On Sept. 29, Qlik, a visual analytics company based in Randor, Penn., announced a multi-year Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Action that will address water availability and quality issues across the globe. For the first time, policy makers, corporations, and the public will be able to access and visualize scientific and technical groundwater information in an aggregated dashboard. Such data accessibility will help inform and affect important water decisions involving allocation, policy changes, crisis response, and infrastructure improvements.

Qlik, in partnership with Circle of Blue, Columbia Water Center, University of California Irvine, and Pacific Institute, with data support from Twitter, will uncover groundwater data insights to drive action toward long-term sustainability. Partners will collaborate on a comprehensive, visualization dashboard that will leverage the Qlik analytics platform to unite historical big data, real-time information, on-the-ground reportage, and public engagement.

“In the current era of mass data streaming and unprecedented data flow, we simply cannot afford to keep the realities of today’s environmental challenges locked in static documents or siloed collections,” said J. Carl Ganter, managing director of Circle of Blue.

This multi-partner commitment will launch with a pilot data-visualization application of groundwater supplies and related water flows in California and the American West. The commitment will expand its scope to national and then to global groundwater supplies. Continuous surveying and detailed monitoring will take place over the course of the 3-year commitment.