeed, KCD is embedded in and in effect helps shape any institutional development and reform effort

stimu-At the level of the individual the knowledge and capacity can be meaningfully categorized as factual knowledge (“water boils at 100°C”), understanding (e.g of the water cycle), skills (e.g to apply a theory) and attitudes (e.g problem-solving attitudes, and intuitively seeking cost-effective solutions) These comprise explicit and tacit knowledge, in accordance with Polanyi (section 2.2) They are generally developed through typical knowledge transfer instruments such as education and training, however, whether the desired knowledge (or capacity) is explicit or tacit does make a difference in choice of instrument As Polanyi and Sveiby argued from their respective epistemological and practical management insights, tacit knowledge

is eventually far more important as it shapes the skills and deeper attitudes Tacit knowledge can best be transferred through one-on-one interaction between junior and senior, apprentice and teacher Organizational capacity development is achieved

by educating/training the (staff) members and by helping the organization as such learn from the experiences from others Technical assistance and management advice are important instruments Both for individuals and for organizations, networks are playing an increasingly important role for generating, sharing, corroborating and improving knowledge and capacity Networks—both formal associations and infor-mal communities of practice—are becoming the main mechanisms for professional improvement for many water professionals Information and Communication Sys-tems (ICS—comprising both the technologies proper, and the interfaces and edu-cated users who are able to utilize and work with these systems) are powerful tools

to support and intensify communication and open up new avenues for the nation of knowledge including best-practices ICS is also becoming an instrument

dissemi-to forecast with greater precision the future consequences of current decisions and

Water “literacy” Political priorities

Fiscal frame Accountability

Change mgmt Tech advice on

learn-policies scenarios in development scenarios, and reduce the uncertainty related to climatic variability The access to relevant data facilitates decision-making and in general increase transparency and governance.

3.3 Assessing outcomes of KCD

Measuring the impact or outcome of a simple input at the level of the individual, say,

of a training for a particular skill, is quite feasible and methodologies are available for this purpose In contrast, the assessment of the outcomes at the more aggregate

or higher levels of behavior is a cumbersome proposition (say, of an “attitude” in an individual, or a competence of a larger organization or part of the sector), because the outcomes are diverse, often hard to define with precision, and fuzzy; the different ele-ments also are not only related in linear causal relationship but also through mutual interactions and feedback loops For example, the competence of the organization is not only determined by the sum of the competences of the staff, but also by the way the organization’s own structure and its operational and administrative procedures further stimulate the utilization of knowledge and skills, and continual learning As the complexity theory (see higher) has demonstrated, the causal relations with the inputs are usually hard to discern, and the desired outcome typically is achieved only when a number of inputs are secured and conditions fulfilled simultaneously While

it is already difficult to articulate how a combination of inputs and conditions would likely lead to a desired outcome, it is more tenuous to correlate observed outcomes (such as behavior or an institutional change) with a set of inputs and conditions Under these circumstances it is particularly difficult to devise indicators that allow to reliably describe the levels of capacity/knowledge in an individual or organization.This assessment difficulty seriously hampers efforts to target KCD investments better and find out which strategies work better than others A number of efforts have been made to get a better grip on the assessment of current capacity and the “gap” with the desired level as derived from countries or situations that are deemed com-paratively successful or otherwise adequate to serve as benchmark Basically, three approaches have been proposed that each contribute to informing decisions regard-ing KCD strategies and investments

A first approach takes a normative position and attempts a semi-quantitative assessment of the “capacity gap”, at least on one or more key elements of an organi-zation’s or the sector’s capacity For example, it would assess a “capacity gap” by estimating how many professionals and which skills are required for a country’s sector organizations or for its sector to be effective, and how many of these skills are actually available or are being delivered by the educational systems of that country (see box 2, UNESCO-IHE and Schwartz) Although such quantification responds to the practical desire for concrete information, the complex nature of knowledge and capacity is likely to limit the usefulness of this approach Also, the gap in terms of human resources concerns only one component of KCD

A second approach rejects the normative position and consists in assessment

of the “capacity gap” by involving key stakeholders and experts in consultations regarding what they perceive as the priority elements in the capacity gap, and how

this gap can be best addressed through a series of short-term iterative steps that allow regular adjustments to the KCD efforts (see box 2, UNDP) For this and the previous assessment approach it is essential to involve outside experts who have full exposure

to international best-practices; local stakeholders are obviously best informed about what is feasible within the local political context, however, they may be unaware of alternative insights and models, or they may suffer from tunnel vision

A third approach is seated in the complexity theory and essentially posits that very little in KCD can actually be planned precisely because of this complexity and non-linearity Baser (this Volume), drawing on a series of different case studies, dem-onstrates that the factors that eventually cause success or failure are hard to plan or forecast, while those efforts that are plannable often play a modest if any role in the final outcomes It may be concluded that for many types of KCD initiatives, the effectiveness at a higher or aggregate level does depend on numerous factors and indeed is generally hard to plan or forecast with precision In addition, the processes and “facilitating conditions” that are required to create the impact may be mostly outside of the control of those managing the initiative, and may demand long lead times beyond conventional project durations and possibly span generations Also, involvement of the key stakeholders up-front is essential to achieve realistic assess-ment and KCD implementation strategies, and ensure the commitment from those who are supposed to carry the initiative

It is suggested here to develop better methodologies and protocols that are able to assess these capacity levels through four key features of the overall “competence” that are the essential determinants for the success and sustainability of a water man-agement strategy:

• Competence on technical expertise Technical and scientific expertise obviously are essential for proper water management This is comparatively easy to assess and can be measured through tests, peer-reviewed academic publications, etc

• Competence on managerial skills Competence in managing projects, teams, izations and resources, and the ability to “get things done within reasonable limits

organ-of resource utilization and time”, are very important higher-level skills Whether

an individual or an organization possesses this competence can be derived from their eventual success, however, because such competence has also very personal features and relates to personal character traits it is much harder to “measure” or assess directly

• Competence on governance Governance can have many meanings but for the poses here we limit it to both the sense of being able to guide the broader sector management, including the role and contribution of civil society, and of bringing

pur-to bear a deeper ethical commitment pur-to transparent and effective engagement in the sector Many countries still have sector organizations—technically competent—that appear more driven by the direct interests of these organizations proper instead of

by the broader and longer-term interests of society This kind of competence is even more abstract and hard to assess, yet competence can be observed from proxies for, e.g a strong interest in and capacity to work with civil society, and a demonstrated commitment to transparent and accountable management

• Competence on continual learning and innovation As was outlined above, the water sector is knowledge-intensive and, therefore, its main actors, especially in goverment, need to put in place procedures and an attitude that stimulate continued

Box 2 Water sector assessments—examples

UNDP supported “rapid water sector assessments” in 1992–1998, in China, Peru, Mexico,

Mali, Ghana and Bolivia In each instance UNDP provided modest financial support

in the form of international expertise to local agencies keen to assess the challenges

to their water sector and their nation’s capacities to address these challenges, and from there devise a new strategy based on a prioritization In China, the Ministry of Water Resources and the Guizhou Provincial Administration worked on an institutional per-formance assessment, focusing on strengths and weaknesses related to the economic and institutional aspects of water management, such as pricing, river basin manage-ment, and stakeholder involvement in integrated water management In Peru, the assess-ment guided a parliamentary debate on sectoral priorities, and helped reform agencies and generation of the required new skills mixes In Mexico, the initiative added to the

broader effort of the Comision Nacional de Agua to improve the sector’s overall

perform-ance, and it led to a better articulated and focused reform agenda Each process took2–3 years, included sequential consultations, and contributed to a longer-term institu-tional improvement process The support was modest at $30–90,000, and did not include the financing of the actual implementation of the strategy, for which usually other funds were available (UNDP 1997)

A global review assessing constraints to achieving the Millennium Development Goals on

water found that though several developing countries reported to have adequate numbers

of technical staff, many other countries still faced quantitative constraints Nearly all countries reported that often engineering graduates lacked strategic skills, sensitivity to economic and social issues and capacities to apply locally appropriate approaches Also, most sector agencies didn’t sufficiently reward such skills or create a conducive environ-ment for their use (UNESCO-IHE 2005)

Indonesia’s economy depends heavily on good water management The 1998–2004

finan-cial crisis triggered a deep institutional and administrative reform, emphasizing tralized decision-making, participatory irrigation and cost recovery The crisis also severely cut staffing levels A thorough assessment of the new demands on the sector, and the existing capacities at national, provincial and district levels, revealed systemic weaknesses both in quantity as well as in skills mixes The recommendations include:

decen-• Modernize curricula—and prepare engineers also for non-technical disciplines

• Attract the brightest graduates, and set up a mentoring system so that inexperienced recruits get the tacit knowledge

• Increase the appeal of the organization

• Develop a pro-active human resources strategy with better career paths

• Retain more of the good staff, and support potential leaders

• Continuously assess training and education needs

• Make use of retiring employees who have valuable knowledge and experience (Schwartz 2008)

Box 3 Check-list to assess the capacities at the sector level (Lopes and Theisohn 2003)

Human resources: Refers to the process of changing attitudes and behaviors–imparting

knowledge and developing skills while maximizing the benefits of participation, knowledge exchange and ownership.

Job requirements and skill levels Are jobs correctly defined and are the skills available? Training/retraining Is the appropriate learning taking place?

Career progression Are individuals able to advance and develop

essionally?

Accountability/ethics Is responsibility effectively delegated and are

viduals held accountable?

Access to information Is there adequate access to needed information? Personal/professional networking Are individuals exchanging knowledge with peers? Performance/conduct Is performance effectively measured?

Incentives/security Are these sufficient to promote excellence?

Values, integrity and attitudes Are these in place and maintained?

Morale and motivation Are these adequately maintained?

Work redeployment and job sharing Are there alternatives to the existing arrangements? Inter-relationships and teamwork Do individuals interact and form functional teams? Communication skills Are these effective?

Organizational capacity: Focuses on the overall organizational performance and functioning

capabilities as well as the ability of an organization to adapt to change.

Mission and strategy Do the organizations have clearly defined mandates? Culture/structure/competencies Are organizations effectively structured and managed? Process Do institutional processes such as planning, qual-

ity management, monitoring and evaluation work effectively?

Human resources Are the human resources adequate, skilled and

loped?

Financial resources Are financial resources managed effectively and

cated appropriately to enable effective operation? Information resources Is required information available and effectively

distributed?

Infrastructure Are offices, vehicles and computers managed

ively?

The enabling environment: Focuses on the overall policy framework in which individuals and

organizations operate and interact with the external environment.

Policy framwwework What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities

and threats operating at the societal level?

Legal/regulatory framework Is the appropriate legislation in place, and are these

laws effectively enforced?

Management/accountability framework Are institutional responsibilities clearly defined, and

are responsible institutions held accountable? Economic framework Do markets function effectively and efficiently? Systems-level framework Are the required human, financial and information

resources available?

Process and relationships Do the different institutions and processes interact

and work together effectively?

innovation and acquisition of knowledge to prepare for the “next agenda” The sector and its organizations need to continuously reflect on the questions how to become more effective and efficient in providing current services, and how to best prepare for the future challenges Clearly, an important role is to be assumed by universities and institutes for research and development Some countries, such

as The Netherlands, have developed sector-wide knowledge management works and initiatives This contrasts with many other countries, where interest in improvements is modest and organizations seem concerned primarily by main-taining the status quo

frame-A fundamental difference is to be noted between the competences pertaining to

an individual and to an organization, or group For an individual it may be difficult

to score high on all four competences, and indeed it may be undesirable, as some professionals are expected to be specialists with a high competence in a narrow area Organizations or groups on the other hand may require a balanced competence mix, with the different scores being contributed by the different complementary compe-tences of individuals in the group, and by the specific contribution that is created by the organization’s procedures and functioning

Lopes and Theisohn offer a useful check-list to help assess a sector’s capacity by analyzing the three levels of individual (or human resources) capacity, organizations (or institutional) capacity and the capacity of the enabling environment (box 3)

4 WHAT GOVERNMENTS (AND OTHERS) CAN DO

4.1 A stronger case

If sustainable development is our prime objective, then KCD should have the ority attention in developing and industrialized countries alike Governments—for having legal authority and responsibility over the sector—can devise appropriate policies and take the main initiatives Notwithstanding, an equally important role is

pri-to be played by civil society organizations and NGOs, and through the awareness and political vote of the electorate The discussion below does not claim to be compre-hensive, and focuses on the government role

Investing in knowledge and capacity development pays off Recent evaluations have demonstrated that development programs in the water sector are now more effective and sustainable than, say, before the mid-nineties Many local communities have become less vulnerable to external upheaval or natural disaster This higher effectiveness can be attributed for a large part to stronger institutions, better govern-ance and more technical and managerial competence in the developing countries whose capacity has been strengthened Several studies on irrigation, for example, have shown that nowadays the best return on the investment in canal improve-ment is achieved when a substantial effort is also placed in capacity enhancement, including empowerment, of irrigators and local-government officials Of course,

at a higher level of aggregation, the impact of education of the young generation and of communities on sector development and sustainability is without doubt

These impacts are being recognized Although accurate figures are lacking, the amount of funds allocated to capacity development by donors seems to have increased about tenfold in the period 1995–2004 over the preceding decade For instance, the World Bank provided for Sub-Saharan Africa between 1995 and 2004 about US$9 billion in lending and US$900 million in grants for the broader goal of capacity enhancement and education (World Bank 2005) Across the globe, the Bank financed about $720 million annually over the past years for training activities for all sectors (World Bank 2007).

4.2 Strategies and next steps

But governments and other decision-makers have still a long way to go to align their administrative systems and sector policies to international best-practices, and put in place a knowledge-management system stimulating structured learning The coordination between institutions must be deepened, and more structural capacity developed Communication with the stakeholder groups from local communities

to politicians is to become a priority, partly for awareness raising and education, but also to listen in and forge cooperation There are seven strategic issues to focus on

i) The fact that KCD is a formidable agenda by itself does not mean that ful KCD should always be carried out with such comprehensive ambition KCD usu-ally is more manageable and better targeted when carried out on a smaller working area or on a confined issue Still, governments should at the same time start analyze their sector’s knowledge and capacity weaknesses and outline a longer-time strategy comprising a series of steps

meaning-ii) As a first initiative to inform the policy and the next steps, the institutional and human capacities of the country’s sector, or part thereof, should be assessed to define their strengths and weaknesses, and how robust the capacities are to deliver more effective services and prepare for future uncertainties The assessment can cover a larger or smaller part of the sector (e.g the management of river basins, basic sanitation, vulnerable communities, youth, etc.), or focus on a part of the over-all institutional architecture and capacity (e.g the education system, community management, or the legal framework) The SWOT analysis technique (Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats), results frameworks, risk analysis, stakeholder analysis, and similar techniques can be very useful to conduct the assessment (see box 2, UNDP) Such analysis always needs to be conducted together with all key stakeholders, including also non-governmental entities, and educational and training outfits besides academia UNDP (2007) has reviewed and compiled the experience with capacity assessments and offers a rational framework for capacity assessment

It suggests that core issues to be assessed cover institutional development, ship, knowledge, and mutual accountability Critical functional capacities include,

leader-e.g., capacity to engage in multi-stakeholder dialogue, situational analysis, vision creation, policy and strategy formulation, budgeting, and monitoring and evaluation

It should be borne in mind that proper analysis requires substantial time and funds,

as the assessment is specialistic and interactive and presumes adequate meeting

and communication opportunities Other best-practices are offered in a World Bank review of experiences in Africa (World Bank 2005).

From this assessment, a strategy and action plan can be derived The strategy should be shaped contextually through dialogue and stakeholder involvement Because the environmental, social-economic and cultural contexts differ between countries and sub-sectors, there is no “one size fits all” strategy Such process cannot

be imposed from outside, and requires a home-grown demand and political mitment However, often the capacity assessment and its development help to make the case and demonstrate the benefits, and at the same time help develop capacity The process often turns out to be slow, incremental and patchy Addressing weak institutional environments is not a straightforward or “linear” process but often works best through “strategic incrementalism”, i.e., pragmatic incremental reform steps that may not fully address all the current institutional performance problems but can alleviate some acute problems while at the same time creating the conditions for deeper and more favourable change in the longer run (World Bank 2007) In order words, one should continually adapt the approach as specific new opportuni-ties arise along the way

com-iii) The water sector is knowledge intensive This calls for much investment in the creation of new knowledge, through research and innovation On the other hand,

a lot of knowledge to guide local action resides within the traditional knowledge of local communities, and is often untapped or dismissed Knowledge on water tends to

be available in fragmented form among a growing number of actors who each hold part of the solution Communication, therefore, is becoming increasingly important

in building the knowledge base and the institutional and human capacities; to seminate and acquire knowledge from across the sector; and to forge political con-sensus in society Precisely because of this complexity and the distributed nature of sector knowledge, a judicious balance needs to be sought between centralized sector management and collaborative arrangements among decentralized entities

dis-ICS is a powerful tool to support and intensify communication and open up new avenues for the dissemination of knowledge including best-practices ICS is also becoming the key instrument to forecast with greater precision the future consequences of current decisions and policies in development scenarios, and to reduce the uncertainty related to climatic variability The access to relevant data facilitates decision-making and in general increases transparency and governance Thorkilsen (2001) and Abbott (2007) describe how ICS has been at the core of the broad knowledge-sharing effort that was necessary to create the political and soci-etal support for one of Europe’s largest and controversial infrastructure projects, namely the rail and road bridge and tunnel across the Øresend strait connecting Denmark and Sweden

Decision-makers have nowadays an array of tools and “knowledge pools” such

as data bases, research and educational centres, consultants, etc at their disposal to develop or enhance capacity and facilitate knowledge generation in those areas and with those actors whose low capacity is considered a key constraint

iv) The strategy generally is implemented through a combination of education; training; technical advice for institutional strengthening and change; institution of appropriate incentives and procedures that encourage staff to seek innovation and learn; facilitation of research and innovation, and of communication and interac-tion Given that much of the sector’s education is actually carried out by the edu-cational establishment—through polytechnics, and a variety of university-level studies—sectoral decision-makers would do well by engaging in a dialogue with these establishments to ensure that sectoral and educational perspectives are aligned The generation of professionals is in many developing countries a prime concern

As mentioned in box 2, in many countries nominally adequate numbers of graduates are churned out by universities and polytechnics, but their specializations and skills may not be attuned to the modern challenges and the expectations from the societies they are supposed to serve “Education” should also be understood to go well beyond tertiary education, and society at large and youth in particular need to be educated about water and how it impacts their future Finally, “education and training” encom-passes a wide gamut of instruments spanning from conventional class-room teaching

to Objective-Based Learning, hands-on learning and mentoring Recent comparative studies have shed new light on which approaches are likely to be most effective (see box 4) In this fields too, ICS has opened up powerful new tools for real-time access

to data and teachers across the globe, and communication among peers

v) Governments can encourage the development of systems to generate and share knowledge among “centres of knowledge”, as well as between those who are in need of knowledge and those who possess it As highlighted above, with the advent of ICS and globalization, governments can create and actively fund “communities of practice”, networks of professionals and institutions, and databases, on the relevant subjects In such networks, local governments and communities are not to be left out—they are always the first at risk, but they also often hold a lot of traditional wisdom Some such networks preferably should also be international, both south-south and south-north.vi) A special challenge concerns the facilitation of institutional strengthening and KCD in civil society Although many governments may not find this obvious, or against their mandate, civil society needs to receive special attention based on the following considerations

• With the large numbers of stakeholders in water management, governments will ingly depend on informed and “capacitated” actors in civil society to play a growing role in water management, over and beyond the role they are already playing

increas-• As the technical agencies at national as well as at local government levels depend

on budgets voted by Parliament or Councils, it is essential that their staff is ter able to make the case with politicians to secure the budgets Eventually, this also means that civil society too needs to feel more strongly about the priority for water, and lend its support to water sector initiatives

bet-• Climate and other changes need to be better forecasted, and remedial actions tified, agreed upon and taken Much of this implies non-technical measures as well

iden-as some technical meiden-asures at local level to strengthen preparedness and resilience

of local settlements and their arrangements for agriculture and for natural resource management This is of special relevance in light of climate variability and other environmental changes.

• Civil society has the right to hold government accountable for delivery on its cies To enhance governance, civil society therefore should have suitable capacities, have access to relevant information and be able to engage with (local) government

poli-on service delivery

• Civil society as “user”, on the other hand, needs to be able to involve itself in some decision making at local, basin and national level, to help decide on pri-orities in spending and water management, and in such a way that at the same time it is aware of the costs involved in the options, and agrees to provide for the finance

vii) Finally, it should be recognized that “learning” is a continual effort Governments can put in place the procedures, institutions and incentives to ensure that lessons are

Box 4 Education and training systems: Which factors make them most effective?

To be effective, water professionals are expected to possess a variety of knowledge, skills, and attitudes Education and training provide him or her with these personal faculties

A World Bank evaluation (2007) concluded that success factors for training are simple yet

Recent global comparative analysis (OECD 2006, Fullan 2007, McKinsey & Co 2007)

suggests that the central factor for success in education (and also training) is the

teacher—to get the right people to become teachers, and to develop the teachers into effective instructors Success in the classroom requires from teachers personalization, precision and professional learning:

• Personalization is the capacity of a teacher to acknowledge what each individual student needs;

• Precision refers to the capacity to address the specific learning needs of each individual; and

• Teachers themselves should be enabled to keep learning and upgrading their knowledge through intensive exposure to workfloor problems and contexts

• Finally, learning-by-doing and mentoring by experienced colleagues are very effective educational and training methods

learned, documented and disseminated Each time an issue has been addressed, or a particular action carried out more effectively, this information should be fed back to stimulate further improvement.

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Water for a Changing World – Developing Local Knowledge and Capacity – Alaerts & Dickinson (eds)

© 2009 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-47757-4

Symposium conclusions and recommendations

Water for a changing world: Developing local knowledge and capacity

UNESCO-IHE, Delft, The Netherlands

ABSTRACT: UNESCO-IHE hosted the International Symposium Water for a

Changing World: Developing Local Knowledge and Capacity June 13–15, 2007, in

Delft, the Netherlands, to assess the priority challenges in the water sector and to ommend principles and strategies for developing knowledge and capacity at country level in order to make international development and water management more effec-tive and sustainable This report reflects the opinions of over 300 professionals, lead-ers and politicians representing national and local governments, scientists, education institutions and NGOs from 56 countries, as well as UN agencies and multilateral development banks

rec-1 KNOWLEDGE AND CAPACITY: SUSTAINING GLOBAL

DEVELOPMENT

In 1972, the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human

Environ-ment emphasised the importance of education and the right institutions for the

man-agement of our environment Since the Delft Declaration in 1991, capacity building

has been recognized explicitly as a key tool for making development sustainable and for addressing the world’s broad spectrum of water management challenges—from drinking water supply and sanitation to water resources management Across all sec-tors, funding for capacity development has grown ten-fold since 1995 Donors are spending more than one quarter of their funds on education and capacity develop-ment today and this effort is indeed showing results

Are these funds applied to optimum effect and are they helping our world to pare well for the future challenges?

pre-1.1 The world is in a state of accelerated change

Over the past two decades the world’s population has grown by two billion people, and most of them are poor By 2030 nearly 60% of the population in developing countries will live in urban centres—the engines of job creation and economic growth These sprawling settlements are rapidly changing the land use in the watersheds around them, especially the river flood plains, and thus exacerbating floods People are demanding more clean tap water and sanitation that works Improving the often weak urban water systems in developing countries will become increasingly critical