Current Innovation NFP

Current is a Chicago-based water innovation hub launched in 2016 to help realize the region's economic and environmental potential as a water innovation leader. As a cross-sector convenor of local and global water sector stakeholders, Current builds networks, organizes events, and helps develop pilot projects that achieve environmental and economic equity. Current serves as a conduit for both technology and innovation, monitoring independently evaluating new ideas and technology in water management, and working with utilities, research institutions, businesses, and innovators to test new solutions. Current shares information with community-based organizations and serves as a trusted partner working towards economic inclusion and environmental justice. Current works to grow an inclusive blue economy by generating research and data to inform strategic priorities, driving collaborations among researchers, entrepreneurs, corporations, investors, utilities, and community partners. We work to keep water in focus as an economic development priority and create strategies to support education, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and investment. We host events and convenings to strengthen our networks.Current accelerates innovation by maintaining a sophisticated understanding of the state of the art in water technology, and identifying and supporting the development of promising technologies that solve persistent and emerging water challenges. We convene the capabilities of our Current Research Consortium to bridge advanced fundamental science and practical, outcome-based applied research. We also pursue research funding opportunities and cross-institutional partnerships to strengthen the research ecosystem, driving more financial resources and expertise to priority problems. Current helps solve pressing water challenges by identifying and independently assessing new technologies and building partnerships to help promising innovations go to scale. We do this by testing technologies and recommending the best solutions for others to try, or for us to pilot, to help improve water quality and management. Current maintains a database of promising water technologies that we have sourced and "de-risked" evaluated for their potential to be implemented at-cost and at-scale. We continue to receive and evaluate these new technologies and serve as a neutral recommendation engine for our major water utilities in the region. Across all of our work, Current demonstrates a commitment to environmental justice and inclusion. We seek to address water challenges through solutions that advance an equitable water infrastructure: the technologies we identify and pilot help to ensure that all people have access to safe and clean water, and that water resources are resilient to climate change and other environmental stressors. We also foster the growth of a robust blue economy that provides training and career pathways for traditionally underrepresented groups, including women and individuals of color. Finally, our outreach and education programs seek to engage youth, with an emphasis on underserved students, and communities that have long been absent from environmental conversations. It is through this lens of equity and inclusion that we maximize the impact of our work in inventing, testing, and adopting promising new solutions that work for everyone.