This Impact Story is the first of a two part series exploring recommendations from OLW’s first ever round of Focus Groups in 2024 to 2025. Take a look at Part 2 for a dive into insights from dialogue on Right Relations.
My colleagues and I are thankful for the individuals and organizations who lent their experience, expertise, and energy to this reflexive dialogue process.
-Natalija Vojno, Our Common Agenda Focus Group Facilitator (OLW Network Engagement Lead)
Background & Dialogue Themes
Watersheds in Canada are increasingly threatened by climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Despite widespread recognition of these challenges, efforts to protect and restore watershed health remain fragmented across multiple jurisdictions, sectors, and rights holders. First launched in 2016, OLW’s Shared Measurement System (SMS) is the only national, open-source data framework that directly addresses this lack of data integration. Stewarded by a Network of nearly 300 water organizations and leaders, it enables the national water community to track progress toward the shared goal of all waters in Canada in good health by 2030 using 24 community-informed impact measures. Through consistent data synthesis, the SMS prioritizes accountability across sectors working on fresh water, amplifies collective impact, aids in identifying gaps, improves communication on water governance, and helps make the case for investment in watershed security.
From November 2024 to early 2025, Our Living Waters fostered member-driven small group dialogue in the Our Common Agenda Focus Group to explore potential pathways for modernizing how we measure collective action on watershed health in the SMS. The conversations included:
- an assessment of data and data governance in the SMS;
- an exploration of emerging technologies (including AI) for stewarding digital infrastructure;
- and a consideration of potential alignment with other reporting methods like the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs).
Modernizing the SMS is critical to facilitate timely, accessible, and user-friendly information about the state of action on and investment in watershed health across the country.
Insights
Modernize the Platform
Focus Group participants suggested improving SMS user experience over the short and long term, including incorporating new technologies when beneficial and feasible. This could include leveraging AI by automating data collection to reduce reporting burdens and enhancing synthesis and visualization to improve accessibility. To maintain relevancy for each region, sector, and group in Canada, short-term impacts need to be communicated while also visualizing the long term policy horizon. A re-design would need to consider how the SMS can be applied in the day to day to shift action from reactive water management to proactive governance.
Update the SMS Categories
Focus Group members provided recommendations to update the four SMS categories in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), referring specifically to the four sections of the United Nations SDG Indicator 6.5.1 Integrated Water Resource Management Survey. The suggested SMS categories are listed below, with links to the relevant SDG survey sections and notes on differences in comparison to the current SMS:
- Water Policy & Governance
- No change to current SMS category
- Suggested link to SDG Survey Section 1 “Enabling environment”
- Water Policy & Governance
- Informed & Engaged People
- No change to current SMS category
- Suggested link to SDG Survey Section 2 “Institutions & participation”
- Informed & Engaged People
- Information, infrastructure and implementation
- New SMS category
- Encompasses all impact measures in former SMS category Robust & Accessible Information
- Includes impact measures in former SMS category Our Blue Footprint not pertaining to finance
- Suggested link to SDG Survey Section 3 “Management instruments”
- Suggested amendment to promote nature-based solutions through better evidence and coordination
- Information, infrastructure and implementation
- Financing
- New SMS Category
- Includes impact measures in former SMS category Our Blue Footprint pertaining to finance – “Government Financing for Protection” and “Municipal Natural Asset Management”
- Suggested link to SDG Survey Section 4 “Financing”
- Financing
Strengthen Collaboration
Finally, the Focus Group discussed strengthening collaboration across sectors and scales by offering shared tools and metrics on the state of watershed governance across Canada. This can be done through improving data management and coordination across academia, government, nonprofits and grassroots groups towards implementation of the SDGs – including First Nations, Métis and Inuit academics, organizations, and knowledge keepers. Funding is being sought to support this work.
Moving Forward
As OLW works towards national agreement on modernizing the SMS, recommendations from the Our Common Agenda Focus Group will provide a framework for the next steps and future convenings.
Through consultations with Network members, we are also working to identify emerging themes for our next round of Focus Groups. To date, suggestions include: valuing ecosystem services, innovative funding models for watershed stewardship, transparency & enforcement, and piloting new technologies for water management.
Are you interested in being part of a future Focus Group? Let us know at info@ourlivingwaters.ca.
About Natalija Vojno
Network Engagement Lead, Our Living Waters: water and positive peace advocate who is grateful for connections with friends, family, and nature’s relations
