Mission/Vision/Objectives Exercise for AguaClara at Cornell

Date: January 19, 2011
Location: Hotel Nueva Jerusalén, Marcala, La Paz, Honduras
Summary of the exercise: Three groups were assigned to mission, two to vision, and two to objectives. The organization in question was AguaClara at Cornell.

Mission Statements:

Group 1 (Mike Liu, Steve, Anderson):

AguaClara at Cornell is a group of students and Cornell affiliates interested in small scale, practical, sustainable water treatment. We develop AguaClara technologies, address problems with water treatment in developing nations, acquaint students with sustainable water treatment practices, encourage student innovation, provide outreach to students and community to enable our technology mission, transfer knowledge, and experience to partners with the goal of self-sustaining community operation.

Group 2 (Andrew S. Mickey, Maysoon):

We are a multidisciplinary, academic group interested in water treatment in the developing world, and engineering municipal scale solutions that are socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable.

Group 3 (Will, Sarah, Matt):

AguaClara at Cornell is a group of motivated students and faculty dedicated to empowering and transferring knowledge to the Global South by expanding the knowledge base in the relevant fields through the development of a working model for the implementation of sustainable surface water treatment.

Monroe's jottings

AguaClara at Cornell is a group of students and faculty who research, invent, and design sustainable water treatment technologies and empower AguaClara implementation partners. AguaClara at Cornell uses peer based learning to empower students to learn how to learn, teach, and make the world a better place.

Vision Statements:

Group 4 (Jeff, Drew, Rosa):

AguaClara will develop and aid in the dissemination of AguaClara drinking water treatment technology through fundamental research, and incorporation of those findings into the ADT; additionally we will train AguaClara engineers and educate students about the social context of AguaClara water systems.

Group 5 (Karen, Cosme, and Austin):

AguaClara at Cornell exists to engage and develop student skills while providing a practical application for their education. AguaClara at Cornell aims to explore potential innovations and improve accessibility to AguaClara technology for the benefit of implementation partners worldwide.

Monroe's jottings

AguaClara at Cornell will become a global center of excellence for creating and disseminating sustainable drinking water treatment technologies and for pioneering engineering education that empowers students to engage with and solve global challenges.

Objectives:

Group 6 (Tim, Jae, Anna):

Internal Objectives:

To analyze data and solve problems from each AguaClara plant seen in the Honduras trip and communicated from AguaClara engineers.
To continue the research from previous semesters
To start new experiments from previous semesters "future work"
To design plants based on the characteristics of each community and its different water sources

External Objectives:

To develop and execute new ideas for fundraising, including trips to Honduras, Cornell research, engineers in Honduras, construction of plants in Honduras, and internal expenses.
To present our work through a portfolio of marketing materials in a manner that lay people can understand.
To increase the university, local, and national and international visibility of AguaClara
To raise general awareness of the urgency for clean water
To contribute to the ongoing education of students at Cornell, and empower them to make impacts they would not otherwise be able to make.

Group 7 (Rob, Tanya, Roy):

To develop comprehensive design plans and an updated ADT for sustainable water treatment plants, that include filtration and consistently meet EPA turbidity standards*
*Must also be cheap enough for beneficiaries
To continue to use feedback from the field to test, validate, and improve existing AguaClara technologies as well as address problems with existing plants.
To identify the most effective way for AguaClara to expand and delegate roles accordingly while preserving the AguaClara vision.
To define specific groups/agencies/organizations responsible for construction, community interaction/integration.