Water Science Alliance (WSA)

The Water Science Alliance is an interest group representing German water research and aims to improve its networking, performance, transparency, and national and international visibility.

•  Goals and objectives
•  The Association
•  Membership

Goals and objectives

Representation of interests in German water research

The Water Science Alliance is an interest representation organization for German water research, aiming to enhance its networking, performance, transparency, and national and international visibility.

Accordingly, it serves:

as a platform for developing and addressing interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research topics:

• Identification of current research topics relevant to solving water problems in the 21st century
• Support for efficient network formation, independent of disciplinary, institutional, and national boundaries
• Development and implementation of thematic networks
• Improvement of the integration of institutional and project funding
• Development of strategic partnerships in both national and international contexts
• Support for early-career scientists
• Development and provision of tools for strategic and conceptual theme development, including the organization of theme workshops and the Water Research Horizon Conference

as an active "voice" for German water research vis-à-vis politics, administration, economy, and the public

• Active collaboration with decision-makers in politics, administration, and economy at the regional, national, and EU levels on matters of strategic planning and identifying priority research areas in water research
• Communication of cross-disciplinary interests of water research to national decision-makers and the EU
• Strengthening the international networking and competitiveness of German water research in international initiatives
• Improvement of knowledge and technology transfer in application, society, and politics
• Public relations and outreach activities

The Association

The Water Science Alliance is a registered and recognized non-profit association based in Leipzig. The organs of the association consist of the general meeting, the executive board, and the extended board.

The general meeting is the supreme decision-making body of the association and has the following rights:

• Deciding on the strategic direction of the association,
• Electing and dismissing the elected members of the board,
• Approving the business plan presented by the board,
• Receiving the annual report and deciding on the discharge of the board,
• Deciding on the contribution rules, amendments to the articles of association, and the dissolution of the association,
• Proposing and deciding on the establishment of committees, working groups, or thematic networks.

The association is managed by a board. The executive board consists of four representatives elected by the ordinary members of the "Water Science Alliance e.V."; it includes the chairman, the first and second deputy chairmen, and the treasurer.

The extended board is composed of ordinary members elected by the general meeting (including one early-career scientist) and supporting members, whose number must always be smaller than the number of elected members.

The extended board performs the following tasks:

• Organizing and coordinating all activities of the association,
• Managing the day-to-day operations,
• Developing the strategic direction of the association,
• Advising on the development, establishment, processing, and networking of thematic networks,
• Collaborating with decision-makers and research funders,
• Representing the Water Science Alliance externally.

The Water Science Alliance is a community initiative for German water research. Its goals and tasks encompass all water-related fields such as atmospheric research, aquatic microbiology, soil science, remote sensing, (inland) fisheries, hydrogeology, hydrochemistry, hydromechanics, hydrogeophysics, hydrology, hygienic medicine, limnology, meteorology, water treatment, urban water management, environmental physics, hydraulic engineering, and adjacent fields (such as environmental and resource economics, socio-economics, agriculture, forestry and wood industry, or energy economics).

The Water Science Alliance needs support in building a strong foundation of active members from all disciplines and institutions. The goal is the successful integration of the institutional expertise available in Germany, so that the Water Science Alliance can fulfill an integrating function as the "voice" of German water research nationally and internationally in the medium term.

The association has ordinary and supporting members.

Ordinary members can be natural or legal persons or partnerships working in the field of water research or adjacent areas:

• Working groups, professorships, institutes, faculties of universities and universities of applied sciences in public or private sponsorship
• Institutes of non-university research institutions or similar structural units
• Institutions of departmental research
• Specialist societies, associations
• Natural persons

Supporting members can be legal persons, partnerships, or personal members; guests can be representatives of research funding organizations and federal and state ministries.