Training and capacity building actions are dedicated to support African partners (water authorities, technical centres, universities) to advance towards independent capacity to exploit EO technology for improving knowledge on water resources and climate change. Such activities aim to support the consolidation of a critical mass of technical centres in Africa with the skills and capabilities to derive and disseminate space-based water relevant information for scientific research and management at regional, national and local scales.
Training and capacity building activities within TIGER are organized by the TIGER Capacity Building Facility (TCBF), led by the International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, ITC. Some 19 training sessions have been organised focused on both the needs of the different research projects and the requirements of the water authorities and end users involved in TIGER projects. The TCBF further provides scientific support to currently 20 research projects lead and conducted by African scientists, Almost 200 individuals from 26 different African countries have been involved in actions performed by the TCBF.
Starting from 2012 one year scientific fellowships have been funded through the TIGER Alcantara initiative (part of ESA's General Studies Programme): Six research projects lead by African scientists selected from the TIGER network were supported to carry out research work during scientific visits to European research institutes.