IMPACT LAB
The Impact Lab is built on two pillars. The first is a commitment to basic research and theory development on human cooperation and the role of institutions and incentives in tackling complex water and development challenges.
The second pillar links research and practice to address priorities identified by our partners on the ground. We have created the Impact Lab as a way to strengthen the pathways to impact across the Blue Range, in 4 categories: policy, enterprise, media and training. These pathways address the needs of diverse audiences.
POLICY & PRACTICE
POLICY & ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
Our team specializes in applied research to assess the effectiveness and equity implications of policies and incentives for addressing water allocation, drought management, agricultural water management, and freshwater conservation challenges. Our approach employs comparative institutional analysis to understand the drivers of complex water challenges, assess status and trends, develop case studies, and identify context-sensitive policy lessons. Examples include our work on rural-urban water reallocation, drought management, and water markets.
WORLD BANK
Report (2019)
Informal Water Markets in an Urbanising World: Some Unanswered Questions
WORLD BANK
Report (2019)
Dividing the Water, Sharing the Benefits: Lessons from Rural-to-Urban Water Reallocations
UNITED NATIONS & WORLD BANK
High Level Panel (2017/2021)
Valuing Water For Sustainable Development (2017)
Valuing Water (UN WWDR, 2021)
We develop diagnostic tools to support researchers and practitioners seeking to understand the complex drivers of water challenges, assess patterns of conflict and cooperation, and construct indicators for evaluating performance. Examples include our work on multi-jurisdictional water management in Federal Rivers and our creation of an observatory network to track the evolution and performance of diverse water markets.
TOOLS & INDICATOR DEVELOPMENT
ANCHOR LINK
Image Credit: Federal Rivers via FerderalRivers.orgENTERPRISE
The Blue Range Lab’s Incubator nurtures social enterprises that generate data and partnerships across our observatory network. We follow processes of social innovation, starting with our partners, to identify complex challenges and the role that business and innovation can play. We focus on the role of enterprise in water and development. This includes the specific role of social enterprises that generate data, evidence and impacts through citizen science, crowd-sourcing, and platforms/tools.
We have tried, failed and pivoted through different projects, and are currently focused on Water Cycles Expeditions which generates data and partnerships to understand and tackle complex water challenges.
WATER CYCLES EXPEDITIONS
CONNECTING PEOPLE AND WATER THROUGH CYCLING
Water Cycles Expeditions is a social enterprise focused on inspiring a global movement to reconnect people and water through cycling. There are approximately two billion bikes in the world. We believe this represents a latent force for understanding and tackling the global water crisis. We run adventurous bike tours for all types of riders with partners around the world. Our tours foster a sense of adventure and community to inspire action on local and global water challenges. We are creating a global network of citizen scientists to use bikes to crowdsource data on water risks and values, and to build an atlas of innovative ways to adapt and thrive in a changing climate.
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Southern California & the Colorado River
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Our first expedition explored southern California and the Colorado River. It commenced with a downhill journey from Joshua Tree into the Coachella Valley before crisscrossing through three valleys - the Imperial, Palo Verde and Yuma. It offered us opportunities to witness different paths to responding to climate change. The expedition provided adventure for all levels and a “bikes-eye” view on water, people and ecosystems at the leading edge of climate change. Our first trip served as a workshop on wheels, crafting the strategy for business and science.
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Multi-day expeditions in England, Colombia, and Canada in 2023
World Bicycle Day 2023 - Launch of a grassroots initiative of community led water cycles. Seeking volunteers to create and lead a local tours.
First annual Bikes and Bluegrass Festival in Belwood, Ontario in the Upper Grand
Partnership and proposal development to advance our citizen science agenda
ANCHOR LINK
BLUE RANGE LABS MEDIA
Follow along:
OUR BLOG & PODCAST
Coming 2023. Stay tuned.
ANCHOR LINK
TRAINING
The Blue Range Lab provides innovative training for the next generation of researchers and practitioners. We have contributed to doctoral training networks and developed interdisciplinary postgraduate programs on water science and policy. This training is aligned with our global networks and partnerships using a challenge-based approach to equip students and practitioners with the skills and knowledge necessary for understanding and addressing water and development problems. Our group currently provides workshops and training in evidence synthesis for sustainability.
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Our team offers an annual graduate seminar in evidence synthesis to students in the Faculty of the Environment. The seminar is designed for students who are actively developing or plan to develop evidence synthesis projects as part of their thesis research. The seminar provides training in evidence synthesis to help students better understand the landscape of evidence synthesis methods, and step-by-step guidance about the options that are available at each stage of the evidence synthesis process. In addition, students will have an opportunity to develop and share your draft evidence synthesis protocols and solicit input from your peers and instructors.
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Over the last decade we have seen a rapid increase in demand for evidence-based decision-making to provide timely and rigorous recommendations for addressing diverse sustainability and development challenges. Our team of interdisciplinary experts provides training in evidence synthesis that can help you to better understand the landscape of evidence synthesis methods, the different options that are available at various stages of the evidence synthesis process, and support the design of evidence synthesis protocols that are aligned with your objectives, time and resources that are available. Our team offers a 2-day virtual introductory seminar in evidence synthesis for graduate students and professionals. The seminar is designed for graduate students and professionals who are interested in learning more about evidence synthesis and how it can be used to advance their research and evidence-based decision-making. The seminar provides training to help you better understand the landscape of evidence synthesis methods, and step-by-step guidance about the options that are available at each stage of the evidence synthesis process. In addition, you will have an opportunity for tailored advice and guidance through a 1 hour one-on-one virtual meeting with one of our instructors.