Teams
Collaborative forums where OLW Network members convene to drive action on a shared water goal
Did you know that water has a high specific heat? This means it takes a lot of energy to warm it up or change its phase.
Working towards our ambitious goal of all waters in Canada in good health by 2030 requires a lot of energy–especially collaborative energy–as we strive to bridge institutional, geographic, political, and disciplinary divides. The problem is, the capacity to coordinate this kind of meaningful collaboration is too often overlooked!
That’s why one of OLW’s key services is to provide backbone support for Teams through staff coordination and facilitation, eliminating the unpaid ‘off-the-side-of-the-desk’ labour typically required for long-term collective action.
Much like the power that water builds as it gathers, Teams channel collective people power, uniting members from across the country to collaborate on behalf of the waters. Within these forums, OLW Network members drive action on a shared water goal, breaking down silos, knowledge sharing, and facilitating co-innovation of freshwater solutions. They may work on one or more of the impact measures in the Shared Measurement System or join forces to improve another aspect of water health they hold in common.
At their core, Teams emerge from Network collaborations, with OLW acting as incubator. Just as water changes phase, solidifying and melting as temperature fluctuates, Teams also come and go according to Network priorities.
Nevertheless, having a high specific heat also means that water retains heat really well! Similarly, once catalyzed, Teams can take on a life of their own to drive change. Learn more about collaborations OLW has supported and what they accomplished:
Resourcing Teams
We know that a consistent limiting factor for collective action is access to funding. We also recognize that collaborations take time. As conveners we not only facilitate and coordinate collaborations but we also fund them once they’re in existence to ensure their continuation over time.
The OLW Strategic Collaboration Fund invests in long-term strategic collaborations by funding existing Teams. There is no application process for these funds; rather, it is funding allocated to Teams when OLW’s resources permit.
Team funds are participant-led, trusting members to allocate their funds collectively, as they see fit. For example, they can be used to compensate participants’ time,leverage additional funds for a complementary project, or allow members to attend conferences or access training opportunities.
The Community-Based Water Monitoring Collaborative (CBWMC)
Community-based water monitoring (CBWM) groups have proliferated across Canada in the past twenty years as people have grown more aware of changes in their watersheds and wanted to take action to protect them. Leaders have created support systems, such as regional monitoring networks, data sharing platforms, and partnerships to share technology and training resources. However, partnerships with the federal government and federal monitoring programs tend to be slower to form.
The Community-Based Water Monitoring Collaborative (‘The Collaborative’) works to bridge that gap, building relationships within government and responding to the national CBWM network’s needs. The Collaborative focuses on three action areas:
- collectively advocating for the importance of CBWM at the federal level;
- securing long-term, consistent funding for CBWM programs;
- strengthening the CBWM network across the country.
All of The Collaborative’s work is guided by the recommendations defined during the 2018 National Roundtable on CBWM – developed by a group of 70 Indigenous and non-Indigenous CBWM practitioners, science and policy experts, and NGOs from across the country. Many of the Roundtable’s organizers (The Gordon Foundation, Living Lakes Canada and WWF-Canada) and attendees are still active in the Collaborative and share its leadership.
For more information, you can contact the group by reaching out to OLW at info@ourlivingwaters.ca.
The Green Infrastructure Community of Practice (GICoP)
With financial support from OLW, Canadian Freshwater Alliance (now defunct) and Green Communities Canada (GCC) hosted the Green Infrastructure Community of Practice (GICoP) starting in 2016, with GCC taking the lead in 2021. In 2022, GCC’s success guaranteed self-sufficiency for the GICoP and OLW’s ongoing financial support ended. Thisgroup of organizations is motivated by a shared vision to advance green infrastructure (GI) in cities and towns across the country. The goal is to support each other to sharpen skills, knowledge, and practices that push green infrastructure into the mainstream and influence decision makers.
Currently, GCC’s collaborative model focuses on its Living Cities Canada program in partnership with community organizations and municipalities across the country to:
- spearhead ‘top-down’ local policy shifts around city planning and building;
- catalyze ‘bottom-up’ public support for change;
- ultimately, ensure green infrastructure is abundant, thriving, and equitable.
For more information, contact Green Communities Canada at info@greencommunitiescanada.org.
If you’re interested in seeding a Team, please contact us!
“Working together as a Team made change feel possible. I am so pleased to be part of a group who shows up because they care so deeply. It is nice to feel like we're all on the same Team, rather than in competition! The sense of community has been remarkable.”