Form Effective Partnerships
Natural infrastructure – wetlands, forests, healthy soils – plays a critical role in improving water quality, reducing flooding, protecting critical infrastructure, and safeguarding public health. By working together, we can harness the full potential of natural infrastructure to build a more resilient water future for everyone.
That’s why forming effective partnerships is Step 5 in the process of funding and financing coastal resiliency. Partnerships are essential for advancing natural infrastructure and strengthening climate resilience because they:
Boost Municipal Capacity – Partnerships with community groups and non-profits boost expertise and manpower to plan, design, and maintain natural infrastructure projects that reduce municipal costs and ensure long-term success of the projects.
Fill Funding Gaps – Diverse stakeholders bring together valuable knowledge and resources to identify a broad range of potential project benefits, strengthen funding applications, and support long-term resilience strategies and equitable outcomes.
Build Trust and Stewardship – Partners and stakeholders bring specialized skills and strong understanding of community needs. Working in collaboration is valuable in prioritizing inclusive participation, providing environmental education and fostering community trust to develop comprehensive solutions that address the specific needs of the community.
The sections below offer guidance and resources for building your partner network and ways to join current networks. You can also get started by conducting an initial assessment of existing needs and opportunities using the Watershed Resiliency Community Worksheet.
Stakeholders and Partnerships Matter!
Part of an existing partnership and want to connect with other groups? Know of a successful partnership or resources that should be highlighted in this dashboard? Reach out to us! Just fill out the short form below.
Share Info About Your Partnership
Build Your Partner Network
Ready to harness the power of natural infrastructure? Click through the next sections to learn how to build a strong partner network.
By building strong partnerships, communities can leverage the benefits of natural infrastructure investments to create a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable future.
Identify Stakeholders
Broaden your network by identifying and engaging a diverse range of stakeholders to include a range of voices and perspectives. Ensure your network includes voices from government agencies, community organizations, and environmental justice groups to include a well-rounded perspective.
Consider reaching out to these types of groups:
- Chambers of Commerce
- Neighborhood and Community Groups
- Schools and Universities
- Local Businesses
- Environmental Advocacy Groups
Webinar: Building Capacity Through Partnerships
Watch WaterNow's October 19, 2022 webinar on how partnerships can build capacity in frontline communities to meet water challenges.
Webinar Slides: Building Capacity Through Partnerships
Download the slides from the Tap into Resilience webinar from October 19, 2022, focused on building capacity through trusting relationships.
MMSD: Green Infrastructure Partnership Program
MMSD's Green Infrastructure Partnership Program offers incentive funding on a per-gallon captured, reimbursement basis for a range of green infrastructure
Building Blocks of Trust
Report from River Network and WaterNow on how communities and water systems can build trusting partnerships.
Equity Guide for Green Stormwater Infrastructure Practitioners
A a resource by and for green infrastructure program managers working to build equitable, community-centered projects.
Value of Partnerships in Reducing MS4 Compliance Cost
Report on the value of partnerships in reducing municipal separate storm sewer compliance costs.
Design for Multiple Benefits
Natural infrastructure can provide a multitude of benefits beyond climate resilience. Partnering with groups who share diverse goals, such as environmental and public health organizations or recreational sports that create solutions with broader community appeal and long-term sustainability.
Webcast: Tapping into Multiple Benefits
Watch WaterNow’s February 25, 2020, Tap into Resilience webcast.
Explore Strategies: Opportunities for Localized Solutions
This report dives into the big picture benefits of localized water strategies and how to finance them.
Impact of Green City, Clean Waters on Philadelphia
Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia's impact analysis finds that green infrastructure results in significant economic, social, and environmental benefits to Philadelphia.
Planning for Sustainability-Handbook for Water Utilities
An EPA effort to focus on the project development phase to create cost-effective, resource efficient, community-specific projects satisfying all stakeholders.
Moving Toward a Multi-Benefit Approach for Water Management
Our partners at the Pacific Institute and collaborator Professor Bob Wilkinson are developing a framework for incorporating multiple benefits of water projects into decision-making.
Value of Partnerships in Reducing MS4 Compliance Cost
Report on the value of partnerships in reducing municipal separate storm sewer compliance costs.
Plan Together
Organize meetings to identify water-related challenges, locate priority areas, leverage resources, and deploy a funding strategy.
Planning & Implementing Green Infrastructure
List of resources for those interested in the planning and implementation of nature-based solutions.
GSI: A Tool for Economic Recovery and Growth
Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia’s report offering a detailed look at how GSI can be used as a tool for economic recovery and equitable growth.
Build Partnerships
Building and maintaining trust-based relationships with intentionality is key to achieving shared goals, particularly in the context of water infrastructure projects. Trust fosters open communication, strengthens collaboration, and ensures that stakeholders are aligned in their efforts. Through trust-based partnerships, parties can work together more effectively, unlocking funding opportunities and accessing resources that support sustainable, long-term solutions. Building Blocks of Trust resources like those listed below are great resources for communities and utilities looking for examples of best practices, case studies, and trust-building workshops.
Community Water Academy: Guide
Ripples of Change: Guidelines & Templates for Building Your Own Community Water Academy
Building Blocks of Trust
Report from River Network and WaterNow on how communities and water systems can build trusting partnerships.
Tell Us About Your Partnership
Part of an existing partnership and want to connect with other groups? Know of a successful partnership or resources that should be highlighted in this dashboard?
Reach out to us by filling out the short form linked below.
Share Info About Your Partnership
Michigan & Wisconsin Partner Networks
There are a number of partnership networks in Michigan and Wisconsin that can support communities’ implementation of natural infrastructure. Check out the sections below for an overview of some of these networks.
Michigan
Lower Grand River Organization of Watersheds
Lower Grand River Organization of Watersheds (LGROW) brings together local municipalities and community stakeholders to address issues facing the Lower Grand River and its watersheds.
Rainscaping: an LGROW program that assist homeowners and businesses in the Greater Grand Rapids area in designing and implementing customized natural infrastructure solutions, distributing the benefits of these practices across the watershed.
Contact LGROW: [email protected]
Website: https://www.lgrow.org/
Michigan Sea Grant
Michigan Sea Grant is a cooperative program of the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to fund research, education, and outreach projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of Great Lakes resources.
Join the MI Sea Grant Mailing List
Additional Resources:
Michigan Coastal Resilience Hub – spotlights Michigan-relevant best available resources and contacts in Planning, Policy, Communication and Education, Funding and Technical Assistance.
Great Lakes Coastal Planning and Zoning email course — learn about Michigan’s Great Lakes shorelines and how communities can plan and zone for those shorelines.
Water School – free, online, self-paced courses for local elected and appointed officials for elected and appointed officials increase their knowledge about water management and gain access to tools and resources to help impact their local economy. (Coming in 2025)
Wisconsin
Southeast Wisconsin Watershed Trust
Southeast Wisconsin Watershed Trust (Sweet Water) brings diverse partners together to provide the leadership and innovation necessary to protect and restore our shared water resources in the Greater Milwaukee watersheds
Sweet Water’s Water Quality Mini-Grant Program distributes grants each year to community groups to implement natural solutions that improve water quality, enhance environmental conservation, restore aquatic habitat, or educate the public.
Contact Sweet Water: [email protected]
Website: https://www.swwtwater.org/
Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership
Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership (LNRP) cultivates, connects, and creates community stewardship with the strategic, administrative, programming and funding support needed to improve the health of the land and waters in northeast and east central Wisconsin
Coastal Resilience Community Impact Project supports communities in Northeast Wisconsin with project planning, design, funding, and implementation of coastal resilience strategies.
Contact LNRP: [email protected]
Website: https://www.lnrp.org/
University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute supports and enhances the sustainable use, conservation and health of Great Lakes resources and the well-being of Great Lakes communities through research, education and outreach.
Grant Opportunities
Ask the Expert
Sign-up for WI Sea Grant e-news
Project Staff Contact:
Michael Friis, (608) 267-7982, Program Manager, Public Access, Wetland Protection, and Land Use Planning Coordinator
Kathleen Angel, (608) 267-7988, Federal Consistency and Coastal Hazards Coordinator
Lydia Salus, (608) 266-3687, Project Coordinator
Additional Resources
An Audit of Municipal Codes and Ordinances to Tackle Barriers to Green Infrastructure
Wisconsin Coastal Resilience (CALM) – a Lake Michigan-wide project is connecting the resilience efforts in Southeastern Wisconsin to those in Wisconsin’s Green Bay and Northeastern coastal communities to regionally prioritize and address coastal hazards.
Multistate
Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange
Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange (GILEX) is a project of the Global Philanthropy Partnership and seeks to activate local governments and water agencies in the U.S. and Canada to implement green stormwater infrastructure equitably.
Contact GILEX: [email protected]
Phone: (410) 657-2657
Become a Member of the Exchange
Additional Resources
• Exchange Green Infrastructure Library
• Equity Guide for Green Stormwater Infrastructure Practitioners offers a comprehensive guide to advancing and measuring equity within public sector stormwater management organizations’ green stormwater infrastructure policies, programs, and projects
• Peer Learning at the Exchange
GLISA
GLISA – NOAA’s Great Lakes Climate Adaptation Partnership Team (GLISA) is a collaboration between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. GLISA works at the boundary between climate science and decision making, striving to enhance Great Lakes communities’ capacity to understand, plan for, and respond to climate impacts now and in the future. Established in 2010, GLISA serves Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin in the U.S., and the Province of Ontario in Canada.
Contact GLISA here
Phone: N/A
Sign up for GLISA’s Email List (scroll to the bottom of the page)
Additional Resources
• GLISA Leading by Example: Tools and Resources for City Adaptation
• GLISA Small Grants Program
• NOAA Climate Adaptation Partnerships (CAP) Program
Tell Us About Your Partnership
Part of an existing partnership and want to connect with other groups? Know of a successful partnership or resources that should be highlighted in this dashboard?
Reach out to us by filling out the short form linked below.
Share Info About Your Partnership
Additional Resources
Check out some additional mapping and demographics resources that can help you identify community challenges and stakeholders.
MiEJScreen
MiEJScreen: Environmental Justice Screening Tool an interactive screening tool that identifies Michigan communities that may be disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards by exploring environmental, health, and socioeconomic conditions within a specific community, region, or across the entire state.
EJScreen
EJScreen: Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool is an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tool that combines nationally consistent data on environmental and demographic indicators in order to better meet the Agency’s responsibilities related to the protection of public health and the environment.
Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool
Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool is an interactive map developed by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to help identify communities that are disadvantaged because they are overburdened and underserved. The tool uses datasets that are indicators of burdens in eight categories: climate change, energy, health, housing, legacy pollution, transportation, water and wastewater, and workforce development. Federal agencies will use the tool to help identify disadvantaged communities that will benefit from programs included in the Justice40 Initiative that seeks to deliver 40% of the overall benefits of investments in climate, clean energy, and related areas to disadvantaged communities.
FEMA Coastal Floodplain Mapping
FEMA Coastal Floodplain Mapping provides a tutorial on how coastal risks are shown on Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs, or flood maps).
