Mortenson Center & UNU-INWEH Partnership Framework

1 Purpose and Shared Mandate

The University of Colorado Boulder, through the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience, and the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) propose a partnership in accountable water, environment, and health. Both institutes share the same three-domain mandate, and this memorandum sets out a jointly developed collaboration in three parts, sequenced toward a shared destination: a joint UNU Hub.

The two institutes bring complementary halves of one chain of custody for evidence. The Mortenson Center contributes field-grade measurement, an operational evidence base, and outcomes-based finance at scale. UNU-INWEH contributes UN-Water positioning, policy bridging, member-state convening, and global capacity-building. The partnership pairs these strengths so that engineering measurement connects to real-world accountability and finance, and does so through channels the UN system can stand behind. The partners intend to:

• Credential the next generation of engineers through a joint graduate program that connects measurement to accountability and finance;
• Build a shared, UN-aligned evidence base for water, environment, and health, anchored on an open dataset and a co-branded annual flagship report;
• Use a live operational base of environmental-health programs as a testbed, and translate its operating models into executive education and capacity-building for member states;
• Sequence these collaborations so that early, low-friction wins build toward a formalized joint UNU Hub.

2 Structure of the Partnership

The partnership comprises three parts and one destination. Each part is described in the sections that follow; the full requirements of the joint graduate program are set out in Annex A.

3 Part I · Joint Graduate Program

The first part is a joint graduate credential. Like the UNU-CCNY joint programs, students complete their existing CU Boulder degree, the Professional MS in Global Resilience & Sustainability Engineering or the Professional MS in Environmental Engineering (PhD tracks in Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering and in Aerospace are also eligible), while earning a UNU diploma through a small set of joint additions. The Mortenson Center already runs the building blocks, a Graduate Certificate in Global Engineering (12 credits, of which 9 transfer into the MS) and a field Practicum across 80+ partner programs, so the UNU layer adds global credentialing rather than a parallel degree.

The joint additions include a UNU seminar series co-hosted by both institutes, co-supervision by at least one UNU or UN-system expert, research aligned to accountable water, environment, and health, an internship fulfilled at UNU-INWEH or a UN agency, and a UNU diploma in Monitoring, Accountability & Outcomes-Based Finance for Water, Environment & Health. The complete requirements table, course-level mapping, implementation timeline, and student benefits are set out in Annex A.

4 Part II · Research Partnership

The research partnership pairs the Mortenson Center's data infrastructure and operational evidence with UNU-INWEH's UN-Water positioning and convening. It anchors on the largest open microbial water-quality dataset as the first flagship and extends across environmental health. The partners intend to pursue four deliverables:

• Co-hosted open-data product. Co-host the global microbial water-quality dataset (10M+ E. coli observations across roughly 180,000 monitored sites, drawn from seven harmonized international sources) as a UN-aligned open-data product. UNU-INWEH provides UN-Water positioning and member-state convening; the Mortenson Center provides data infrastructure and curation.
• Co-branded flagship report. Publish a recurring annual reference report, The State of Microbial Water Quality, with environment and health indicators to follow in subsequent editions.
• Joint authorship on the evidence base. Co-author the operational, peer-reviewed evidence base for sensor-verified outcomes-based finance across water, environment, and health, drawing on the partners' field programs and the dataset to build a citable foundation the UN system can reference.
• Specialized course and co-developed proposals. Develop a specialized course for the UNU-INWEH Online Learning Centre on in-situ environmental sensing and digital measurement-reporting-verification (dMRV), and co-develop new project and program proposals, including alignment to emerging UNU initiatives such as the Sustainability Transitions Accelerator.

The dataset and its infrastructure are supported in part by a $5M NSF Convergence Accelerator Phase 2 award to the Mortenson Center.

5 Part III · Practice Partnership

The practice partnership draws on the Mortenson Center's "Clean Water for Millions" flagship: seven carbon-financed safe-water programs across sub-Saharan Africa, targeting 5 million people and 3 million carbon credits by 2030, delivered with a coalition of implementing partners including the Millennium Water Alliance, LifeStraw, Helvetas, Asili, and Water Mission. Alongside safe water, the programs reach into household energy, air quality, and child health, providing the real-world ground where sensor-verified outcomes-based finance is already in production. UNU-INWEH connects this practice to member-state policy, executive education, and capacity-building.

The practice base is anchored in a decade-plus, peer-reviewed cluster-randomized-trial record spanning all three domains. The Tubeho Neza programme, a cluster-randomized trial of carbon-credit-financed water filters and improved cookstoves across roughly 101,000 households in Western Province, Rwanda (published in The Lancet Planetary Health, with companion papers in Environmental Science & Technology, npj Clean Water, and Nature), documented a 29% reduction in childhood diarrhoea, a 25% reduction in acute respiratory infections, and roughly a 97% reduction in fecal E. coli in stored household water, with replicated impact after integration into Rwanda's national Community-Based Environmental Health Promotion Programme.

Under this partnership, executive-education workshops would turn these operating models into a transferable practice for ministries, utilities, and implementers, and students in the joint program would draw internships and applied theses from the operational base.

6 Contributions of the Parties

The partnership joins two complementary halves of one chain of custody for evidence.

7 Sequencing and Timeline

Each phase is deliberately sequenced so that early, low-friction wins build toward the shared destination. The partners intend to proceed in the following order:

• First step, co-host the open dataset. Stand up the global microbial water-quality dataset as a co-branded, UN-aligned open-data product: low-friction, high-visibility, and immediately useful to UN-Water and member states.
• Year 1, flagship report, course, and first joint outputs. Publish the inaugural co-branded flagship report, launch the specialized Online Learning Centre course, and begin joint authorship on the outcomes-based-finance evidence base.
• Year 1 to 2, launch the joint graduate program. Formalize the joint graduate credential between the Mortenson Center and UNU, modeled on the UNU-CCNY programs, with co-supervision and a UN-system internship pathway, per the schedule in Annex A.
• Year 2 and beyond, formalize the joint UNU Hub. Establish the partnership as a standing UNU Hub on accountable water, environment, and health.

8 Pathway to a Joint UNU Hub

The three parts of the partnership are deliberately sequenced toward a shared destination: formalizing a joint UNU Hub on accountable water, environment, and health, differentiated from the existing UNU-INWEH Hubs by methodological focus, measurement-to-finance, rather than geography, and serving as the standing UN-system home for the measurement-to-finance stack.

9 General Understandings

This memorandum records a shared intent to collaborate and is not a legally binding contract. In taking it forward, the partners understand that:

• Each party will pursue the activities above subject to its own governance, approvals, and available resources, and each generally bears its own costs unless a specific activity agreement provides otherwise.
• The joint graduate program is subject to UNU approval and to CU Boulder's academic governance; the configuration in Annex A is a draft for discussion.
• Specific activities, including data-sharing and licensing for the open-data product, authorship and intellectual-property terms, and any funded work, will be governed by separate written agreements between the parties.
• This memorandum takes effect on signature, may be amended in writing by mutual consent, and will be reviewed jointly on a periodic basis. Either party may withdraw on reasonable written notice.
• Nothing in this memorandum creates a legal partnership, joint venture, or agency relationship, or authorizes either party to bind the other.

10 Conclusion and Request for Approval

This partnership is a strategic initiative that enhances the academic and research offerings of the Mortenson Center while strengthening the collaboration between the University of Colorado Boulder and the United Nations University. It aligns research and training with global sustainability, resilience, and accountability goals, provides mutual benefits including knowledge exchange and expanded research opportunities, and establishes the foundation for a joint UNU Hub. The partners submit this draft for review and approval and welcome refinement of its specific configuration to best leverage the expertise of each institute.

A.1 Introduction

The University of Colorado Boulder, through the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience, and the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) propose a joint graduate program in Global Engineering and Resilience with a focus on monitoring, accountability, and outcomes-based finance for water, environment, and health.

The joint program offers students the option of earning their University of Colorado Boulder graduate degree as part of their regular curriculum while simultaneously earning a UNU diploma. Both institutes share the same three-domain mandate, water, environment, and health, and the program is offered as the Education, Training, and Capacity-Building pillar of the proposed UNU Hub. In line with the missions of the Mortenson Center and UNU, the program aims to expand educational opportunities for graduate students while strengthening their skills and collaboration networks in environmental sensing, monitoring, outcomes-based and climate finance, and the policy processes they inform, by:

• Delivering an interdisciplinary education program that connects engineering measurement to real-world accountability and finance;
• Empowering students to apply in-situ sensing, data science, and digital measurement-reporting-verification (dMRV) across water, environment, and health;
• Offering students the opportunity to interact with UN and UNU experts, fostering a sense of global connection and community;
• Augmenting career prospects by providing students with international credentials from both CU Boulder and UNU.

A.2 Program Requirements

The joint program maintains the foundational structure of the student's existing CU Boulder degree, the Professional MS in Global Resilience & Sustainability Engineering or the Professional MS in Environmental Engineering (PhD tracks in Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering and in Aerospace are also eligible), while integrating a small set of joint additions. The Mortenson Center already runs the building blocks: a Graduate Certificate in Global Engineering (12 credits, of which 9 transfer into the MS) and a field Practicum across 80+ partner programs. The UNU layer therefore adds global credentialing, not a parallel degree. The following table describes the existing CU Boulder requirements and the proposed joint additions.

A.2.1 · Course-level mapping (illustrative — drawn from the CU Boulder and UNU-INWEH catalogs)

Following the UNU-CCNY model, the joint additions resolve to specific courses. The Mortenson courses below form a pre-approved shortlist; five-week modules carry 1 credit and stack toward the 12-credit Graduate Certificate (CVEN 5919 + 9 credits of approved modules, 9 of which transfer into the MS). The components slot into the Professional MS in Environmental Engineering as electives, and into the Professional MS in Global Resilience & Sustainability Engineering via its measurement, policy, elective, and capstone slots.

Course codes and credits per the CU Boulder and UNU-INWEH catalogs (June 2026); the UNU Online Learning Centre is free and self-paced. UN Staff College, FAO, UNEP, and UNDRR e-learning may substitute for Component F where relevant.

A.3 Implementation Plan and Timeline

The joint program can be implemented through the existing CU Boulder graduate framework, following the timeline below:

• Fall 2026: Finalize the program structure, faculty collaborations, the UNU diploma definition, and the necessary UNU approvals.
• Spring 2027: Program promotion, recruitment and outreach, and student selection and admission into the inaugural cohort.
• Fall 2027: Official launch of the joint program with the inaugural cohort.

A.4 Impact and Benefits for Students

• Joint credential advantage: earn a CU Boulder graduate degree and a UNU-certified diploma in Monitoring, Accountability & Outcomes-Based Finance for Water, Environment & Health, enhancing career and academic prospects.
• Global exposure and networking: participate in the UNU seminar series with leading international experts and access UNU's global research network.
• Specialized, interdisciplinary learning: gain expertise in environmental sensing, dMRV, and outcomes-based and climate finance across water, environment, and health.
• Hands-on research and practical training: conduct a UNU-aligned thesis or project, co-supervised by Mortenson and UNU scientists, with real-world applications.
• Expanded career opportunities: increase employability in international organizations, UN agencies, research institutions, and outcomes-based-finance ventures.
• Minimal additional coursework: the program builds on existing degree requirements, allowing students to earn the UNU diploma with little added load.