Objectives of the Community of Practice
To build water sensitive design capacity, the CoP will:
- Scope potential and current WSD project opportunities in South Africa
- Establish project priorities and their potential to be implemented as WSD research projects
- Develop and maintain ‘Learning Alliances’
- Scope institutional challenges associated with implementing WSD into the planning and implementing environment
- Strengthen and broaden the WSD researcher base for South Africa
- Develop a WSD project database and website
- Facilitate and coordinate partnerships with relevant sector players to convert potential WSD projects to demonstration projects for consideration by the WRC
- Consolidate WSD project information from additional research projects.
WSD is seen as the enabler which could move South African national and local authorities closer to meeting developmental goals. If South Africa is to advance the notion of WSD, however, there needs to be a societal openness to embracing water sensitivity as part of its broader developmental vision. This will involve re-organizing planning departments and processes, adopting new and adapting old technologies, reviewing and applying new policy and legislation, building capacity (skills, competencies and judgment), initiating demonstrators for technology transfer with partners, actors and stakeholders and ensuring that the principles of WSD are increasingly rapidly understood and accepted by on-the-ground water users, whether for domestic, industrial or agricultural purposes. The WSD CoP plays a key role in furthering these aspects.