Evaluating Research on Agriculture and Water in the Canadian Context: A summary of CWN-funded research
This project was commissioned by the Canadian Water Network to examine the knowledge gained and progress made from the Canadian Water Network’s (CWN) investment in research relating to agriculture and water. More specifically, the objectives were to:
- Create a concise narrative and executive level overview of the research projects
- Conduct a thematic analysis of the primary outcomes/lessons learned
- Describe how these results and themes fit into the bigger picture with respect to Canadian agriculture and decision-maker priorities
This report evaluated a total of 36 CWN-funded research projects, spanning the past 15 years. Project- specific parameters were evaluated (timelines, funding requested, principal investigator details, research team details, relevant research partners, and relevant geographic location/watersheds), short plain- language abstract were written, and key project findings were compared within primary research themes to develop themes and subthemes (categories reflecting relevant similarities and commonalities, and their relationships, across individual projects). Higher-level comparisons were then made to assess commonalities across the four major research themes and discussed in the context of Canadian agriculture and decision- maker priorities.
Each research project was classified within one of four primary research themes:
- Biosolids application
- Agricultural wastewater treatment
- Agricultural watershed assessments, impacts and beneficial management practice (BMP) evaluation
- Agricultural impacts on groundwater supplies
Over a decade of CWN-funded research in these areas engaged 31 academic institutions, 190 researchers, and over 200 collaborating partners spanning across Canada. Furthermore, these projects generated over 1,100 research outputs used for knowledge mobilization, which ranged from conference presentations, to primary academic publications, to lay summaries, to workshops.
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Category
Client:
Canadian Water Network