New SWC “How to Collaborate” Toolkit for Forming or Enhancing Collaborative Efforts

The new “How To Collaborate” online toolkit is now available from the national Source Water Collaborative (SWC) to help users initiate or enhance partnerships to protect drinking water sources, as part of ongoing efforts to help foster local, state, and regional/watershed source water collaboratives.  The toolkit was developed with input from some of our state collaboratives, as well as a variety of local collaboratives.
The toolkit is designed to meet a broad array of needs, from tips and templates for those just getting started to mature partnerships seeking new inspiration and funding ideas.  The toolkit is organized by four stages (Considering, Forming, Advancing and Maintaining) to enable users to search by collaborative stage, and also provides resources by topic of interest (funding, collaborative structure options, partner ideas, etc.).  The toolkit also includes an interactive map with detailed summaries highlighting the efforts of 25 source water collaboratives working at the local, state or regional/watershed level.
Please take some time to review the toolkit and share it with your colleagues. While the tips offer useful examples of the benefits of using a collaborative approach to protect drinking water sources, the suggestions are useful for a wide array of conservation-based partnerships.  A handout is attached for your use in promoting the toolkit with your water systems and partners.  To access the toolkit, visit the SWC web site at: www.SourceWaterCollaborative.org/how-to-collaborate-toolkit.
Attachment – New SWC How-to Collaborate Toolkit Handout