Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2035
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2035
14 May 2025
 | 14 May 2025

User priorities for hydrological monitoring infrastructures supporting research and innovation

William Veness, Alejandro Dussaillant, Gemma Coxon, Simon De Stercke, Gareth H. Old, Matthew Fry, Jonathan G. Evans, and Wouter Buytaert

Abstract. Observational data availability, quality, and access are major obstacles to hydrological science and innovation. To alleviate these issues, major investments are being made in hydrological monitoring infrastructures to enable data collection and sharing at unprecedented scales and resolution. These projects integrate a range of complex physical and digital components, which require careful design to prioritise the needs of end-users and optimise their value delivery. We present here the findings of multiple-methods research on end-user needs for a £38 million hydrological monitoring and research infrastructure in the UK, integrating a systematic literature review of common user-requirements with interviews of 20 national stakeholders. We find an overall trend in demand for infrastructures that complement their provision of baseline hydrological datasets, where feasible, with additional services designed specifically to enable wider and more decentralised data collection. This can unlock the capacities of user communities by addressing barriers to data collection through, for example, the provision of land access, reliable benchmark datasets, equipment rental and technical support. Similarly, value can be unlocked by providing data management services, including data access, storage, quality control, processing, visualisation and communication. Our respondents further consider digital and physical spaces where users can collaborate to be critical for incubating genuine value to science and innovation. We conclude that new hydrological monitoring infrastructures require concurrent investments to build and nurture associated research and innovation communities, where specific enabling support is provided to facilitate collaborations. Supplementing digital and monitoring services with support for data collection and collaboration among active, value-generating user communities can produce multiplier effects from initial capital investments, by attracting longer-term contributions of ideas, methods, findings, technologies, data, training and investments from their beneficiaries.

Competing interests: At least one of the (co-)authors is a member of the editorial board of Hydrology and Earth System Sciences.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this paper. While Copernicus Publications makes every effort to include appropriate place names, the final responsibility lies with the authors. Views expressed in the text are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.
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William Veness, Alejandro Dussaillant, Gemma Coxon, Simon De Stercke, Gareth H. Old, Matthew Fry, Jonathan G. Evans, and Wouter Buytaert

Status: final response (author comments only)

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-2035', Anonymous Referee #1, 27 May 2025
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', William Veness, 17 Jun 2025
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-2035', Anonymous Referee #2, 01 Jul 2025
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', William Veness, 03 Jul 2025
  • RC3: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-2035', Anonymous Referee #3, 04 Jul 2025
    • AC3: 'Reply on RC3', William Veness, 16 Jul 2025
William Veness, Alejandro Dussaillant, Gemma Coxon, Simon De Stercke, Gareth H. Old, Matthew Fry, Jonathan G. Evans, and Wouter Buytaert
William Veness, Alejandro Dussaillant, Gemma Coxon, Simon De Stercke, Gareth H. Old, Matthew Fry, Jonathan G. Evans, and Wouter Buytaert

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Short summary
We investigated what users want from the next-generation of hydrological monitoring systems to better support science and innovation. Through literature review and interviews with experts, we found that beyond providing high-quality data, users particularly value additional support for collecting their own data, sharing it with others, and building collaborations with other data users. Designing systems with these needs in mind can greatly boost long-term engagement, data coverage and impact.
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