Department of Water accesses CRCWSC science to drive policy change

The CRC for Water Sensitive Cities (CRCWSC) and the Department of Water (WA) are working to forge an enduring science-policy partnership. The inaugural CRCWSC-Department of Water (WA) Science-Policy Partnership Workshop, held in November 2013, was an early step in building a solid science-policy relationship between the two organisations, based on a foundation of knowledge sharing. The partnership aims to strengthen the Department’s urban water policy work through its engagement with the CRCWSC. Twenty five Department staff, including senior executives, participated in the one day workshop, sharing ideas about future urban water management and opportunities for CRCWSC research to contribute to evidence-based policy.

“The CRC’s Science-Policy Partnership project is an opportunity for the department, as a major partner in the CRC, to harness the CRC’s research program expertise to help us develop policy options to make water an enabler of sustainable, resilient and liveable cities,” Executive Director Science and Planning Greg Claydon said. “My dream is that at the end of the nine year life of the CRC, we have something enduring: a community of practice managing water better in our cities and towns, where the world looks to WA for leadership in providing water security, creating vibrant cities and towns, and protecting the health of water environments.”

CRCWSC Science-Policy Partnerships project leader Adjunct Associate Professor Phill Johnstone emphasised the importance of building partnerships in the knowledge transfer process. He added that the project aims to support effective relationships between researchers and policy makers, align CRC research with government policy agendas, and facilitate communication between the research and policy spheres.

The workshop generated many thoughts about what successful urban management could look like including:

• having an agreed, shared vision across government and communities for managing water to create liveable cities
• the stewardship of water resources for the greatest good of society and the environment
• having an enduring, bipartisan, whole-of-government position on urban water
• water sensitive behaviours across WA society.

While workshop participants considered the challenges and characteristics of successful urban water management, graphic recorder Erin Jancauskas from Now For Future captured the discussion on a spectacular wall chart, now on display at the Department of Water (WA). The Hon Mia Davies, WA’s new Minister for Water, has even stopped by to take a look.