Associate Professor Rebekah Brown - Program Leader

Rebekah leads the National Urban Water Governance Program at Monash University, and is an Associate Professor within the School of Geography and Environmental Science. Rebekah has specialised in environmental and sustainability issues, as a civil engineer and social scientist over the last 15 years, and in 2007 was the recipient of the Monash University Vice Chancellor’s Early Career Researcher of the Year Award. Over the last five years she has advised governments across NSW, Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland on institutional development and policy application in the water sector.

Upon graduating at the top of her year in civil engineering, she was awarded the Australian Ove Arup & Partners Fellowship for Excellence in Engineering Studies. The first eight years of her career was spent as an industry consultant focusing on improving water quality and water conservation in major infrastructure projects such as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (UK) and the Bangkok Yannawa Wastewater Scheme (Thailand). Deciding to pursue her social science research interests, in 2003 she was awarded a doctorate across the social and physical sciences by the University of New South Wales. 

Her research involves working closely with industry to provide a credible knowledge base for developing institutional capacity, improving water governance and ultimately delivering more sustainable forms of water management. Rebekah’s research spans methods for interdisciplinary data collection techniques, socio-technical transition processes relating to adaptive governance and organisational leadership, and operational frameworks for institutional capacity building at different levels of environmental governance.

Rebekah has been a Keynote Speaker at a number of conferences including the: The 3rd International Conference on Water Sensitive Urban Design: Cities as Catchments in Adelaide 2004; The Planning Institute of Australia: Queensland State Conference in Brisbane 2005; The 10th International Conference on Urban Drainage in Copenhagen 2005, The 5th South Pacific Stormwater Conference, 2007, in Auckland; and the Urban Drainage Summit: Shifting Towards a Water Sensitive City, (2007), Perth.

Professor Chris Cocklin - Research Collaborator (James Cook University)

Chris Cocklin is Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Science, Engineering and IT at James Cook University. He has worked for more than 20 years on sustainability and environmental issues. His research interests include: resources and environmental policy; regulatory analysis; environmental change and human security; sustainability and sustainable development; corporate environmental management; and rural production systems. His work on water resources has included projects on urban bulk water supply, the non-market valuation of water resources, climate change and water resources in Asia-Pacific cities, the social and environmental effects of navigation projects on the upper Mekong River, and the assessment of floodplain management projects. He is currently a member of the boards of AIMS@JCU and the Australian Tropical Herbarium. Chris is also a member of the Water Quality and the Great Barrier Reef Steering Committees of the Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility. He was formerly a member of the Victorian Catchment Management Council, a member of the Board of Greening Australia (Vic) Inc., and was appointed in 2004 to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as a Lead Author of the Fourth Assessment Report. He also served as a member of the Scientific Steering Committee of the Global Environmental Change and Human Security Project, the Australian Academy of Science National Sustainability Committee and the Victorian EPA Sustainability Advisory Group. The project provides a focus for Chris' interests in water resource policy and governance.

Caitlin joined the National Urban Water Governance Program in March 2008 as a Research Assistant with the School of Geography and Environmental Science.  She is currently completing a Master of Environment & Sustainability at Monash University, and has maintained a strong focus on issues of water management and governance throughout her degree.  With a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and experience working as a research assistant with the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics at Monash University, Caitlin brings strong social science skills to the current research phase investigating the institutional capacity development needs for the Australian urban water sector.  

Professor Barry Hart has recently joined the Program to chair the National Urban Water Governance Program Steering Committee. Professor Barry Hart is Director of the environmental consulting company - Water Science Pty Ltd, having recently retired from Monash University. He is still associated with Monash University as an Emeritus Professor. He also served for 10 years as Deputy Director Research of the CRC for Freshwater Ecology.

Professor Hart has established an international reputation in the fields of water quality management, environmental risk assessment and environmental chemistry. He has received several awards, including the Limnology Medal (1982) from the Australian Society for Limnology, the Environmental Chemistry Medal (1996) and Applied Chemistry Medal (1998) from the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, and in 2003 a Centenary Medal for services to water quality management and environmental protection.

Professor Hart is well known for his sustained efforts in developing knowledge-based decision making processes in natural resource management in Australia and south-east Asia.

Dr Megan Farrelly is a Research Fellow within the School of Geography and Environmental Science at Monash University. Megan completed her PhD in Geography at the University of Western Australia and joined the Program in December 2006. Her postgraduate work, funded by Land and Water Australia (an Australian Government research and development body), focused on integrated environmental planning and management across Australia with an evaluation of the Australian Government's Natural Heritage Trust. While she has focused on rural, regional issues in the past, Megan considers there are many institutional and social complexities experienced in these policy fields that also relate to the urban context.

Prior to undertaking her PhD, Megan completed her undergraduate degree with honours in environmental planning and management, also at the University of Western Australia. With a strong background in applied social research, Megan has broad professional interests in integrated environmental planning and management, sustainable urban water management, regional planning, environmental management systems, policy evaluation studies, institutional capacity building and community engagement and participation. She is a member of the Institute of Australian Geographers and of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand.

Ms Nina Keath - Research Fellow

Nina Keath is a Research Fellow with the National Urban Water Governance Program in the School of Geography and Environmental Science, Monash University. As a social scientist, she has worked in the field of urban water for the past six years with a particular focus on institutional development and organisational change for advancing sustainable water futures. In her previous role, at the Victorian Clearwater capacity building program, she worked closely with local government, industry, water authorities and state agencies to identify institutional impediments to sustainable practices as well as options for improving implementation. She has been responsible for managing a range of capacity building projects involving in-depth stakeholder research, as well as resource and training development and delivery. Nina has also provided policy advice to State and Federal Governments particularly around water sector capacity issues and needs for advancing sustainable practices. In her current role with the National Urban Water Governance Program, Nina draws upon her practical industry experience and her social research training to investigate the institutional mechanisms required for enabling Water Sensitive Cities across Australia.  

Ms Katherine MacDonald - Research Assistant

Katherine is a Research Assistant within the School of Geography and Environmental Sciences.  Katherine recently graduated from Monash University with her Masters of International Development and Environmental Analysis, and joined the Program in Early September, 2007.  Katherine has worked previously as a Research Assistant for York University (Canada), and for Agriculture Canada, coordinating fieldwork within the Soil Physical-Chemistry Department investigating the relative filtration rates of water across diverse soil types under differing farming practices. 

Katherine has a strong community development background, having worked in Local Government as a community liaison officer managing various community feedback tools while conducting social research within the Social Planning Department, and has previously studied community engagement, community participation, and comparative culture at York University.  Originally from anthropology, Katherine is delighted to be involved in the second phase of research for the National Urban Water Governance Program.

Stacey Sawchuk is a Research Assistant with the School of Geography and Environmental Science at Monash University. Stacey is the administrative manager for the National Urban Water Governance Program and assists with the on-going team research.  Originally from Canada, Stacey has a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec and has a strong background in Geography, International Relations and Hispanic Languages. Over the past few years Stacey has worked as a consultant for international corporations based out of Canada and the United States. Currently finishing her Master of International Development and Environmental Analysis within the School of Geography and Environmental Science at Monash University Stacey brings her international and professional expertise to the program.

2. Industry Liaison Officers

Ms Fiona Chandler - Brisbane City Council, Queensland
The city of Brisbane is home to nearly one million people. Brisbane City Council is responsible for managing all aspects of the water cycle, including the water supply, sewerage and stormwater networks, flood management, waterway health, alternative water sources, and catchment management (though we have limited influence over rainfall and evaporation!).

The Brisbane City Council website is: www.brisbane.qld.gov.au

Mr Chris Lee - Smart Water Fund / South East Water, Victoria
Chris has worked in the water industry for 24 years and in that time he has seen a great deal of change in the sector. Based in Melbourne, his career has seen him work for the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission, The Rural Water Commission, Mornington Peninsula & District Water Board, Melbourne Water and he is currently with South East Water. Chris has also spent some time working for Anglian Water in the UK through an industry based exchange program. With a business background, Chris' current role has him managing the Smart Water Fund, a collaborative Victorian water industry-wide R&D grant fund that supports the development of innovative sustainable water solutions. Chris also sits on various policy and advisory committees including Melbourne's Drought Response Committee and at a national level he sits on the Standards Australia Committee for the Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme. Chris holds 'Fellow' status with the Revenue Management Association and 'Member' status of the Institute of Credit Management in both the United Kingdom and Australia.

As part of the Steering Committee for the National Urban Water Governance Program, with the breadth of his experience and particularly in his role as Manager of the Smart Water Fund (a funding partner to the Program), Chris will be able to utilise his broad industry knowledge to assist in the delivery of the Program in the Melbourne region.

Ms Alison Luobikis - Water Corporation, Western Australia
Alison Luobikis is a Strategic Analyst in the Water Corporation's Water Cycle Project Team. Prior to this, Alison worked as a business development analyst with a key service provider in Western Australia providing quantitative analysis of business operational performance to support changes to funding arrangements and to redesign service delivery models.

In her current role, using her strong quantitative and qualitative background, her main areas of focus are:

1. Repositioning the Water Corporation to manage drainage water as part of the urban water cycle (within a context of a broader, whole-of-sector reform); and
2. Examining the role of non-drinking water in meeting future water needs of the Western Australian community and the role the Water Corporation should play in the provision of these services.

To deliver real and sustained on-the-ground change in both of these areas, understanding the institutional context and how to move beyond that context is critical. This is where the findings (and the processes) from the National Urban Water Governance Program will assist.

3. Post-graduate Students

Ms Annette Bos - PhD Candidate
Annette joined the program in January 2008 as a PhD researcher. Although an engineer by education, her main area of interest concerns governance of the water services sector and organisational development of water organisations. She views her research project in the National Urban Water Governance Program as a unique opportunity to study at the interface of technical and social facets of sustainable water management in an urban environment.

Prior to joining the program, Annette was a Lecturer in Water Services Management at UNESCO-IHE in Delft, the Netherlands. She has been extensively involved in research, consultancy and educational activities in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ghana, India, Kenya, The Netherlands, South Africa, Tanzania, United Kingdom, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. She also attended a number of international water conferences and platforms. Before joining UNESCO-IHE in 2000, Annette obtained a Masters of Science from Loughborough University in the United Kingdom. Previously, Annette worked for 2.5 years as a regional engineer for the Mvula Trust in South Africa. This large NGO is active in the rural and peri-urban water and sanitation sector.

Mr Peter Morison - PhD Candidate
Peter Morison joined the National Urban Water Governance Program in September 2006 as a postdoctoral researcher. Peter's PhD considers the application of urban stormwater policy within the typical state-local intergovernmental context and the refinement of program interventions that are sympathetic to the relative capacities of the local councils involved. This is a new area for policy research where policy instruments are devised and mixed according to institutional capacity. The research involves a case study of the $20 million stormwater quality programs led by Melbourne Water. Peter comes to the Program with over 10 years experience in catchment management in NSW working for a number of local councils, state agencies and as a consultant. His passion for local government and the management of the waterways environment provides a solid foundation for this research project.

Mr Andre Taylor - PhD Candidate
André Taylor is a PhD student within the Program. Previously a part-time Research Fellow with the Program, André is undertaking a PhD research project titled “Sustainable Urban Water Management: The Champion Phenomenon” (2006-09).
André has 17 years of experience in the fields of environmental management and specifically urban water and waterway management. His expertise has been gained through working in Tasmania, Queensland, Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria for consultancies, State government, local government and academia.
His areas of expertise are:

1. Leadership research and development.
2. Urban water cycle policy, strategic planning and governance.
3. Urban stormwater and water quality management.
4. Non-structural urban stormwater management measures.
5. Life cycle costing and triple-bottom-line assessment.
6. Communication training and group facilitation.
7. Environmental management.
8. Monitoring and evaluation.

Ms Susan van de Meene - PhD Candidate
Susan van de Meene is a PhD student with the National Urban Water Governance Program, exploring sustainable urban water governance. Susan has completed a Bachelor of Arts (Geography) and Bachelor of Engineering (Environmental) at the University of Melbourne. Since graduating, Susan has worked in engineering and environmental consulting on a variety of projects relating to urban water management and design of water management systems. She has developed a particular interest in the social aspects of engineering and is working on a PhD project that aims to develop an institutional capacity assessment framework. The project will explore the attributes of 'good institutional capacity' for a sustainable urban water management system, institutional arrangements and operation for a future sustainable urban water management system, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. It is expected that the framework will inform the strategic design and implementation of capacity building interventions to advance sustainable urban water management.

Ms Lara Werbeloff - Honours Candidate
Lara Werbeloff is currently completing a combined Arts/Law degree at Monash University with an Arts major in Geography and Environmental Science.  Lara has recently commenced an Honours project as part of her Arts degree that explores issues of water conservation and urban water governance. More specifically, the project is exploring the different institutional responses to drought that have been implemented in Melbourne and Perth; in particular the research focuses on water restrictions and desalination. This research aims to explore whether the introduction of desalination will undermine the positive behaviour change that the restrictions have achieved in terms of water conservation. The project will also evaluate the extent to which desalination and water restrictions are consistent in the messages they send to urban consumers about water use and conservation. Through this Honours project, Lara hopes to gain a better understanding of institutional responses to water shortages and methods to encourage water conservation in urban settings.