Department Sanitation, Water and Solid Waste for Development
Organizations and Climate (O&C)
The Organizations & Climate (O&C) Group researches the dynamic capabilities water and sanitation organizations need to adapt their strategies and manage new interventions in response to climate change impacts.
Increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather events mean organizations across the water and sanitation sector – including utilities, funders, regulators, and SMEs etc – must develop new capacities. Their goal is to sustain and expand essential public services under these changing conditions. Successfully adapting requires three core capabilities: the ability to sense emerging opportunities and threats from the external environment; the ability to seize these developments and mobilize necessary resources; and the ability to transform the organization to leverage these changes effectively. Organizations with strong dynamic capabilities drive innovation and are crucial agents in building resilient futures.
Therefore, the O&C Group specifically investigates the dynamic capabilities that enable water and sanitation organizations in urban settings to reorient their strategies, manage novel interventions, and adapt to climate-linked extreme weather events. Our research aims to inform strategies for sustaining and expanding essential water and sanitation services. This focus is critical because emerging approaches – such as Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS), blue-green infrastructure, sponge cities, and decentralized water/resource reuse – demand capabilities beyond those typically held by current utilities.
Consequently, we analyze the organization itself as the unit of study, examining its potential to contribute to broader sustainability transitions.
