Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility Plan for an NSF Regional Innovation Engine

The Water Council and its partners received a two-year Development Award (Type 1) from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to plan a Resiliency Innovation Engine in eastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois addressing water and energy resiliency for manufacturers and utilities. The goal of the Engine is to facilitate the solutions needed to enable manufacturers and utilities to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change through water and energy innovation, and to quickly scale those solutions for wider use by industry, government, and other stakeholders. 

CIS and our partner, Cross Management Services, Inc., were hired as a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Consultant to facilitate integration of DEIA across the Engine’s foundational components and develop a plan for the Engine’s implementation. At the end of the two-year cycle, The Water Council and its partners will apply for a Launch Award (Type 2) that will support the Engine’s implementation over 10 years. The DEIA plan will be a core component of the Launch Award proposal. The plan will cover topics such as Engine culture and leadership, partnerships, workforce development, talent pipeline development, and small and medium business participation.

CIS will conduct a landscape review of the workforce pipeline in the water and energy sectors, host two in-person events in Wisconsin, a virtual workshop, and integrate a DEIA perspective throughout the Engine plan.