Development Aspects Impressum Editors

Networks' added value for capacity-building in water

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  Networks can create the multidisciplinary base necessary for the introduction
  

and support of complex approaches, such as IWRM and Green Economy

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  By combining scattered strengths of institutions into a critical mass, networks can maximize use of local skills and enhance local ownership and relevance of capacity-building
  
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  By sharing knowledge and expertise through communication and collaboration, networks combine strengths, and each member becomes stronger. Networking develops in a learning environment
  
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  Networks enhance the impact of the delivered products by coordinating and
  

making use of other members’ capacity, skills and experience (Cap-Net, 2011a).



Figure 1: Cap-Net building blocks for effective capacity development in IWRM and Green Economy

3. A knowledge management cycle for green societies

Knowledge management for capacity-building networks means facilitating knowl- edge at different levels and for different targets. Knowledge management in net- works is about how a particular understanding is created, shared with capacity- building institutions and finally transferred to target groups which are part of the water sector. The knowledge content changes as new knowledge is being devel- oped and demands are attended, but the cycle grows positively bringing relevance and sustainability for these alliances.

A closer understanding of capacity development explains the relevance and applicability of knowledge management, not as an ad hoc activity, but at the core of continuous capacity development through networks:
Capacity-building is the process of implementing institutional development. It provides tools and knowledge to initiate, guide and support institutional develop- ment. Most of the activities under institutional development concern knowledge transfer, skills development and facilitating the use of these capacities. Capacity has been defined as the ability of individuals and organizations or organizational units to perform functions effectively, efficiently and sustainably. This implies that capacity is not a passive state but part of a continuing process (Alaerts, Hartvelt and Patorni, 1996).
For knowledge to become an effective contribution for social change, knowl- edge has to be reflected in action shown in concrete and measurable changes in the way water resources are managed, in water governance, and by water uses and users.
The knowledge that is required embraces both tacit and explicit knowledge. Explicit knowledge is knowledge that can be expressed in words and numbers. Per- sonal, or tacit knowledge, is very important for human cognition, because people acquire knowledge by the active re(creation) and organization of their own expe- rience. This interaction is called conversion. Nonaka and Takeuchi went further and noted that this conversion does not take place within individuals but between individuals (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995, cited in Beijerse, 1999).
A network framework enables this process to take place through a cycle which has been identified as the knowledge management cycle in networks (figure 2). The cycle results in knowledge creation, as a capability for action implementation of IWRM. It is a social cycle, where partnerships and networking allow knowledge flow and conversion.


Figure 2: Knowledge management cycle for capacity-building networks (Cap-Net, 2011b)

Learning from experience
Case studies and lessons learned

Strategic alliances

for research