Stakeholders and research partners joined NIWA staff in a workshop at the end of September to discuss information needs and research priorities in the freshwater and estuaries space over the next 5+ years.
MBIE recently announced funding for 3 new Endeavour Fund programmes within NIWA’s Freshwater and Estuaries Centre and Te Kuwaha. Together with 6 programmes awarded Strategic Science Investment Funding, this is very positive for the Centre and freshwater science in New Zealand. See summaries on these programmes. This backdrop of funding success alongside research programmes coming to conclusion, provided the perfect catalyst for NIWA to host a workshop with stakeholders to hear their perspectives on research trends and drivers, and science gaps that will shape the needs for information and tools to support freshwater and estuaries management in the near future (1-5 y) and over the longer term.
The workshop provided a forum for over 70 participants including NIWA research leaders and representatives from across the freshwater and estuaries and related sectors to work towards better research alignment and utilisation of existing science to fill key knowledge gaps. The value of having such a large and diverse group of participants together for two days, was demonstrated by the cross-fertilisation of ideas between organisations, and opportunities were identified for co-development of research. To date workshop summaries have been circulated to participants.
The next steps are to continue to improve communication with partners and further enhance co-development of research to meet national needs.
