Constructing a business case for water sensitive investments – A guideline for local government: Crc water sensitive cities
Case study: CRC guideline for water sensitive investments
Wave Consulting developed these guidelines to create a comprehensive economic evaluation framework that facilitates better decision-making for water-sensitive investments.
Guidelines for water industry
Key facts
Clear and concise guideline for local government practioners
Expanded from Victorian focus to a national initiative
The problem
The benefits of investing in water sensitive assets, crucial for the transition to water sensitive cities, are challenging to quantify. This makes it difficult to build a strong case for such infrastructure investments, whether from a private or public perspective.
The primary issue is how to overcome the process of making investment decisions in Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD), given the lack of monetised value attributed to these, and also the significant intangible value they deliver.
To address this challenge, Wave Consulting Australia was commissioned by the Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities to develop a clear and concise guideline for local government practitioners. This guideline needed to summarise extensive research on non-market values and economic evaluation, aiding in the creation of robust business cases for water-sensitive investments.
“Rob has the ability to move hearts and minds. I’ve collaborated with Rob on many occasions and have noticed his ability to craft a story and to engage an audience in messages of change. I believe that this is a crucial skill in a sustainability professional.”
The solution
Wave Consulting Australia has collated an extensive set of data of various WSUD benefits based on the latest research, with a specific focus on local government investment decisions. These comprehensive guidelines showcase an array of remarkable benefits that can be derived from their implementation, such as substantial water savings, reduction in nutrient levels, liberation from water restrictions, and much more.
Numerous in-depth studies and databases have been undertaken to catalog the non-market values associated with water-sensitive investments.
Our work aimed to distill this extensive research into a streamlined document. It emphasised that the technical data related to non-market values should be considered within the broader context of drafting a business case, which requires a comprehensive narrative.
The outcome
Wave Consulting Australia provided a guideline to the Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities (CRCWSC) to capture much of the research that has been completed in this nine year research program, with a focus on increasing the understanding around business case preparation methods for local government officers and water sensitive investments.
Originally drafted for Victorian stakeholders, this project expanded into a national initiative and guideline.
The finalised guideline, now accessible on the CRCWSC website, put Wave Consulting Australia at the forefront of understanding the range of research and models that the team from the University of Western Australia have created under the program that specifically focuses on the costs and benefits of water investments.
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