NIUA’s Water and Environment Vertical focuses on developing enabling frameworks, mechanisms, and pathways to help Indian cities manage their water and environmental sectors in a sustainable manner.
Given our affiliation with India’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, our vision and work are geared towards bringing about a noticeable difference on the ground. We support the Ministry in implementing the different national Urban Missions and initiatives that have a bearing on urban water and environment. Additionally, we work with a number of national and international resource partners with an agenda and mandate similar to ours.
Typically, our work in urban water and environmental management includes:
• Developing national level strategic frameworks applicable for all cities to facilitate on-the-ground action in specific domains.
• Preparing guidance documents and advisories for areas where knowledge gaps exist.
• Developing digital tools and instruments to help cities move up the state-of-the-art ladder.
• Undertaking action research on relatively unexplored subjects.
• Supporting the piloting of innovative concepts and technologies through demonstration projects.
• Developing niche capacity building modules and certification programmes on common needs of cities.
• Facilitating partnerships among cities, civil society organizations, academia, international organizations, and the private sector.
• Engaging with different sections of society with a view to target long-term transformational change.