ABSTRACT
The Institute for Social and Economic Research, Education and Information (LP3ES) helped the Indonesian Ministry of Public Works to develop and institutionalize methods for turning over small irrigation systems to water users’ associations. A series of pilot studies strengthened LP3ES’s capability and explored ways to improve participation in irrigation design, construction and management. For turnover, LP3ES trained irrigation staff who worked with farmers, trained trainers, provided consultants to provincial irrigation services and collaborated in drafting regulations and manuals. Conditions for collaboration in institutional innovation included willingness to compromise, mutual trust, funding linkages and educated opportunism.
