Project Accelerator

The Accelerator is open to public utilities, cities, towns, and special districts, providing drinking water, wastewater, and/or stormwater services.

Virtually any local priority consistent with WaterNow’s mission of advancing sustainability, affordability, and climate resilience across the One Water spectrum is eligible for Accelerator support. Projects that focus on distributed water infrastructure, expanding water management across communities, or that provide multiple community benefits, can be given priority. Applications that provide leadership development opportunities for rising utility staff can be given additional consideration as well.

Project Accelerator provides 250 hours of WaterNow staff time across a range of capabilities including but not limited to:

• Navigating Federal and State Funding Opportunities
• Water Policy Research & Analysis
• Draft Ordinance Support
• Communication with Elected/Appointed Decision Makers
• Preparation of Key Planning Documents
• Best Practices Research
• Program Design and Development
• Program Success Metrics
• Training and Education
• Outreach & Communication Strategy
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Building Community Trust [link highlighted text to Building Blocks of Trust initiative page]
• Fostering Leadership and Professional Development for Utility Staff [link highlighted text to Emerging Leaders initiative page]
• Access to a Broad Network of Water Sector Experts

You can also reach out to us directly, to discuss whether your project is a good match for the types of support the Accelerator provides.

No. The Accelerator does not provide funding to applicants.

The application is designed to be as simple as possible. It includes 7 short questions about the proposed project, along with a few multiple choice questions to help us get to know the community and understand the logistics around the proposed idea. It should take is meant to take no more than 1-2 hours to complete depending on the complexity of the project.

Accelerator projects often provide practical opportunities for emerging utility leaders to develop and management skills. These can include:

• Developing project plans
• Managing projects from soup to nuts
• Pitching to management
• Communicating with political leadership
• Communicating with community members
• Building partnerships with community members and groups
• Establishing performance metrics
• Building teams
• Growing collaborations with outside entities
• Strengthening capacity for strategy and visioning
• Additional goals identified by project applicants

The Accelerator can facilitate trust building between community organizations and water utilities. Projects that advance these goals include:

• Prioritizing transparency and accountability
• Restoring community confidence
• Deepening community understanding of utility roles and responsibilities
• Highlighting shared goals to leverage mutual benefits
• Including the community as part of utility decision-making
• Adopting a community-facing orientation
• Cultivating long-term community relationships with intention
• Building from personal to more formalized relationships

Community-driven projects reflect local priorities, and support the fair distribution of economic, political, social, and natural resources and opportunities to improve the livelihood of individuals and the overall health of society. Projects that advance these goals include:

• Affordability initiatives
• Efforts to reduce service shutoffs
• Partnering with community groups to build community trust
• Engaging community members in planning processes
• Outreach to disadvantaged populations
• Jobs or training programs to connect water services to local workforce development
• Efforts to support recruitment and retention of utility staff
• Affordability initiatives

We are interested in hearing your ideas, goals, and challenges and partnering on approaches that meet the unique priorities in your community.b

WaterNow’s evaluation team looks for the following:

• A clear focus on a sustainable, strategic, and innovative management solution
• Demonstrated commitment to implementing the project (e.g., the project is identified as a priority; political and/or executive management statement of support)
• If applicable, an upfront financial commitment (e.g., a budget line item)
• Strong potential for replication in other communities
• Projects that help ensure universal access to water services
• Benefits to under-resourced communities

The rubric for project evaluation is available here. If you’re not sure whether the project you have in mind is a fit, or if you have specific questions about the application, you can also reach out to us directly to discuss it in more detail.

We typically invite applications twice a year, once in the spring/summer, and once in the fall/winter.

You don’t need to be a member to apply, but a full WaterNow membership is required to receive our pro-bono technical assistance. If your project is selected, an eligible official or executive management representative—such as a City Council member, Mayor, Commissioner, City Manager, General Manager, or Public Works/Utility Director—would need to become a member.

Additionally, associate membership is available for other city and utility staff, but will not fill this program participation requirement.

Learn more about our member benefits and join for free WaterNow on our Membership page.