Soft skill development for community leadership in participatory groundwater management

The Soft Skill Training Module for Community Leadership in Participatory Groundwater Management (PGWM) was developed to complement the Atal Bhujal Yojana (ATAL JAL), a key policy of the Government of India that designates communities as resource managers for the common-pool resource of groundwater. This module was developed by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in partnership with Centre for Microfinance (CmF) and Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN).

The aim is to create a complementary approach by identifying and training key village community members to foster strong local leadership and motivate mobilisation efforts at the community level. This leadership development is pivotal for ensuring the long-term sustainability and an exit strategy for the scheme.

The training module employs an experiential learning approach, utilising games and interactive activities to simulate real-world scenarios. This methodology is grounded in Kolb’s Learning Cycle to cultivate crucial leadership competencies, including communication, empathy, decision-making, problem-solving, and self-awareness. It also adapts the COM-B Model (Capability, Opportunities, and Motivation) to drive targeted behavioural change within the community.

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