Leadership in knowledge and capacity development in the water sector: A status review

Water management is particularly dependent on strong capacity, a solid knowledge base and awareness at all levels, including those of the individual, the organization, the sector institutions and the ‘enabling environment’. Yet getting all levels to operate in a coherent manner is challenging, and requires vision and leadership. This special issue seeks to further the understanding of leadership in knowledge and capacity development in the water sector but its theoretical and methodological insights will be of interest beyond that arena. This paper presents an introduction to the special issue which resulted from selected papers presented at the 5th Delft Symposium on Water Sector Capacity Development held in Delft, The Netherlands. Collectively, the contributions examine knowledge and capacity development in both the water services and water resources sub-sectors. In order to be linked well to current local realities, the papers rely on both academic analyses based on empirical research as well as practitioners' accounts based on their professional experience. Together, the papers in this special issue and the insights from the recent Symposium summarized in this editorial introduction present an overview of the current state of the art in knowledge and capacity development in the water sector. The paper raises salient policy implications and outlines a research agenda for knowledge and capacity development in the water sector and beyond

Exploring water leadership

In the slipstream of the Rio + 20 Earth Summit in 2012 which articulated ‘The future we want’, on 29–31 May 2013, at the 5th Delft Symposium on Water Sector Capacity Development, UNESCO-IHE convened development practitioners, researchers, sector specialists, policy makers and capacity development specialists to examine who will take the lead in developing capacity ‘from Rio to reality’. This paper maps some of the major challenges and choices to increase water security in the 21st century, outlines trends and relevant models in leadership development, and explores how leadership can be nurtured and catalyzed through capacity development for individuals, organizations and networked communities to deliver on our shared visions, especially in developing countries. Leadership practice, by individuals and organizations, is examined in a range of short cases studies. The authors propose the adoption of modern approaches that will expand individual and collective leadership at all levels and combine cognitive competencies, including in-depth knowledge of integrated water resources management (IWRM), with transformational individual development

From knowledge and capacity development to performance improvement in water supply: The importance of competence integration and use

Knowledge and capacity development (KCD) is increasingly acknowledged as critical for water supply development. Since KCD aims to improve institutional performance, it is often measured using technical performance targets. This paper cautions about the misleading nature of this measurement. The authors argue that technical performance improvement should be separated from competence development because the latter does not always directly translate into the former in a short time period. Drawing on empirical evidence about the management contract between Aqua Vitens Rand Limited and Ghana Water Company Limited, the paper demonstrates how the process of integrating and using competences is a necessary condition before KCD interventions can result in performance improvement. As this process often takes time, KCD providers and beneficiaries should set realistic performance targets. Not doing so creates unrealistic expectations and often leads to underestimation of the actual impact. This paper finds that knowledge management concepts common in the private sector are equally applicable in the public sector but that the latter may be constrained by short term goals and lack of insight in management processes. It is concluded that technical performance-based assessments should be complemented by capacity-based assessments in order to show fairly the contribution of KCD interventions