The Canadian Water Network’s research programs are designed in response to the expressed needs of those involved in the real-world challenges of water management. In addition, they support development of communities of practice among groups of end users with common interests in applying research outcomes.

In July 2011, CWN issued to the national research community a call for expressions of interest (EOIs) to develop research teams within its Canadian Municipal Water Consortium. The purpose of the call was to gauge the innovation potential of the research community to respond to key challenges identified by the Canadian municipal water management sector through extensive consultations.

The following research topic areas were included in the call —

1. Managing the impacts of urban wet weather flows (stormwater and combined sewer overflows) to mitigate impacts on treatment systems and receiving waters
2. Increasing energy efficiency and resource recovery and reuse options for municipal water and wastewater management
3. Options to address priority risks for Canadian drinking water treatment and distribution systems
4. Innovative approaches to wastewater and biosolids management for small, remote and/or decentralized systems

What is CWN’s partner-to-research matching process?

CWN is seeking interest from organizations in the municipal water management community (including the public and private policy, practice, industry and NGO sectors) to become involved and co-invest in the particular research opportunities identified whose outcomes relate to their existing needs.

Becoming a partner with CWN —

• provides organizations with the ability to leverage research funds and share costs with other partners, and with CWN
• ensures that research funds are invested in projects that directly address the needs of partners by fully integrating them into the research process
• provides organizations with practical and implementable research outcomes that better inform investment strategies, policy decisions, best practices, procedures, and technology and service development

From November 1 to 14, 2011, organizations interested in potential CWN research projects in the topic areas listed above will be able to access the matching forum to view project summaries submitted to CWN by research teams as part of their EOIs.

Registrants will have the opportunity to discuss project summaries with other organizations participating in the forum, and to identify the projects on which they have an interest in becoming a partner.

All EOIs submitted to CWN will be pre-screened by an independent expert panel to ensure that proposed methods represent scientific excellence and that the focus and scope fit the challenges identified by the Canadian Municipal Water Consortium.

How do I register my organization’s interest and view the opportunities to become a partner?

To access and view the project descriptions, interested organizations must register with CWN. Once registered, you will be granted access to a secure online forum that will be open from November 1 to 14, during which time project summaries will be available for viewing.

Registration for the partner-to-research matching forum does not require any commitment to co-invest on a project; however, only EOIs that receive sufficient interest from the municipal water management community, indicating a strong likelihood of generating matching cash, cash-equivalent and in-kind support, will be invited to submit full research proposals.

What is the role and requirement for partner support in CWN funding?

For projects to be eligible for CWN funding, research teams must secure, by the full proposal stage due January 20, 2012, commitment from partners for resources that in total account for ≥50% of the total project budget. At least half of that support (≥25% of the total project budget) must be comprised of cash or cash-equivalent contributions from partners identified through the partner-to-research matching forum or through other avenues. CWN is willing to co-invest up to $200,000 a year per project for topic areas 1, 2 and 3, and up to $100,000 a year per project for topic area 4.

Conditions of the matching forum

UPDATE: The CWN partner-to-research matching forum is now closed to new registrants; however, existing users are encouraged to use the forum to continue the dialogue.

To log in to the forum, please click the blue button.

Academic researchers and students are not eligible to register for, or access, the partner forum.

All individuals and organizations registered for the forum will be required to agree to uphold confidentiality to protect the intellectual property contained in the project summaries.

CWN reserves the right to select the research proposals in which it will co-invest. Registrants and self-identified partners should be aware that research teams that achieve the required co-investment, and are invited to submit full proposals, are not guaranteed to receive CWN funding.

Proposals will be reviewed by an independent expert panel against specific CWN research criteria.

Important dates

	Deadline
Registration open for partner-to-research matching forum	now to November 14, 2011
Partner-to-research matching forum open	November 1 to 14, 2011
Invitation to submit full proposals	November 18, 2011
Full proposals due to CWN	January 20, 2012
Funding decision notification	February 29, 2012
Project duration	April 2012 to March 2015