Collaboration in this program has three aspects:

• Fostering a sustained culture of interdependence among the RII sub-groups;
• Intensifying the collaborative efforts outside the state to strengthen the research group's overall competitiveness and visibility, both regionally and nationally;
• Institutionalizing a vertical integration of project elements that engages faculty, teachers, and students in a more collaborative and lasting relationship.

In Years 1-3, the project will concentrate on hydrologic modeling of the Snake and Salmon basins, field work on ecological connections to climate change, and assessment of economic and policy ramifications of climate change in Idaho. In Years 3, 4, and 5, project activities will then focus on "integration and adaptation." Activities started in the initial years will evolve to stress integration of science across the interdisciplinary teams. The research teams will then address adaptation to climate change in the context of potential changes of economic factors and water policy that are important to various stakeholders.

The Idaho RII team is committed to employing these strategies to integrate research, project management and education in a myriad of ways, as noted below and in the Summary of Idaho RII Research Theme Benchmarks table.

• Broaden collaboration within and outside the state to build and strengthen partnerships within Idaho and nationally.
• Disseminate (in-person and electronically) research findings across Idaho, the region and the nation.
• Formalize a mentoring plan for postdoctoral fellows, existing junior faculty and new faculty hires.
• Fill and institutionalize new faculty lines to bolster research expertise, resulting in a more comprehensive statewide group of climate change researchers.
• Strengthen collaborations with other federal and state funded research sites, programs, and projects.