Dubai: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has achieved a six-star rating at the International Best Practice Competition organised by the Centre for Organisational Excellence Research (COER), in New Zealand, a leading organisation in benchmarking, business excellence research and consultancy. This recognition come after a successful pass of the assessment conducted by international best practice experts of DEWA’s methodology in measuring the return on investment (ROI) from training.

The data-driven methodology evaluates the effectiveness of organisational training by linking learning and development programmes to performance indicators and actual business needs. This supports DEWA's efforts to foster an organisational learning ecosystem built on measurable impact and tangible results. The IBPC Best Practice Certification provides an independent, third-party validation of DEWA’s evidence-based practice and outstanding achievements.

The adopted methodology follows the five stages of the Phillips ROI Methodology for evaluating training effectiveness. The assessment covered 1,365 training programmes involving 12,493 employees.

The first stage measures "Reaction and Satisfaction", while the second assesses "Change in Learning". The third stage evaluates the extent to which skills acquired through training are applied in the workplace. The fourth measures the impact on business. The fifth isolates the impact of training and calculates return on investment (ROI), where DEWA recorded a return of AED3.51 for every dirham invested in training programme in 2025.

"DEWA invests in its employees as key pillars of organisational excellence and the sustainability of achievements, driven by a belief that human capital is the primary driver of innovation and development. The data-driven methodology for measuring training effectiveness enhances our ability to design training programmes that are closely aligned with business needs, while enabling us to measure their impact with precision and transparency. This contributes to improving organisational efficiency and productivity. The methodology also enables data-driven decision-making and helps direct training investments towards priority areas, strengthening the readiness of national and professional talent to meet future requirements and achieve our strategic objectives," said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.

"The methodology transforms training evaluation from a standalone learning activity into an institutional tool for performance improvement and capability development. By leveraging data, DEWA can identify skill gaps, measure the impact of training programmes at the individual, department and division levels, and develop learning plans that are closely aligned with strategic and operational priorities," said Dr. Yousef Al Akraf, Executive Vice President of Business Support and Human Resources at DEWA.

This practice forms part of DEWA's integrated human capital development ecosystem, which encompasses professional and specialised training programmes, leadership development initiatives, future skills enhancement and continuous learning. DEWA has already delivered more than 200,000 training hours to its employees, reflecting the scale of its institutional investment in capacity building and workforce development.

Achieving a six-star rating for the data-driven institutional training effectiveness methodology underscores DEWA's leadership in transforming learning and development into a measurable and continuously improvable institutional practice. It reflects the maturity of DEWA's human resources ecosystem and its ability to link investment in people with tangible outcomes, supporting organisational excellence and the sustainability of high performance.