Learning Agenda

What is Water for Women’s Learning Agenda?

Our Learning Agenda is the dynamic and interactive framework that links Fund partners and allows them to share and learn from one another. It promotes a shared interest in collaborative knowledge development and learning on climate-resilient, sustainable and inclusive WASH between all partners.

Water for Women is unique in its role as both an implementation and research Fund that contributes to regional and global understanding of best practice in climate-resilient inclusive development.

Drawing on evidence-based approaches in projects across Asia and the Pacific and research initiatives that address knowledge and evidence gaps, Water for Women provides guidance and practical examples of climate-resilient inclusive development for WASH and related sectors. This in turn contributes to national and global development goals, including Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG5) – Gender equality, Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) - Water and sanitation for all, and resilience building targets such as those of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SDRR) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Extension phase Learning Agenda

Through learnings from the implementation of climate-resilient inclusive WASH projects and research initiatives in Asia and the Pacific from 2023 - 2024, Water for Women’s Learning Agenda is answering the following two overarching learning questions:

What does climate-resilient inclusive WASH development look like?
How does inclusive WASH contribute to climate resilience?

A number of sub-questions are being explored in the process of answering these overarching questions. Three learning groups comprising both civil society organisation (CSO) and research organisation (RO) partners are investigating three sub-questions (1.1-1.3), while a collaboration with SAGANA is working through a fourth (1.4).

View our Learning Logs

You can follow our learning journey through learning logs and vlogs from in-country partners as they explore and uncover the answers to the following sub-questions.

1. What does climate-resilient, inclusive WASH development (CRIWD) look like?

Sub-questions

1.1 How do WASH programs commonly understand climate risk and resilience? How can this be further developed to better inform the design of WASH interventions?

A collaboration between The University of Technology Sydney's Institute for Sustainable Futures (UTS-ISF) (co-lead), Plan International, iDE, World Vision, WaterAid, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), and Water for Women's Fund Coordinator

1.2 How do WASH governance systems commonly integrate consideration of climate risks and resilience? How can this be further developed to help transition to climate-resilient, inclusive WASH development?

A collaboration between WaterAid (co-lead), International WaterCentre, Plan International, Internatonal Water Management Institute, Thrive Networks, World Vision, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, UTS-ISF, and Water for Women's Fund Coordinator

View the Learning Log from Fraser Goff, WaterAid Australia's Regional Technical Lead for System Strengthening

1.3 Why and how is gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI) critical to climate-resilient WASH? Within WASH systems, what structural barriers need to be removed to ensure that gendered, social and economic inequalities are addressed? What pathways are different actors using to transfer power and progress transformation towards climate-resilient inclusive WASH systems and services? What are the linkages between inclusion, transformation and climate-resilient WASH?

A collaboration between WaterAid (co-lead), World Vision, iDE, UTS-ISF, LSHTM, and Water for Women's Fund Coordinator

View the Learning Log from Pisey Chea, WaterAid Australia's Regional GEDSI Adviser, and accompanying vlog with Livia Cruz and Antoneta Soares, WaterAid Timor-Leste.

1.4 To what extent should (inclusive) climate-resilient WASH interventions focus on climate risk elements? In what circumstances are a greater or lesser emphasis on climate risk appropriate? And what are the implications of this for international financing of climate-resilient WASH?

Research on climate finance, a collaboration between Water for Women's Fund Coordinator and SAGANA.

2. How does inclusive WASH contribute to climate resilience?

Learning question two will be addressed in the final year of Water for Women (2024); the process of answering learning question one includes important lessons for answering this second question.

Learning Events and Exchanges

In addition to the Learning Group activities, there are also learning exchanges and events which contribute to our shared learning and answering of the above Learning Agenda questions.

These include country-based ‘Learning Discussions’, regional ‘Learning Exchanges’ including external partners, the Pacific and Asia Learning Exchanges, and Fund-level advocacy and engagement in international fora such as SIWI World Water Week, Asia Pacific Climate Week, COP28 and the 10th World Water Forum, in addition to regional and global days relating to climate and water.

First Phase Learning Agenda 2018 - 2022

The current Learning Agenda follows a comprehensive First Phase Learning Agenda from 2018 - 2022 which addressed many priority learning themes.

Publications

Our Learning Agenda has resulted in the publication of many collaboratively developed resources for the WASH sector, you can explore the latest publications via the button below.

View publications