We have long-standing relationships with partners from industry, academia, government and regulation, and the third sector.
With the support of our dedicated team, we work with stakeholders in various ways. For example:
- We work closely with partners to co-design and co-deliver impactful research with real world benefits.
- We train the next generation of water professionals by co-supervising over 120 PhD students undertaking business relevant research.
- We share our knowledge and expertise with our partners, providing valuable input on water-related issues, for example by engaging in consultations and contributing to advisory boards.
- We organise regular meetings and events with our partners.
- We are always open to hosting external groups who are working in the freshwater domain in our facilities.
Industry
We greatly value our many industrial stakeholders who allow our academics to apply their skills to important practical issues and realise tangible positive outcomes from their research.
As an example of our involvement with industry, we have an extremely successful partnership with Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water (DCWW). Our collaboration includes extensive knowledge exchange and advisory activities. We also work closely together through shared staff members, co-designed research projects and co-supervised PhD students.
One example of our work with DCWW is our resilience study which informed their 2050 strategy.
Academia
We are proud to be part of the GW4 Water Security Alliance – a collective of over 200 water researchers from Cardiff University and the Universities of Bath, Bristol and Exeter.
Beyond our academics' extensive international links, the Institute has built a network of international partners from a diverse range of countries. This network allows us to effectively collaborate on and contribute to water research in conditions and climates vastly different to those found in the UK.
Our partners allow us access to on-the-ground resource and insight for overseas research projects, in addition for opportunities to share expertise and best practice.
- University of Campinas (UNICAMP)
- Global Institute for Water Security (University of Saskatchewan)
- University of Namibia (UNAM)
- KU Leuven
Government and regulators
We recognise the vital roles of government and regulation in the world of freshwater and maintain good relationships with all relevant UK organisations. In particular, we have very strong links with Welsh Government and regulatory partners.
Our strong working relationship with the Welsh Government is core to our identity as a Welsh university. We have advised the Welsh Government on a range of topics including the management of Welsh rivers and the issue of microplastics pollution.
Welsh Government have also provided opportunities for PhD students to undertake secondments in the environmental policy team.
We have a very strong partnership with Natural Resources Wales which encompasses appointments of WRI academics to NRW’s board, co-supervised PhD research projects and significant knowledge exchange between the organisations.
Third sector
The third sector plays an important role in addressing the challenges of freshwater and constitute an important group of partners for us. Our third sector partners bring deep understanding of the needs of communities and ecosystems and the ability to deliver outcomes which may not be possible through public or private sectors.
We currently have co-supervised PhD projects and are engaged in research with a range of our third-sector partners, including: