We work across four main branches
In order to help facilitate the widespread adoption of natural infrastructure practices across the United States, we’ve identified four main areas that need additional work:
Developing methods and standards
New tools, techniques and guidance are needed to effectively plan, design, construct and operate natural infrastructure at different scales
Assessing benefits and costs
Natural infrastructure provides communities with a broad array of economic, environmental and social benefits. Improved approaches are needed to evaluate, quantify and forecast these benefits to support planning and decision making
Monitoring performance and outcomes
Technically sound, efficient and applicable methods are needed to track natural infrastructure performance over time, develop the evidence base for future designs, ensure compliance with policy and inform project operations and adaptive management
Integrating people and policy
Providing infrastructure that supports human wellbeing and equitably meets the needs of diverse communities requires integration of human values, attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and policies with modern communication and collaboration practices
Combining a diversity of on-the-ground experience with interdisciplinary teams.
The NNI community is made up of over 30 partners from industry, academia and the non-profit sector.
What NNI’s been up to:
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January 2022 Knowledge Series: Quantifying the Multi-Scale Benefits of Natural and Nature-Based Features
Todd M. Swannack, USACE Natural and nature-based features (NNBF) provide a diverse suite of benefits to society, including flood risk reduction, socio-economic development, water and food security, and habitat. Unlike traditional structural measures, benefits of NNBF accrue over time due to the inherent dynamism of natural features. Capturing and quantifying the benefits requires a multi-scale…
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Upcoming N-EWN Continuing Education Webinar – January 20th
The Network for Engineering with Nature (N-EWN) invites you to join us for The N-EWN Knowledge Series: A Continuing Education Series about Engineering with Nature. The next webinar will be held on Thursday, January 20th at 12:30 EST. Todd Swannack will discuss capturing and quantifying the multi-scale benefits of natural and nature-based features. Natural and…
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What is Infrastructure?
Head over to our partners at the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems to learn about how natural systems can be included in the definition of infrastructure. We’ve broadened the definition to include the natural systems that help support our society by transporting and purifying drinking water, absorbing run off, preventing erosion and absorbing carbon dioxide–to…
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