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The results are in! National CBM Survey Highlights
Written by Aislin Livingstone
March 15, 2018
Growing Momentum
Through a diversity of monitoring, stewardship and guardian programs, communities across Canada are playing an increasingly important role in gathering critical information about the health of their watersheds. As interest in community-based water monitoring (CBWM) grows, investments to organize and implement community-driven initiatives are being made. However, to realize the full potential of these efforts, there is a need for strategic thinking, collaboration, and coordination, including at the national level.
Our Survey
To find out more, the water team at The Gordon Foundation, Living Lakes Canada and WWF-Canada sent out an online survey to ask you – the water community – what federal support is needed to help sustain the growing CBWM network. Specifically, we hoped to:
- Build a better understanding of common issues CBWM initiatives face and prioritize future efforts around these; and,
- Identify strategic opportunities at the federal level to build on CBWM work across the country.
Who We Heard From
We heard back from 146 people from a wide range of backgrounds doing work in every corner of the country.
![Breakdown of participants by province in the national CBM survey](/img/cms/3fbb4e65-7770-4233-826b-a69b066237f1_geography2.20f7892a.1200x800.png)
We heard from technical leads, project coordinators, executive directors, volunteers, policy analysts, researchers, funders, government representatives, and many more. Most respondents represented non-governmental organizations (45%) and government departments at different levels (17%).
![Breakdown of how different groups are involved with CBWM in Canada](/img/cms/e21f9596-f273-4bba-860a-a06c2fbabbbb_sector.474dc800.1000x400.png)
Priorities to Advance CBWM in Canada - What We Heard
Among other issues identified, participants pointed out that in many cases, despite the successes of CBWM programs - data collected are not being used to their full potential and groups are struggling to maintain long-term monitoring activities on a shoestring budget.
When asked to identify their specific concerns, the highest ranked priorities included: sustainable funding (33%), data management (17%), interjurisdictional coordination (16%), communicating results (15%), and strategic monitoring (8%) .
![Top 5 priorities determined from the cbwm survey](/img/cms/d266c05a-da76-44aa-b68d-1c4cd181ee8f_priorities2.074aa8cf.1200x400.png)
Collective Action is Needed
Survey respondents agree that there are opportunities for national-level supports to help sustain and network CBWM across the country. Participants further agree that convening a national discussion would help federal departments put in place more effective institutional and collaborative processes to maximize the value and impact of CBWM.
![Breakdown of how many respondents believe that there are opportunities for increased federal support for CBWM and how many believe that convening a national discussion is worthwhile](/img/cms/066aea06-3e4c-4986-b1f5-ce5a65756a3d_federal_opps.4889a115.1200x1552.webp)
Our key findings from open-ended responses suggest that outcomes from a national discussion should focus on:
- Building CBWM capacity
- Ensuring high quality monitoring
- Facilitating regional collaboration
- Streamlining data management
- Strengthening knowledge transfer
Next Steps
We are taking the advice provided through our survey and running with it! Stay tuned for more information on our plans for an upcoming national-scale gathering on CBWM. This event is intended to highlight the successes of CBWM to-date and identify key opportunities for the federal government to help sustain this growing movement.
This is a collaborative initiative being led by The Gordon Foundation, Living Lakes Canada, and WWF-Canada.
To see all of the survey highlights please visit:
http://gordonfoundation.ca/resource/community-based-water-monitoring-survey-highlights/
Feature image credit: Living Lakes Canada
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