The major concern of applying citizen science in water resources is the quality of the data. However, there are limited scientific studies addressing this concern and showing the data value. In this study, we established a citizen science program in the Akaki catchment which hosts Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Citizen scientists monitored river stage at multiple gauging sites for multiple years. We evaluated the quality of citizen science data through a systematic quality control. Reference data was obtained from neighboring stations of the citizen science program and professionals while the evaluation involved graphical inspections and statistical methods. The quality-controlled data were applied to evaluate the spatial and temporal variation of rainfall-runoff relationships. Initially, large numbers of suspicious data were detected using single station data but that was significantly reduced when the data of multiple sites were compared. Further comparison against professional data revealed excellent agreement with high correlation coefficient (r gt;0.95), and low centered root mean square error (RMSE) lt;0.03–0.08 mm. The citizen science data indicated a large difference in rainfall-runoff relationship over the dominantly urban and rural sub-catchments. The citizen science data allowed comparison of runoff coefficient and base flow index for recent and historical periods where recent streamflow data is unavailable from a formal data source. This study illustrates the immense value of (i) multiple data quality assessment steps for building confidence on the quality of citizen science data, and (ii) citizen science for enhancing our understanding of rainfall-runoff relationships and change in a rapidly urbanizing catchment.

This report describes the creation of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) from early 1969 to late 1984. The report tells the story of how an ever-expanding circle of scientists, practitioners and funders joined forces over a 15-year period to co-create the institute that over time became the IWMI of today. It has been prepared as a supplement to the 40th anniversary publication titled Celebrating IWMI at 40: Learning from our History, Turning to the Future. In providing an in-depth account of IWMI’s creation, this report aims to enhance the understanding of how the debates during those early years shaped the Institute’s contemporary character and culture. It has been written for a target audience of IWMI supporters and alumni, current and future IWMI leadership and staff, and current and future Board members interested in learning more about the “what and why” of the Institute’s origins. This report could also be of relevance to a broader audience interested in learning more about how innovative international institutions tackling emerging global challenges are conceived and brought into being, as well as to scholars of international development. This report has been prepared by Roberto Lenton, a former Director General of IWMI and, more recently, Chair of the Institute’s Board of Governors.

This account, issued on IWMI’s 40th anniversary, describes the evolution and growth of IWMI from the idea stage to the present day. It has been prepared as a celebration not only of IWMI’s history and the vision of its founders but also of its contemporary character and culture. As such, it aims to introduce a wide range of IWMI stakeholders — current and future, IWMI leadership and staff, Board members, partners, and funders — to the “what, why, past, and future” of IWMI. A companion publication titled Inception: The creation of an international water management institute, 1969–1984 provides a full account of the creation of the institute, from 1969 to 1984, which is briefly summarized in the first section of this report. In addition to providing a historical record of IWMI’s 40 years of activities, the report contains an important contemporary message that relates to the character of the institute, which was shaped by the way in which it was set up and its evolution since that time. Indeed, the account shows that the key features that define the IWMI of today — its evolution from an irrigation institute to a water systems institute; its research conducted in real-world water systems rather than in controlled experiment stations; its fully multidisciplinary approach spanning the social and biophysical sciences; and its aim to ensure that its research leads to development outcomes — were all established at inception. This report has been prepared by Roberto Lenton, a former Director General of IWMI and, more recently, Chair of the Institute’s Board of Governors.