Potential of Networking for building Capacity in the Nile basin Nile Basin Capacity Building Network

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Potential of Networking for building Capacity in
the Nile basinNile Basin Capacity Building
Network(NBCBN) Marriott Hotel, Cairo, 15 June
2004
Ir. Jan Luijendijk UNESCO-IHE, Delft Email
j.luijendijk_at_unesco-ihe.org Internet
http//www.unesco-ihe.org
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Contents of the presentation

• 1. Capacity building why?
• 2. Building blocks of a network
• 3. The Nile Basin Capacity Building Network
• 4. Capacity building components and instruments
• 5. The network development process
• 6. The future
• 7. Conclusions

3
Capacity Building Why?

• In general
• Many projects have failed to deliver the expected
  benefits
• Lack of capacity of both individuals and
  organisations
• In the Nile region
• Lack of capacity to manage water in an integrated
  manner (IWRM)
• Uneven distribution of capacity within the basin.
  
• Little interaction among water professionals in
  the Nile Basin

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Can networks support Capacity Building?

• To a certain extent, a human network can, since
• It gives people access to knowledge, information
  and data
• It goes beyond the organisational hierarchical
  structures
• It goes beyond geographical and time-zone
  boundaries
• It broadens the horizon of people
• It might create the fertile enabling environment
  for the more valuable Communities of Practice to
  emerge
• However,
• Networks could also be loose networks in which
  just data and information is exchanged and NOT
  focusing on the knowledge in people

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Main building blocks of a professional network

• Providers and consumers concept
• Community of Practice
• Internet-based learning and education
• ICT-tools KM-platforms,Services and
  functionalities

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Building block 1 Providers and consumers concept

• It is essential to know where and what the
  problems are,
• and to get access to places where knowledge is
  generated
• In both cases it is necessary to get direct
  access to the main players in the field
• the water professionals
• the local capacity builders
• This concept is applied in the NBCBN network by
  focussing on both capacity building institutions
  and the other water sector institutions

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Main building block 2 Community of Practice (1)

• Definition (Wenger and Dermott, 2002)
• Communities of practice are groups of people that
  gather around a common interest or theme, and
  deepen their knowledge by interacting on an
  ongoing basis
• Three characteristics
• A common topic, a domain, a sense of common
  identity
• A sense of connection and community, with members
  that regularly interact trust is key
• A shared practice, a set of frameworks, ideas,
  tools information, styles, language, stories and
  documents

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Main building block 2 Community of Practice (2)

• CoPs are becoming an important KM tool for an
  increasing number of multinational corporations
  (HP, BP, Chevron, Ford, Xerox, Shell, World Bank,
  etc)
• A CoP is one of the best models to share Soft
  Knowledge
• experiences,
• working knowledge,
• tacit knowledge
• The CoP model is especially attractive for
  research groups and is an excellent model of
  adult learning

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Main building block 2 Community of Practice (3)

• Communities of Practice are the places where real
  value is produced through sharing ideas, insight,
  information, experience and tools.
• CoPs can consist of 5 to maybe 30 people drawn
  to one another by a force that is both social and
  professional.
• In supporting CoPs we need to learn what
  conditions foster their emergence and to create
  an environment in which they can flourish.

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Main building block 2 Community of Practice (4)

• The focus should be on the communities that own
  the knowledge and the people that create and use
  it.
• The main concept should therefore be
• to support and strengthen already existing
  communities,
• to promote and initiate an environment that
  stimulates the creation of new communities the
  NBCBN network
• to generate additional value through making
  cross-links.
• CoPs form the foundation of our NBCBN network

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Main building block 3 Internet-based Learning
Education

• Learning, education training are less distinct
  activities
• ET focus more on learning through problem
  solving
• While professionals are destined to life-long
  learning.
• Principles of knowledge sharing, group learning,
  collaborative working and e-learning can be
  applied to both students and professionals.
• The challenge for NBCBN is to continue to make
  maximum use of ICT-tools for learning.

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Main building block 4 Knowledge management
platforms (1)

• Applying web-based KM-tools towards CoPs will
  allow basic functions to be handled more
  efficiently
• True KM-platforms are providing a medium to
  exchange and share ideas and thoughts
• To realise the benefits of a KM-platform
• people need to share information rather than
  protect it!
• NBCBN is developing its own interactive platform
  with an appropriate set of functions for each
  CoP.

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Main building block 4 Knowledge management
platforms (2)
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NBCBN Dynamic web-site
www.nbcbn.com
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UNESCO-IHE water related networks
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UNESCO-IHE PoWER partnerships

• Birzeit University, Palestinian Authority
• Hohai University, China
• Human Settlement Management Institute, HUDCO,
  India
• Hydraulics Research Institute, Egypt
• Instituto Technologico y de Estudios Superiores
  de Monterrey, Mexico
• Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and
  Technology, Ghana
• Makerere University/Institute for Environment and
  Natural Resources, Uganda
• Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, China
• Regional Centre for Urban Water Management, Iran
• Sana'a University, Yemen
• Taiwan International Institute for Water
  Education, Chinese Taipei
• UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, The
  Netherlands
• Universidad Blas Pascal, Argentina
• Universidad del Valle, Colombia
• Universitas Katolik Parahyangan, Indonesia
• University of Zimbawe/Department of Civil
  Engineering, Zimbabwe
• WaterNet, Zimbabwe

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Why the initiative for a NBCBNetwork?

• Since 1996 3-month training course and various
  short courses on Hydraulic Engineering in River
  Basins for professionals from the Nilotic States.
  
• Training groups of young professionals coming
  with different political background and culture
  fostered friendly relationships
• A network could facilitate an even more intensive
  co-operation between professionals from the Nile
  region.

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The main concept

• The main concept on which the project is based is
  to
• create an environment in which professionals
  from the water sector sharing the same river
  basin would have the possibility to exchange
  ideas, their best practices and lessons learned.
  
• Such an environment can best be established by
  fostering a network through which education,
  training, research and exchange of information
  for and by professionals can take place NBCBN-RE

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The approach for building the NBCBN-RE

• The approach is to let the network develop
  gradually
• To create a number of focal centres located in
  different countries within the region focusing on
  different aspects of Integrated Water Resources
  Management
• For River/Hydraulic Engineering Egypt would be
  the obvious country building further on the
  success of the HRI-Regional Training Centre at
  Delta Barrage
• The project could well serve as a pilot project
  for similar activities in other specialised
  fields of water resources management.

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NBCBN-RE network
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Institutional framework capacity building

Capacity
Building

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The future

• With NBI!
• NBCBN -gt Nile Net

NBI
Cairo Declaration
January 2002
NBCBN-RE
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The future with NBI
P I L L A R
P I L L A R
E
E
B
F
G
B
F
G
A
C
D
A
C
D
Socio
Socio
-
-
Capacity Building
Capacity Building
Applied Training
Economic Development, Benefit
Applied Training
Economic Development, Benefit
Nile Basin Regional Power Trade
Nile Basin Regional Power Trade
Confidence Building, Stakeholder Involvement
Confidence Building, Stakeholder Involvement
Nile Transboundary Environmental Action
Nile Transboundary Environmental Action
Water Resources Planning and Management
Water Resources Planning and Management
Efficient Water Use for Agricultural Production
Efficient Water Use for Agricultural Production
Networking
Networking
-
-
Sharing
Sharing
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NBCBN as pilot for the NileNet
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The NBCBN Focus

• Supporting inter-basin exchange among water
  professionals
• Direct strengthening the individual capacity of a
  large number of professionals
• IWRM specialized domains (next to IWRM
  principles)

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NBCBN Approach

• Integrating Capacity Building components
  Integrating Education, Training and Applied
  Research
• Linking CB institutions with Professional sector
  institutions
• Network as the main meeting place of
  collaborative work
• Applying the CoP concepts
• Stimulating involvement of experts in
  multi-disciplinary regional RD activities
• Sharing to a maximum the experiences of the
  NBCBN-RE pilot

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Domain Fields within IWRM
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Research clusters
Hydropower
River and Hydraulic Engineering
River Morphology
Environmental aspects
River Structures
Flood Management
GIS and Modelling
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Communities of Practice
River and Hydraulic Engineering
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CoPs and project teams (PT)1
NEEDS OF SOCIETY
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CoPs and project teams (PT)2
NEEDS OF SOCIETY
32
CoPs and project teams (PT)3
S
O
L
U
NEEDS OF SOCIETY
T
O
N
S
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CoPs and project teams (PT)4
S
Water Climate
O
PT
PT
L
U
PT
PT
NEEDS OF SOCIETY
T
PT
PT
O
PT
PT
N
S
PT
PT
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CoPs and project teams (PT)5
S
Water Climate
Water Climate
O
PT
PT
L
HydroPower
HydroPower
NEEDS OF SOCIETY
NEEDS OF SOCIETY
U
PT
PT
T
Flood Management
Flood Management
PT
PT
Inland navigation
Inland navigation
O
PT
PT
N
?????????
?????????
S
PT
PT
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Conclusions (1)

• 1 Strategic partnerships create the enabling
  environment for co-operation
• 2 Joint applied research has a high potential
  for building capacity
• 3 Capacity building networks should involve all
  water sector institutions
• 4 Networks should be open and easy to access
• 5 Networks require co-ordination
• 6 CoPs form the main building block of a
  knowledge network

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Conclusions (2)

• 7 Networks should focus on already existing
  communities
• 8 Network and communities should clearly define
  its domain
• 9 Effective network and community coordinators
  are key
• 10Building distributed communities require extra
  attention
• 11Critical success factors for network and
  community development
• 12 Support to network development should lead
  to sustainability