With Alberta’s Economy Fuelled by Hydrocarbons, is Water Playing Second Fiddle? (Part 2 Q&A)

Alberta’s government has made some major organizational changes related to research and development. Five new organizations have been formed which encompass the activities of many predecessors in the research and innovation community. The Alberta Research and Innovation Authority have replaced the Alberta Science and Research Authority and four “Alberta Innovates” corporations have been created within its auspices. The former Alberta Water Research Institute and the Alberta Energy Resource Institute have become Alberta Innovates, Energy and Environment Solutions. The speaker will provide an overview of the current “Alberta Innovates” system of corporations and their respective roles. He will also explain how Energy and Environment Solutions will integrate the former “Water for Life: Alberta’s Strategy for Sustainability” into this new organization. Important issues regarding water research, past investments and future directions will also be discussed. Speaker: David Hill, Executive Director, Water Resources David Hill is the Executive Director of Water Resources for Energy and Environment Solutions (Alberta Innovates). He has more than 35 years’ experience in water management in Alberta, crossing the broadest spectrum of water issues and water companies. David has taken a lead role in the development of tools, policies and processes to promote increased water use efficiency in the agricultural sector, and has been a founding member of a number of regionally based water stakeholder organizations. He has been involved with the Alberta Water Council since its inception, representing irrigated agriculture first and then the science and research community since the fall of 2007. This experience provides David Hill with a broad understanding of water’s integrating importance related to sustainable, social, environmental and economic benefits. At one point in his career he served locally as Executive Director of Alberta Irrigation Projects Association in Lethbridge.