Water Sensitive Cities Institute is a core partner in a proposed new CRC
The CRC for Water Sensitive Cities will wind up in June 2021, but our mission to make cities more water sensitive will continue. To help deliver that mission, the CRCWSC Board created the Water Sensitive Cities Institute. The Institute has been operating since July 2018 and is currently funding itself by delivering a range of fee-for-service projects across Australia and internationally.
When we consulted with our industry partners about what the Institute’s role should be beyond June 2021, three areas of ongoing need emerged:
- mainstreaming water sensitive cities practices
- thought leadership and advocacy for innovative WSC practices
- breakthrough research and development, to create the next generation of WSC knowledge.
We’re making good progress on areas 1 and 2, through projects such as demonstrating how we can create a circular economy in Sydney’s west. And Professor Tony Wong (former CEO of the CRCWSC) has been appointed Chair of the Water Sensitive Cities Institute Think Tank.
Now, we’re turning our attention to area 3: how the Institute can contribute to breakthrough research and development.
One option is to participate in new CRCs. And that’s what the Institute is doing now, collaborating with current CRCWSC partners Griffith University, the University of Queensland and Monash University on a new CRC bid—the Water Security CRC.
The Water Security CRC aims to connect the management of water across a catchment, by delivering water security solutions to enable regions, cities, towns and communities to optimise water-related resources, to better support our industries, people and aquatic ecosystems.
In particular, it will provide research and implementation approaches to:
- Enhance water security for resilience to population pressures and impacts of climate change and shocks (e.g., floods, drought, heat waves, fire)
- Ensure quantity and quality aspects of water security are aligned to improvements in natural systems, food security, liveability and climate change mitigation
- Expand the influence of water sensitive practices in urban development, renewal and regeneration processes through integrated planning and implementation mechanisms
- Enhance the value of different land uses in a catchment through integrated and optimised delivery of economic, social and environmental benefits for rural and urban communities
- Develop and test market-based approaches for investment in green infrastructure, focusing on driving employment opportunities in regional communities
- Develop new tools to optimise investment in green and grey infrastructure to ensure the best outcomes can be obtained for the least cost.
The scope of this new Water Security CRC extends beyond the urban focus of the Institute and the current CRCWSC. But, there is substantial alignment of priorities and focus areas. The diagram below highlights the overlaps and differences.
In the bid, the Institute will focus mainly on mainstreaming water sensitive practices and facilitating industry adoption of research outputs created by the CRCWSC. This includes support for regional implementation projects.
The Institute is also committed to ensuring our partners have choices in selecting the most appropriate mechanisms to support their WSC mainstreaming priorities and their broader water-related research needs. So as well as being a core partner in the Water Security CRC, the Institute will pursue other partnership opportunities and dedicated WSC mainstreaming activities as they arise. This approach ensures we can deliver all aspects of the water sensitive cities mission.
You can find out more about the Water Security CRC here. And if you have any questions about the Institute, please contact Ben Furmage (ben.furmage@monash.edu).
