Pius Chilonda

Role: Head of IWMI Southern Africa
Qualifications: PhD in Agricultural Economics

"I joined IWMI in 2006 as a Researcher in the Southern Africa Office. I was later promoted to Senior Researcher and then Principal Researcher and now I'm Head of IWMI Southern Africa. I have three strands to my work. Firstly, I undertake research in the areas of agricultural water management and economic policy. Secondly, I manage the office and the 21 staff who work here. Thirdly, I fulfil a diplomatic and representational role, attending meetings and conferences to represent IWMI in South Africa and across the whole region.

First thing in the morning, I communicate with Head Office in Sri Lanka and attend to any urgent project management, financial or administrative issues. Managing the Southern Africa office is supposed to take up around 25 per cent of my time, but in reality it's much more than that. In my research role, I act as a project leader and guide to other scientists. I travel a lot, primarily to raise awareness of what IWMI is all about and to develop new ideas for projects. Once a year I travel to HQ for the Annual Research Meeting, where staff present their latest research findings.

What I've enjoyed most...
"I enjoy promoting evidence-based decision-making in the agricultural sector, and the knowledge-sharing side of things. I particularly like generating new research ideas, initiating and leading analytical studies to monitor and evaluate agricultural growth, poverty reduction and public investments in agriculture in Southern Africa, including agricultural water investments."

Shanthi Weerasekera

Role: Manager, Human Resources (and Secretary to the Board)
Qualifications: Diploma in Training & Development, Diploma in Journalism

"I joined in 1985, almost at IWMI's beginning and, having held progressively senior positions in different departments, was assigned to the Human Resources Office in 2002. As an employer, IWMI has always been supportive of my career aspirations and given me the opportunity and exposure to learn and grow. Thanks to IWMI, I have participated in several international training programs and was also able to take up a one-year assignment with ICRAF in Nairobi. Furthermore, as part of a development plan, I got the opportunity to work for short periods in the HR departments of two other centers, CIMMYT in Mexico and WorldFish in Malaysia. I believe the opportunities, challenges and exposure IWMI has given me has helped me gain confidence, widen my horizons, grow and perform at a high level.

Today, my role involves drafting and updating HR policies and seeing they are implemented, leading and managing compensation surveys, assisting the HR Director with special projects, supporting the Positions' Review Committee and serving as the liaison person with IWMI's corporate lawyers. I also serve as the Secretary to IWMI's Board of Governors, which involves providing operational and administrative support to the Board. Individual tasks include drafting board documents, preparing minutes and ensuring actions are followed up as required."

What I've enjoyed most...
"I've really enjoyed seeing IWMI grow from an office of four or five people to a major employer, and being part of that process. I've watched it evolve under the guidance of several different directors general, which has been fascinating. The culture of diversity and the working environment here are very good. I am glad to be part of the IWMI family."

Chanchala Kariyawasam

Role: Administrator, Programs Office
Qualifications: Various secretarial qualifications and software training

"I am one of a handful of people at IWMI who have been with the Institute for 25 years. I joined in 1985 as a secretary in the Finance Department. In 2010, the Institute recognized our years of service with awards for long-standing achievement. IWMI was initially named International Irrigation Management Institute (IIMI) and had its main office at Digana village, near Kandy, in the central part of Sri Lanka. The village complex had been built by Balfour Beatty Nuttall to house workers involved in constructing the Victoria Dam and Reservoir. Once their work was complete, IIMI, other NGOs, and the local Mahaweli Authority took over the complex.

At the start, the Finance Department managed the payroll of all those who worked in the village complex, about 500 people. Personal computers were not as common as they are now, so we shared one in the Department, and did the rest of our work on electric typewriters.

In 1989 IIMI moved to Colombo. We moved into the present building in 1992. After 20 years with the  Finance Department, I joined the Program Office in 2006 and was promoted to Administrator of the Office in 2009. Today my main function is to manage the ‘e-Project’ system, which details all current projects. I help to monitor the entire process, from the time project contracts are signed and project codes are assigned, to coordinating staff time allocations, report submission, and archiving records when projects close."

What I've enjoyed most...
"In 2008, the Program Office was involved in managing logistics for the Annual Research Meeting. We were given a budget and had to help organise food and meeting rooms for the 75 participants. My work in the finance department had been very routine and without much variation, so I found this particularly interesting. I am now IWMI Welfare & Recreation Society Secretary, and was also a member of the committee that organised the annual staff party. IWMI is a very nice place to work in and I am looking forward to the changes we might have in the near future."

Luna Bharati

Role: Head of IWMI-Nepal Office and Senior Researcher in Hydrology and Water Resources
Qualifications: MSc in Water Resources; PhD focusing on hydrology, erosion and pollutant transport

"I joined IWMI in 2006, and began working at the headquarters in Sri Lanka. After initially writing proposals to get new projects, I started working on projects in India, including the National River-Linking Project (NRLP). One of the biggest inter-basin water transfer schemes in the world, it aims to ease water shortages in western and southern India while mitigating the impacts of flooding in the eastern parts of the Ganga Basin. I wrote a paper on the Polavaram project, which planned to transfer water from the Godavari River to the Krishna River. This work was cited in the Economist and used as evidence in a court case in India. I like the fact that at IWMI you can work very independently but still get recognized for what you do.

Two years ago, IWMI was re-evaluating its Nepal office. I am originally from Nepal and felt that IWMI had a lot to offer there, so I asked to be transferred. Nepal has abundant water resources but there is great variability in the availability of, and access to, water. This makes managing the resource very difficult. When I arrived there hadn't been much recent activity, so I put a lot of effort into building up IWMI's profile by going to meetings and talking with the donor community and partners in the government and NGOs. This is ongoing. Our five-strong team is also working on two projects: one on water storage in the Koshi Basin of eastern Nepal and one on assessing the challenges of agricultural water management projects in western Nepal, given that the country has just come out of a ten-year civil war."

What I've enjoyed most...
"When I attended a series of workshops aimed at assessing environmental flow requirements for the Ganges River, biologists, ecologists, livelihood experts, environmentalists and government water engineers - who wouldn't normally talk to each other all sat and discussed the issue together. It was a very moving experience."

Sonali Senaratna Sellamuttu

Role: Senior Researcher, Livelihoods Systems, IWMI-Lao PDR
Qualifications: MSc in Ecosystems Analysis and Governance; PhD focused on livelihood dynamics in a coastal wetland

"My work involves designing and undertaking research and managing interdisciplinary research projects. With respect to my technical expertise, I contribute to IWMI's work on wetland and agroecological systems, bringing a focus to the links between ecosystem services, livelihoods and poverty dynamics. With regard to project management, I have managed six projects since joining IWMI with activities in Southeast Asia, South Asia, China and Africa. I am presently managing a project in the Mekong Basin aimed at optimizing reservoir management for livelihoods.

Through my research, I have also contributed research to the Science and Technical Review Panel (STRP) of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, of which IWMI is an International Partner Organization. The STRP develops resolutions for later approval by the Convention of the Parties; I have been involved as a member of the Task Group working on the Resolution on Wetlands and Poverty Reduction/Eradication. It's been very rewarding being able to contribute academic findings directly to a science forum that is part of an international convention.

I enjoy working on technical issues that I can really get my teeth into, and that's possible here at IWMI. There are also certainly opportunities for career progression based on performance and experience. In my case, I started out as a Regional Researcher before being promoted to International Researcher and then to my present role. Overall, IWMI is a good place to work and treats its employees well. At the headquarters in Sri Lanka, where I started working in 2006, there are additional benefits such as a crèche, which makes it much easier for women with young children to maintain their careers. The project I'm currently managing in the Mekong ends in 2013 and I certainly plan to stay at IWMI to see it through."

What I've enjoyed most...
"I enjoy the variation that my work entails. For example, I spend a lot of time working in the field at project sites with communities in different countries, gaining an insight into people's livelihoods and how they engage with different aspects of their lives. Having this opportunity has been one of the highlights of my work. I also enjoy the challenge of working and managing multidisciplinary teams, and the opportunities to discuss and convey our research ideas and findings to practitioners, decision makers and other researchers."

Matthew McCartney

Role: Principal Researcher, IWMI-Africa, Ethiopia Office
Qualifications: MSc in Engineering Hydrology; PhD focused on hydrology of a headwater catchment containing a dambo

"I joined IWMI in 2002 and went to South Africa as a Researcher. I was very lucky; shortly after I joined I was offered a place on a Leadership Development Programme that the former Director General had organized. That led to me being quickly promoted to Senior Researcher. After three years in South Africa I moved to Ethiopia and have been there ever since. Last year I was promoted to Principal Researcher.

As you move up the ladder at IWMI, you're given more responsibility and you become more involved in directing research. I currently lead a couple of projects. One is concerned with water storage and climate change and the other is investigating the flow regulating services of ecosystems. I plan the research, then supervise and coordinate the work of younger staff and project partners. I also try to keep my hand in doing actual research, so I still do some computer modelling and analyze hydrological data."

What I've enjoyed most...
"Working on a wetlands project in southern Africa. We had a lot of fieldwork to do so we made three five- or six-week trips, driving out to different wetlands and undertaking fieldwork in each one. There were three of us and it was very interesting and a lot of good fun. IWMI is a friendly organization. Being in a research environment means most people have a similar outlook on life. It's pretty collegiate."

Aditi Mukherji

Role: Senior Researcher, IWMI-India, New Delhi Office
Qualifications: MA and MPhil in Human Geography; PhD focused on political economy of groundwater markets in West Bengal, India.

"I joined IWMI as a Postdoctoral Researcher in 2006 and moved on to become a Researcher in 2008. Now, I am a Senior Researcher, specializing in groundwater governance, co-management of groundwater and electricity and devising strategies for better management of large-scale surface irrigation schemes in Asia and elsewhere. I am currently leading four projects.

Two of the projects are looking at how energy policies affect ways in which farmers use groundwater and one of these is trying to craft a 'win-win' solution that gives incentives to farmers to use groundwater and electricity more efficiently without compromising on their incomes and livelihoods. The third project is analyzing performance of water users' associations in major irrigation schemes, and the final one is assessing how coastal communities in Bangladesh manage their water resources through collective action. There's a lot of creative and intellectual freedom at IWMI to grow as a researcher, which I value above all else.

When you start out at IWMI you usually work on projects that are assigned to you according to your specialization. Then as you get higher up the ladder you begin leading projects and generating funding for new projects. I think my greatest achievement at IWMI has been obtaining funding for the 3ie DFID project on the impact of metering on groundwater use in West Bengal. It was a very competitive bid with over 260 submitted proposals out of which only 30 were approved for funding."

What I've enjoyed most...
"I was involved with organizing the annual research meeting in 2009. Researchers from IWMI's offices across the world came and presented the paper they felt best reflected their research. Listening to everyone present their papers was one of my best experiences at IWMI, as it made me realize what a diverse community we are and how so many people are passionate about what they do. It was a great learning opportunity for me."