USAID IUWASH Tangguh has fostered knowledge sharing and capacity building, and introduced diverse content related to climate adaptation, water resource management, safely managed drinking water and sanitation among the project’s key stakeholders. The project has increased the capacity of decision makers and relevant stakeholders through organized training activities and ensured the involvement of local expertise by collaborating with local consulting firms and academic institutions.
The Government of Indonesia has gone to great lengths to invest sufficiently in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and water resources management (WRM) sector. However, institutional capacity and organizational readiness to carry out initiatives to address these issues remain a challenge. Some of the challenges among public service providers and key government institutions revolve around inadequate coordination and leadership, issue prioritization, policy development, governance, decision making, and accountability.
USAID IUWASH Tangguh interventions in WASH and WRM are carried out in partnership with government agencies, service providers, and communities, and primarily focus on capacity building, promotion, training, and technical assistance.
To date, USAID IUWASH Tangguh capacity-building activities have increased the competency of more than 1,269 individuals from hundreds of institutions at the national level as well as in the project’s 38 district and city focus areas. The project uses a well-documented training process, measurable training results, and user-friendly training delivery tools. This approach helps support accelerating achievements to increase access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation services.
From October 2nd–5th, 2023, USAID IUWASH Tangguh worked with the Bandung Institute of Technology Center for Climate Change (PPI-ITB) to train 34 individuals—representing the project’s WRM’s stakeholders—on key aspects of building water resilience in Bandung. From national-level ministries to city and district agencies, these trainees represent part of USAID IUWASH Tangguh’s diverse government partners that the project works with on policy and regulation improvements.
The four-day event was part of project’s support to help Indonesia achieve its target on building disaster and climate change resilience, under the 2020–2024 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) and the country’s UNFCCC’s Enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution for 2022.
“Boosting Indonesia’s water resilience is a national priority,” said Mr. Agus Hernadi, USAID IUWASH Tangguh WRM expert. “This training helps synchronize the national and regional priorities so Indonesia can improve how they anticipate and address future climate and disaster risks.”
Participants from Palembang and as far as Manado and Papua actively partake in the training that combined classroom and field-based activities. This approach allows trainers to bridge the gap between theoretical learning with practical hands-on learning, thereby increasing trainees’ competency and preparedness to solve real-world problems.
In the classroom, trainees discussed climate phenomena and their impact on water security, risk assessments and climate vulnerability, climate change adaptation and development planning and budgeting, among the various topics. They also visited the 11.5 million m3 Cileunca hydroelectric reservoir, located approximately 1,400 m above sea level, in the district of Bandung as part of the field activity.
“We designed the site visit as part of the training program,” said Mr. Fitrianto, from PPI-ITB, “so that the trainees can benefit from the first-hand experience on how theories taught in the classroom are applied in the field.”
The organizer divided the trainees into groups and assigned specific locations—forest, farmland, rural village, recreational site—where they collect primary data to assess the vulnerability of the reservoir in response to infrastructure, human, and environmental stressors. They also learned to analyze the data and develop action plans for climate change adaptation.
One trainee, Ms. Sisca Veronica, from Bappeda DKI Jakarta, observed the local environment, interviewed key resource persons, and analyzed the three interacting vulnerability factors: exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. Sisca continued, “I will share the knowledge we learn with my colleagues and managers. We will calculate and analyze the water resilience in Jakarta using these methods and integrate the results into our government’s plans.”
When planning such training activities, USAID IUWASH Tangguh relies on effective program design which translate to aligning the skills and concepts taught with the learning needs of the participants. Other contributing elements include a curriculum that supports the project’s goals, experts that are relevant to the topic being addressed, and supporting environment for trainees to apply their newly gained knowledge when they return to their institution.
Strengthening the capacity of the project’s key counterparts is a crucial part of the project’s larger objectives through collaborating, learning, and adapting process. USAID IUWASH Tangguh will continue to foster knowledge sharing to accelerate stakeholders’ improvements on human resources, internal processes and protocol, and their capability to develop better policies and regulations.
Available in 
