Water Policy Special Issue on:

Knowledge and Capacity Development to an Implementation Science

This Special Issue of Water Policy is dedicated to knowledge and capacity development (KCD). It offers selected contributions – analytical and review papers, and case studies – to the sixth International Symposium on Knowledge and Capacity Development held in May 2020.

With large challenges to the global water system arising in the next few decades – due to demographic and economic development, land use changes and climate change – knowledge and capacity stand to gain in prominence. With most countries now disposing of reasonably well-articulated policies, their effective implementation is the new challenge. Knowledge and capacity to underpin a new ‘implementation science’ are being called for.

The papers in this Special Issue reflect recent work by scholars and professionals in their endeavour to understand how to effectively strengthen the capacity. While in the 1990s work on capacity mostly focused on understanding and exploring the very concept, and on ‘training’, in the early 2000s the initiatives appeared increasingly geared to more ambitious broad governance questions and the capacity of government administrations. The work in the current Special Issue, however, is reflecting a shared concern to enhance the effectiveness of KCD interventions in general, or of existing programmes.

Editorial: From knowledge and capacity development to an implementation science: policy concepts and operational approaches

G. J. Alaerts, C. Zevenbergen

Water Policy (2022) 24 (5): v–x.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2022.002

Facing global transitions in water management: Advances in knowledge and capacity development and towards adaptive approaches

G. J. Alaerts, J. M. Kaspersma

Water Policy (1 May 2022) 24 (5): 685–707.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2022.301

Social change innovations, citizen science, miniSASS and the SDGs

Jim Taylor, Mark Graham, Adrienne Louw, Ayanda Lepheana, Bonani Madikizela, Chris Dickens, Deborah V. Chapman, Stuart Warner

Water Policy (1 May 2022) 24 (5): 708–717.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2021.264

Making the invisible, visible: 3D aquifer models as an effective tool for building water stewardship in Maharashtra, India

Eshwer Kale, Marcella D'Souza, Sarita Chemburkar

Water Policy (1 May 2022) 24 (5): 718–728.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2022.210

Assessing the societal adoptability of participatory water management: an application of the Motivation and Ability (MOTA) framework

Md Shibly Sadik, Leon M. Hermans, Jaap Evers, Hong Quan Nguyen, Malik Fida A. Khan, Sadiq Ahmed

Water Policy (1 May 2022) 24 (5): 729–746.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2021.255

Water specialist as andragogist: the application of learning theory in capacity development for improved water management

Bobby Russell, Bouke Ottow

Water Policy (1 May 2022) 24 (5): 747–762.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2021.248

Assessing design principles for climate services training courses: educational design principles assessment of six C3S Blended Training courses within the Copernicus Climate Change Service

Maria del Pozo, Judith Gulikers, Erik van Slobbe, Perry den Brok, Fulco Ludwig

Water Policy (1 May 2022) 24 (5): 763–777.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2022.235

Governing river rehabilitation projects for transformative capacity development

Patrick Martel, Catherine Sutherland, Sylvia Hannan

Water Policy (1 May 2022) 24 (5): 778–796.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2021.071

Capacity development for the Bangladesh Delta Plan from the perspective of delta professionals: A qualitative study

Ashraful Kabir, Abu Syed, Chris Zevenbergen, Jannatul Ferdous, Assela Pathirana

Water Policy (1 May 2022) 24 (5): 797–813.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2022.229

Capacity development for SDG 6.5 on IWRM and transboundary cooperation: opportunities and barriers

Carla Sabbatini, Damian Indij

Water Policy (1 May 2022) 24 (5): 814–826.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2022.225

Supporting evidence-based decision-making: Capacity Building through Research

John Conallin, Nora Van Cauwenbergh, Nicolette Duncan, Win Win Zin, Zau Lunn, Htike Htike, Greg Martin, Thom Bogaard, Mário J. Franca

Water Policy (1 May 2022) 24 (5): 827–838.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2022.265

Contextual knowledge co-production and capacity building for sanitation planning: experience from Kerala, India

Sruthi Pillai, N. C. Narayanan

Water Policy (1 May 2022) 24 (5): 839–855.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2021.094

Exploratory assessment of challenges and issues with private water operators in rural water supply and service delivery: a case study of the Karamoja region, Uganda

Benbella Dektar, Scott McConnell, Allan Kasekende

Water Policy (1 May 2022) 24 (5): 856–866.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2021.263