Overview of the National Urban Water Governance Program
The three year (2005-2008) National Urban Water Governance Program is coordinated through the School of Geography and Environmental Science, Monash University with participation of the Institute for Sustainable Water Resources. The research program has been formulated in response to a number of industry and academic knowledge gaps that have been increasingly emphasised over the last five years as essential to progressing more sustainable urban water futures.
Broadly, there is significant local and international concern with how to address the challenge of enabling institutional development and organisational change that advances the wide-spread implementation of more sustainable forms of urban water management (e.g. water sensitive urban design and total water cycle management )
Also acknowledged is the need to clearly understand the current institutional, organisational and professional impediments and their relationships which are often argued as posing significant inertia to change.
One of the key objectives of this program is to provide a credible knowledge base that will effectively inform and assist urban water managers in addressing key issues such as the capacity development of institutional and organisational structures, cultures and relationships.
The Core Research Program
The core research program will be delivered through three interrelated themes:
- Institutional Barriers
- Institutional Capacity Development
- Transformative Organisational Change
These three themes will be focussed through three case study regions in collaboration with industry partners.
In developing this program, relationships have been developed with a range of organisations in Australia and New Zealand that have expressed interest in this research. These organisations include Brisbane City Council, the WA Water Corporation, the WA Department for Planning and Infrastructure, Armadale City Council, Melbourne Water, Yarra Valley Water, Municipal Association of Victoria, Parramatta City Council, Hastings City Council, Auckland Regional Council, North Shore City Council (Auckland) and Marrickville Council. These organisations continue to be involved with the program as part of the 'stakeholder advisory group'. This communication provides the opportunity for sharing views and experiences and to enhance the quality and uptake of the products and guidance developed as a result of the research.
The case studies for the program are the regions of Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane. The core of the program is expected to reach completion in 2008. The delivery of a series of industry outputs will commence from early 2006.
All industry partners that contribute funding to the research program, the Program Leader and Director of the Institute for Sustainable Water Resources form the Research Steering Committee for the program. This committee meets on a three monthly basis (or as frequently as needed) to review research findings across the three metropolitan regions and to progressively advise on the ongoing research project areas.
Complementary Research Projects
The research team and the program's post-graduate students are also involved in several closely related and complimentary research projects throughout Victoria and New South Wales. These projects have a more specific scope than the core research of the National Urban Water Governance Program but have many common elements. Each of these projects help to build knowledge in the core research area, and also benefit from the findings of other research areas within the program.
Click here for more details of current research projects that are nested within the National Urban Water Governance Program.