Shared Vision Planning Topic of Editorial in Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management

ALEXANDRIA, VA – April 8, 2008. In the January/February 2008 issue of the Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, published by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), William (Bill) J. Werick, PE, formerly of IWR, and Richard N. Palmer, PhD, PE, M.ASCE, of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, take a look at the need for standards of practice in water resources planning. Creators of Shared Vision Planning at the Institute for Water Resources during the early 1990s, the authors take a look at its history and how it informs present-day water resources planning.

In the editorial, Werick and Palmer make the case for the development of best practices for water resources planning, further recommending that “the new principles have to be developed by people connected primarily by their expertise and interest in water resources planning.”

They go on to recommend that a collaboratively built web site, such as that underway for IWR’s Shared Vision Planning program, is a viable alternative that will allow the type of collaboration needed for such principles to gain credibility.

The authors, finally, make the case for the Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management to play a central role in developing new standards of practice by promoting and nurturing papers devoted to the topic.

As part of this overall effort, IWR Shared Vision Planning lead Hal Cardwell is working with ASCE’s Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI) to form a task committee on Best Practices. IWR and EWRI signed a Memorandum of Understanding in August of 2007. One of the areas of common interest identified by the parties is that of “professional and academic standards, educational methods and systems.”

Hal is also working with the American Water Resources Association (AWRA), whose endorsement of the Institute’s collaborative planning processes would extend awareness to the broader community. IWR and AWRA signed a Memorandum of Understanding in December of 2007. An area of common interest included in the agreement is “professional and academic standards, educational methods and systems, water resources educational program development.”

About Shared Vision Planning

Shared Vision Planning (SVP) is a collaborative approach to formulating water management solutions that combines three disparate practices: 1) traditional water resources planning, 2) structured public participation and 3) collaborative computer modeling. What makes Shared Vision Planning unique is the integration of traditional planning processes with structured public participation and collaborative computer modeling. Its goal is to improve the economic, environmental and social outcomes of water management decisions. Visit the Shared Vision Planning website for more information about its methods, models, and history.

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