A tailored approach to engagement was essential from the initial project scoping stage and has shaped the entire development of the FDMT project. It is important to develop a strategy to prompt interest from target organisations and establish relevance for the use of the technical applications early on. Basin organisations have an established interest in IWRM and transboundary water management issues, so this becomes the key attractive feature for how the applications can be integrated in their work. Whereas, the point of engagement for gaining the interest of water utilities has been through supporting Water Safety Planning , which has become the predominant risk management approach for water utilities to ensure drinking water quality.
Due to the geographical spread of the pilot organisations and the international facilitation team behind the FDMT project; different styles of engagement were employed to ensure that stakeholder feedback was collected on a regular basis. For example, as IWA has a presence in Bangkok, face-to-face consultations were possible on a regular basis. DHI has a number of projects in each of the basins so they have used these as a mechanism for engagement beyond the existing trainings and other events. For stakeholders in the Volta and Lake Victoria basins, in-person group workshops were combined with individual follow-up consultations via skype.
Table 1 below outlines the various mechanisms that were used to enable input into the design and development of the technical application. This included stakeholder consultation from inception and a continuous process of feedback through testing and discussions.

There are 3 areas that are important to highlight where stakeholder engagement has been effective:
A) Regular consultations and integration of stakeholder feedback
In an effort to get stakeholders involved right from the early design stage, during the inception phase (first 6 months) consultations were held with basin organisations, water management authorities and water utilities in each pilot basin. This served to begin the design process of the FDMT platform, gauging needs, desired functionalities based on stakeholder type (basin organisation or utility) and responsibility. As the technical applications developed, feedback collected at regular stakeholder consultations via workshops, conferences, meetings, stakeholder update calls have improved the relevance of the technical applications and methodology and refined the finalised tools. Along with specific project workshops, the project has also been participating in relevant international events with a wide array of stakeholders from different basins. Feedback from these events has also been integrated into later stages of the technical applications.
A noteworthy example was based on stakeholder feedback and experiences; the decision was made to adapt the desktop DSS which was based on Mike Basin to a more user-friendly portal with a series of technical applications that can be used individually or in a workflow where information from one application can be used in another. There are trade-offs in this approach as it does not allow tailoring of the applications to a specific basin. However as the aim was to have something that could be used across transboundary basins, the online solution was deemed more accessible and suited for this requirement.
B) Technical trainings, awareness events& learning resources
Technical trainings consisted of workshops demonstrating the tools, and participants going through exercises including use cases to see how they worked and how they could apply to their context. This process enabled feedback from over 90 people who participated in technical trainings across all 3 pilot basins. The content of technical trainings has been tailored for each set of stakeholders to not only provide feedback but also encourage the uptake and use of the technical applications after the project ends. As the applications are finalised on the job trainings have been organised to specifically apply the technical applications within an organisation. For example, the project team is carrying out regular training of WSP teams in selected water utilities across the pilot basins to see how they can best use and integrate the WSP support tool and use climate data from the Data and Information tool to identify climate hazards and their associated risks to the water supply system.
The technical trainings targeted those that are dealing with the daily management of water resources or those involved in risk management. To target decision makers, the project held awareness workshops and events which focused on the issue of integrating data and information into planning, and the process of coordinating preparedness for floods and droughts. The tools were showcased as one way to do this but other approaches were also discussed. The aim of the technical training and awareness events was to ensure buy-in and ownership across organisations from management to operations.
An additional tool to support training and continued learning is the Knowledge Portal: www.flooddroughtmonitor.com/knowledgeportal/. The portal was set up to provide users with a forum for users to ask question around use of the technical applications. . Users can also use the portal as a learning resource to access a number of online training materials to support unsupervised use of the tools to further improve their capacity. The project is also developing webinars, tutorial videos and how to guidelines for each technical application.
C) Resources to support wider uptake of FDMT beyond pilot basins
A communication plan was developed for the project to align the communication efforts from the consortium partners and provide guidance for how the project aims should be communicated and how best to enhance awareness amongst a wide range of stakeholders. The communication plan supports the development of all the different mediums for communication (e.g. videos, posters, infographics, fact sheets, web content, etc.). It has been important to consider the different needs and responsibilities of the stakeholders in each pilot basin to ensure that communication materials are relevant.
Disseminating information and resources to a wider audience beyond the pilot basins is also important to support wider uptake ensuring the sustainability factor. This has formed part of the aim behind promoting the project at international events, to trigger greater awareness of the value of the Flood and Drought Portal.
As a strategy to increase outreach the project completed a mapping exercise, involving stakeholders, to identify events, trainings, conferences which could increase visibility of the project and diversify feedback. As part of this exercise, defining and identifying strategic and tailored messaging for different groups of stakeholders has been important to effectively promote the project outputs and the potential use of the technical applications. For example, the project has taken the opportunity to showcase the tools at previous editions of the IWA World Water Congress and the recent IWA Water and Development Congress (see Figure 3).

A) Regular consultations and integration of stakeholder feedback
An improved understanding of user needs, existing water management strategies and tools and basin resources has emerged from continuous consultations with stakeholders. Two important outcomes of the stakeholder engagement feedback loop approach have been: (1) re-orientation from a desk-top based DSS to the online Flood and Drought Portal and (2) development and validation of a series of technical applications relevant to the stakeholders.
It is not always straightforward to collect feedback on the tools and methodology as there are requests that are often beyond the project scope along with competing priorities. Ensuring that balanced feedback is received from stakeholders is reflective of the engagement strategy. From the beginning and through the project development phase, it is important to remember that stakeholders will have different interests and will have different capacities to use and integrate the project outputs into decision-making. For example, stakeholder buy-in has been low in some of the pilot basins along with low in-house technical capacity. In response to these challenges and over the remaining project lifespan, closer working relationships are being nurtured with the relevant stakeholders through targeted trainings and greater outreach efforts to engage high-level decision-makers and activate champions that can promote the tools. Furthermore, there is a constant need to revisit the engagement strategy to refine tailored communication and ensure that they are meaningful for the target stakeholders
B) Technical trainings, awareness events & learning resources
Continuously increasing the awareness and benefits of improved risk management for floods and droughts is part of working with stakeholders to actively learn how to use and apply the tools themselves. Building capacity to integrate the tools into planning and operations has been the main focus of the final stage of the project in the pilot basins. Part of this is developing guidance on how the technical applications and the information they provide can be practically used. For example, guidance is being developed on how water utilities can interpret and use climate data and information for identifying climate hazards and incorporating these into water safety planning.
It is also important to reflect on who participates in workshops and trainings. Continued application of the tools is unlikely if those who attend the workshops and trainings do not share what they learn with their colleagues and peers or leave the organisation. This has been part of the aim of the awareness events to sensitize organisation leadership and move towards institutionalisation of climate data and information as part of planning. There have been successes in stakeholders investing resources to share the project tools and methodology. For example, the Thai partners, the Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute (HAII) have worked with the project to extend training within and outside Thailand to other agencies. The project is also actively engaging with the World Health Organization (WHO), Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), Emanti Management Group, and the International Association of Water Supply Companies in the Danube River and Catchment (IAWD) to integrate some of the online applications into their own initiatives. For example, IAWD has indicated interest in integrating the WSP tool into their training and advocate for wider use of the tool within their membership.
Additional feedback from stakeholders beyond the pilot basins was also valuable (e.g. experts in water safety planning from WHO, Water Futures and the Emanti Group). Presenting the portal at different workshops and events allows insight into how the applications might be used in other settings.
C) Resources to support wider uptake of FDMT beyond pilot basins
Project sustainability is crucial to ensure continued benefits from the project outputs. Currently, pilot stakeholders can use an online user manual that they can access from the Flood and Drought portal. More detailed resources are being made available to support users with varying capacities and needs, and also how to use the applications in practice. Support resources include:

• Individual guidelines for each online application
  • Detailed step-by-step guidelines that outline how to use the application
  • Guidance notes which provide information on how to apply the application in practice, how to understand the outputs of the application and integrate the outputs into their planning
• Videos that provide a more visual and interactive support resource
  • Video tutorials developed from the training workshops and guides on the technical applications

It is important to note that once the first draft of each additional support resource is reviewed internally, it is circulated among project stakeholders for their feedback.

The aim of the project has been to develop a global DSS that is adaptable to different contexts. This was a requirement of the project by the GEF and has the benefit of ensuring sustainability of the usage and relevance of the project outputs. Allocating time and resources for capacity building remains a key component to flexibly address differing capacities throughout the engagement strategy and ensure sustainable uptake of project outputs. Furthermore, linking the FDMT project to upcoming projects and initiatives that involve an implementation phase will ensure greater sustainability. For example, the IWA is collaborating with OFID and WHO on climate resilient water safety planning where the applications can be used to identify climate hazards impacting the utility and the WSP tool can support decision-making and planning. DHI has a number of active projects where the tools are being applied. This includes incorporation into anOperational Decision Support System in Malawi, as part of the Zambezi water resources information system enhancement, and as part of the Lakes Edward and Albert Basin Plan , among others.
Developing a global technical tool comes with other challenges, for example:

• Stakeholders with differing technical capacities will interpret outputs differently
• Language barriers can limit effective engagement between stakeholders and project facilitators
• Pilot basins are engaged on a voluntary basis which can limit their engagement and buy-in
• Different histories of transboundary water management and implementation of climate adaptation, impacts capacity, interest and local relevance

It is through offering greater supporting resources; triggering local champions and experimenting with different engagement strategies that these challenges can be met. The project has had some success at meeting these challenges by ensuring stakeholder engagement and input has been at the centre of the work.

The FDMT project is unique in that it has been specifically designed to support GEF IW develop of tools to incorporate impacts of climatic variability and change into planning across scales from transboundary to end users such as water utilities. Furthermore, this is the first documentation within an experience note explicitly around a stakeholder engagement process into the design of a DSS.
This experience note highlights a critical challenge for all funded projects within the water sector: How do we ensure sustainability of project outcomes? This is particularly relevant for a DSS, as uptake and integration into planning and management tends to be low across most environmental DSS (Sandink et al., 2016), although water management DSSs are quite common, such as in Australia (Delfau, 2017) or Spain (Zhang et al., 2013). Lessons learned from the FDMT project will be important for the development of future DSS platforms as well as their application.
Climate change will continue to be a major concern of this century impacting stakeholders within transboundary basins. As future initiatives, projects or programmes are developed, stakeholders affected should have a voice in the design and implementation, as initiatives, projects or programmes ultimately influence their planning to address climate change impacts.

REFERENCES
Delfau, K. (2 July 2017). Real world applications of Decision Support Systems (DSS). Retrieved from https://kini.waterpartnership.org.au/posts/1336678-real-world-applications-of-decision-support-systems-dss.
Sandink, D., Simonovic, S. P., Schardong, A., & Srivastav, R. (2016). A decision support system for updating and incorporating climate change impacts into rainfall intensity-duration-frequency curves: Review of the stakeholder involvement process. Environmental Modelling & Software, 84, 193-209.
Zhang, K., Zargar, A., Achari, G., Islam, M. S., & Sadiq, R. (2013). Application of decision support systems in water management. Environmental Reviews, 22(3), 189-205.