North Central Region Water Network
Building Collaboration Between State and Tribal Land-grant Institutions in the North Central Region
Mark your calendars! The North Central Extension Water Summit will be held in Keshena, Wisconsin this August. The event will build on past efforts to strengthen collaborations among state and tribal land-grant institutions throughout the region.
Registration is now open! Fill out and mail this form with the registration fee to the address provided to register. Early registration ends July 13, 2018. Travel scholarships are available for tribal college representatives.
A draft summit agenda is now available.
Questions? Email Charlie Barden at Kansas State University.
Project Background
There are 20 Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) in the North Central Region. While there are great examples collaboration between state land-grants and TCUs on water-related issues, there is room for growth. Strengthening collaboration and learning from local successes can achieve greater benefits for land-grant faculty, staff, and students; communities and tribal nations in the North Central Region, and the water resources upon which we depend.
A recent First Americans Land-Grant Consortium (FALCON) member survey demonstrated there is a strong interest among TCUs nationwide to work on water quality-related projects. While there are examples of collaborative water quality programs supported by other agencies, this program aims to expand Extension collaborative programming and partnership among state land-grants and TCUs.
Addressing the Challenge
To fill the gap in collaborative programs between state land-grant universities and TCUs, the tribal collaboration team works to understand past collaboration successes and challenges, research ideas for collaboration, determine future funding opportunities, and build a stronger connection between these entities. Building on prior efforts to enhance collaboration and connection, the team works to determine solutions benefiting all parties through ample communication and open conversations combining perspectives.
Progress Made
In May 2017 the project team convened a Tribal Water Summit at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. The summit brought together seven TCUs, six state land-grants, and state and federal agency personnel to identify priority issues surrounding water, share past collaboration successes and challenges, and determine future funding and collaboration opportunities.
A post-event survey demonstrated that 91% of respondents felt ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ well positioned to apply for additional funding for research and outreach around water-related issues following the summit. Similarly, 78% of respondents increased their understanding of past successful collaboration between TCUs and state land-grants, and 92% developed connections with out of state experts who they could consult on water-related issues.
Additionally, a wrap up survey sent to project team members, and summit attendees demonstrated that a number of funding proposals were submitted as a result of the event.
Moving Forward
A follow-up meeting to the Tribal Water Summit is planned for August 2018 at the College of Menominee Nation with the goal of furthering the conversations initiated at the 2017 Summit and continuing to determine future funding and collaboration opportunities.
In addition, the team recently released a survey to better understand specific water-related interests among tribal and state land-grant audiences, garner interest for topic-specific work-groups, and examine the types of collaborations that have been successful in the past.
Contact:
Charles Barden
Project Director, Kansas State University
cbarden@ksu.edu
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