Building capacity for climate finance and water resilience
Many countries face a dual challenge: strengthening water resilience while accessing climate finance. Too often, projects are technically sound but fail to secure funding due to weak alignment between science, governance and investment logic. Deltares bridges that gap, turning water and climate priorities into bankable project concepts.
Climate Finance Capacity Building combines Deltares’ strengths in climate science, water management, governance, and finance to help institutions design credible, fundable proposals for multilateral and bilateral climate funds.
What is climate finance capacity building for water resilience?
Climate finance capacity building for water resilience supports institutions and countries understand how climate funds make decisions and how to translate climate risks, water challenges, and governance needs into a clear investment story.
For participants of the training, this means gaining the practical skills to:
- Identify and articulate climate and water challenges that are fundable.
- Build a strong climate rationale using hazard, exposure, and vulnerability data.
- Understand donor expectations and investment criteria (GCF, GEF, Adaptation Fund, bilateral donors).
- Translate technical insights into a Theory of Change and investment logic.
- Develop concept notes and early-stage project ideas that are evidence based and scientifically robust
In a nutshell, participants learn what makes a project “climate-finance ready” and how to design one.
Our method: bridging the science gap in preparing projects for climate finance
We apply a structured approach that connects climate data, stakeholder insights and donor requirements. Our steps include:
- Building a climate rationale: diagnosing hazards, exposure and vulnerability using robust data.
- Co-creating logic and governance: translating stakeholder input into a clear Theory of Change and understanding enabling conditions.
- Aligning with funder investment criteria: designing proposals that meet the expectations of multiple donors (e.g., bilateral, multilateral, climate funds).
- Supporting concept note development: working side-by-side with entities to prepare robust, fundable proposals.
Our experience
We have delivered these trainings across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe, helping national agencies and practitioners accelerate access to climate finance and scale investment in water resilience.
Examples include:
- GCF Regional Dialogue – Middle East & North Africa:
Participants built climate rationales for drought and water resource projects and learned how to meet GCF investment criteria and build a robust Theory of Change. - Climate Finance Training for Water Resilience - Nepal:
Ministries representatives and focal points strengthened climate logic and aligned project ideas with GCF’s investment criteria and concept note development. - Developing Climate Rationale & Theory of Change for GCF - Egypt
In Egypt, Deltares trained national experts from UNESCO and Egyptian institutions to develop a robust climate rationale and project Theory of Change for water-related projects, strengthening their ability to design fundable proposals for GCF. - Sustainable Finance for Urban Water Resilient Infrastructure – CDRI member countries
For CDRI’s South Asian member countries, Deltares delivered a hands-on training on sustainable finance for urban water resilience, supporting participants to link national priorities with investment design for infrastructure resilience.
These collaborations have built lasting capacity among national agencies and implementing partners to access international climate finance and accelerate investment in water resilience.
Our multidisciplinary teams connect science, policy, governance, and finance, ensuring that participants leave equipped with practical, usable skills they can apply immediately.
