OzEWEX draft 2020-2029 Science Plan released
Since 2012, the Australian Energy and Water Exchanges research initiative (OzEWEX) has sought to foster and support communities of researchers and research users in the fields of water and climate science. This endeavour was underpinned by our 2014-2019 Science Plan and you might recall that late last year we launched a survey of our membership where we asked you what sort of organisation you would like OzEWEX to be.
Thank you to the 44 people who responded to this survey. We were extremely pleased by the strong positive feedback on the value proposition that OzEWEX presents to the community, and have sought to integrate your comments and suggestions into a draft new 2020-2029 Science Plan that will help take the organisation forward into this new decade. We would also like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the Steering Group who provided critical feedback on various iterations of the document.
We invite you to provide further comment on this document over the next two weeks, so we can together write the next chapter in OzEWEX’s story. As a volunteer organisation, delivering on the plan will depend on us all. Therefore, if you feel inspired by any element of the plan and would like to contribute, please drop us a line by August 17. We are considering leading a Special Issue focusing on advancing the identified OzEWEX Grand Challenges and would like to hear from you if you would like to be part of this (email to seth.westra@adelaide.edu.au). The Grand Challenges identified in the SCience Plan are:
- Human-water interactions
- Water-ecology interactions
- New observations
- Next-generation water information
- Uncertain climate futures
Since we launched the survey and started the discussion of what sort of organisation OzEWEX needs to be, the world has changed in fundamental ways. However the need for a strong water science community—one that is built on a foundation of trust and openness, that is energised by the spirit of collaboration, that relishes informed debate and that is driven by the desire to contribute and give back to the community—is stronger than it has ever been. We look forward to continuing to serve our membership and support our community.
Seth Westra and Albert van Dijk, OzEWEX co-chairs
