Study tours with the World Bank

Customised study tours

Each tour of about 30 participants includes policy makers, administrators, project managers and key staff of the World Bank’s water programmes. The five day tours feature the Netherlands’ approach to the subject at hand. To date, customised tours have been organised for African, Asian, Balkan and Latin American countries and Poland, and one thematic tour on Nature-Based Infrastructure for Water Source Protection and Disaster Risk Management was organised for a global audience.

Variety of themes

The study tours’ themes fall under the overarching fields of long term planning, water governance, public infrastructure financing, sustainable cost-recovery, and participatory approaches. These are covered through site visits; discussions with Dutch policy officers, experts and implementers; learning and reflection sessions; and sharing experience and best practices among group members.

Sharing knowledge and expanding international networks

As they are grounded on peer-to-peer learning, the World Bank study tours are learning journeys for everyone involved. The participants accumulate knowledge and see potential solutions, technologies and techniques which could be applied in their home countries, and the NWP and the Dutch water sector expand their international networks and learn from the participants.

Innovative integrated approaches

NWP is the first choice for study tours in water because of its extensive network, strong organisational skills, and close contact with the private sector. As a representative of the Dutch water sector, its wide network of Dutch experts, government agencies, knowledge institutes and NGOs is NWP’s added value. 

Up to now, the feedback on the tours has been positive. Two of the gains consistently reported are the exposure to new ideas and innovative integrated approaches to water management; and the wide network of experts and peer professionals.