Building a network

The vision of UWIN is to build an enduring research network that fosters innovation of integrated urban water solutions.  Our mission is to develop technological and sociopolitical solutions; build social capital and trusted regional leadership across the United States; and train scientists and policy makers as champions of innovation.

UWIN is a consortium of academic institutions coupled with key partners with longstanding programs in water research and education.   The conglomerate also has close ties to water stakeholders across the U.S.  UWIN is an agile network of researchers, educators and stakeholders that aims to understand water challenges and generate solutions for sustainable urban water systems and resilient cities.

Regional meetings in the six UWIN study areas bring together more than 250 individuals, including members of the science community, every year to learn about regional urban water sustainability challenges.  The meetings are held in conjunction with stakeholder engagement workshops in order to build relationships and foster collaboration between the scientific community and stakeholders.  These linkages are crucial to the execution of the Urban Water Sustainability Blueprint.

Stakeholder Workshops

Stakeholder engagement workshops aid in the development of a regional stakeholder network that actively contributes to project research and outreach.  These annual workshops bring together up to 500 stakeholders from various regions in the U.S. Stakeholder groups serve as an important vehicle for information exchange.  Feedback elicited from participants is central to the development of the Urban Water Sustainability Blueprint.

Annual Meetings

Annual all-Network member meetings provide a platform for understanding the common framework and desired contributions to the Urban Water Sustainability Blueprint. Major activities ranging from research progress and stakeholder engagement to network management are discussed.  The annual meeting consists of presentations from project PI’s, breakout groups, and graduate student presentations and posters.