Title
GO-WATER Programme – Building capacity for improved water security
Background
The Stockholm International Water Institute, SIWI, is a not-for-profit institute with a wide range of expertise in water governance. SIWI creates knowledge, develops capacity, and offers policy advice to countries, communities, and companies. SIWI also organizes the world’s leading water conference, World Water Week, and awards the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize and Stockholm Junior Water Prize. SIWI has its main office in Stockholm, Sweden and regional offices in Southern Africa (Pretoria, South Africa) and Latin America (Bogota, Colombia), however works globally to change how water is understood, valued and managed.
Water is a precious natural resource that is important for every aspect of life. It is essential for basic health and is needed for social and economic development and environmental sustainability. Many parts of the world experience mounting pressure on their water sources, triggered by rising populations, economic growth and changing climate. Projections show that 40% of the world’s population currently lives in water-stressed river basins, and that water demand will rise by 55% by 2050 (OECD, 2012a).
Water governance is critical to water security as water connects across sectors, places and people, as well as temporal scales. Water management and services provision involve a range of public, private and non-profit stakeholders in decision-making, policy and project cycles. Consequently, water governance capacity development is a very strategic intervention to assist countries to address water security risks with a bearing on social inclusion, economic development and eradication of poverty.
Learning Objectives
The overall aim of the programme is to build more effective water sector institutions, contributing to improved water security and resilience for poverty eradication and social equity.
The GO-WATER programme contains two basic and inter-related components: 1) Building vision, commitment and operational efficiency of selected key water institutions for delivery of core mandates. 2) Building improved water governance knowledge and regional exchange.
Content and Structure
To be developed.
Methodology
The SIWI Water Governance Framework, based on governance functions, attributes and outcomes, will be used as the basis for the content development and as a menu for participating countries to assess their capacity development priorities. The framework provides practical guidance for decision-makers and practitioners on designing action-oriented water governance processes, and ultimately, how improved water governance can contribute to improved policy implementation with impacts on sustainable water uses and their effects on poverty eradication.
For each country a national water governance capacity assessment, linked to ongoing water reform, will be developed. The assessments should lead to insights regarding existing capacity assets, needs and priorities to formulate capacity development programme and content. The assessment comprises of three interrelated but distinct steps, at each step the focus area becomes more specific resulting in a tailored capacity development plan for each county context: Step 1: Engage stakeholders. This step begins with a desk review, which leads to discussions with the key country stakeholders to determine the thematic focus and the desired water governance outcomes. Step 2: Assessment of capacity assets and needs. This step involves a series of tasks to assess the relevant water governance functions and attributes within the selected thematic area through a sector survey and bilateral meetings with sector leaders. Step 3: Development of capacity development plan.
A capacity development plan will be drafted based on agreed thematic area and outcomes e.g., WASH, WRM, climate change, etc. and identified water governance functions e.g., financing, regulation, policy development, coordination etc. As the purpose of the programme is to respond to each country’s priorities, a high degree of flexibility is integrated in the capacity assessment methodology. This allows each country to tailor the assessment to the country context. For example, in Colombia the regulatory function was already identified by government partners prior to start of the GO-WATER to allow synergy with an already established SIWI capacity support programme, this has allowed the assessment to focus on the regulatory function.
Capacity development activities will involve a range of methodologies including peer-to-peer learning, trainings, mentorship or technical support. They will be designed to target both skills and knowledge related to the water sector and skills and knowledge on how to promote and manage change. Participants will also develop specific group projects for improved governance that should be implemented by the water institutions following the training.
Targeted Audience
The GO-WATER programme targets key government water organisations, specifically middle and higher-level public water officials and decision-makers at national and sub-national levels.
A multistakeholder perspective is considered critical since effective policy implementation is about building trust and stakeholder coalitions for joint actions. Selected participants who will take part in the capacity development activities will have to demonstrate water reform commitment and potential as agents of change.
Application Process
Selection of workshop participants will be done in collaboratin with partnering organisations, SIWI and Cap-Net.