By David LaFrance and Eileen O'Neill — As leaders of two prominent water associations, we talk a lot about the positive benefits of collaboration. In one of our recent conversations we asked ourselves two questions. The first was, on how many events, programs, publications, and other offerings do AWWA and WEF collaborate? And the second, perhaps more critical, question is, do our members know how much we do together?
In answer to the first question, we quickly rattled off a list of over two dozen AWWA-WEF collaborative efforts that cut across every part of our business; the list would have grown considerably if it had included the collaborations happening between AWWA Sections and WEF Member Associations (MAs).
Two of the collaborative events for which AWWA and WEF may be best known are the Utility Management Conference (UMC) and the Young Professionals Summit (YP Summit). For decades the UMC has brought water and wastewater executives, managers, and leaders together to discuss, develop, and solve the full spectrum of current and emerging utility management challenges. A few years ago, AWWA and WEF strategically expanded the value of the UMC by linking it to the YP Summit. The YP Summit helps emerging leaders develop leadership and professional skills along with strong professional networks. And by connecting the UMC and the YP Summit, we enhanced both. The next time these must-attend events will take place is Feb. 6-10, 2017, in Tampa, Fla.
Many of the programs on which we collaborate include other partners. For example, an important workforce-development collaboration among AWWA, WEF, and the US Environmental Protection Agency is Work for Water; other examples are listed in the chart (below).
We are proud of the business collaborations that we have developed over the years because we feel—based on the feedback we receive—they provide our members and the water sector with great value. And hopefully these examples help answer question 2 as we all continue to work together for water.
David B. LaFrance is Chief Executive Officer of the American Water Works Association, the world’s largest and oldest association of water professionals, with 43 sections throughout North America and more than 50,000 members worldwide.
Eileen O’Neill, Ph.D., BCES is a founding principal with Water Principles LLC , and a member of both the Board for Global Environmental Credentialing and the Water Tower Institute who writes and speaks on issues of water and innovation. She is a former Water Environment Federation executive director, has consulting and academic experience in the UK and USA, and is a member of the 2020 class of WEF Fellows.