Accelerated Development Program for Emerging Water Leaders - Learning from Bengaluru
India has embarked on an ambitious journey to improve cities which will be home to more than 60% of the nation’s population by 2050. A plethora of initiatives under pioneering programs such as AMRUT 2.0 and Swacch Bharat Mission are driving innovation in the urban water sector.
While new and innovative solutions, policies and technologies are constantly being tested at various locations for better water management, there are barriers to replicate and scale up, due to lack of skill and awareness across various city-regions of India.
The Bangalore Program Success
There is an urgent need to develop training and upskilling workshops for water sector professionals (both government and private sector) to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals and build urban water resilience.
WRI India tried to fill this gap by creating a specially curated 3-day, free-of-cost Accelerated Development Program (ADP) offered to emerging water leaders with a limited capacity of 10 seats only. The training program hosted in Bengaluru office of WRI India, received an overwhelming response from an engaging and immersed set of candidates.
Takeaways
The three-day specially curated program comprised in-class presentations, interactive discussions, role-play and design exercises. Extensive site visits and engagement with government and community stakeholders enabled a direct view of the challenges and decision-making processes of these innovative solutions, for the participants. Following the training program, the workshop cohort has been inducted into an alumni group to enable continued interaction, peer-learning and collaboration.
