COLLECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF GROUNDWATER RESOURCES THROUGH LOCAL INSTITUTIONS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO SUBSTANTIALLY ENHANCE THE LONG-RUN SUSTAINABILITY OF U.S. AGRICULTURE AND RURAL COMMUNITIES. OUR PROJECT SEEKS TO IMPROVE THE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW ECONOMIC INCENTIVES, CHARACTERISTICS OF USERS, AND POLICY DESIGN AFFECT SUPPORT FOR COLLECTIVE MANAGEMENT AMONG WATER USERS. WE CONSIDER VOLUNTARY APPROACHES, MANDATORY APPROACHES IMPLEMENTED BY AN ELECTED BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THESE APPROACHES. WE WILL WORK IN COLLABORATION WITH TWO GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS (GMDS) IN KANSAS TO DEVELOP CHOICE EXPERIMENT SURVEYS OF POLICY DESIGN THAT DIRECTLY INFORM MANAGEMENT PLANS THAT ARE UNDER ACTIVE CONSIDERATION. WATER USERS HAVE A STRONG INCENTIVE TO RESPOND HONESTLY SINCE THEIR RESPONSE IS LIKELY TO HAVE A DIRECT INFLUENCE ON POLICY AND GMDS HAVE A STRONG INCENTIVE TO HELP ENSURE THE SURVEYS ADDRESS PERTINENT ISSUES AND TARGET EMERGING POLICY DECISIONS. THE RICH DATA ON SUPPORT FOR ALTERNATIVE COLLECTIVE MANAGEMENT PLANS FROM ASURVEY OF WATER USERS WILL PROVIDE NEW INSIGHTS ABOUT THE KEY FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE SUPPORT FOR AND EFFECTIVENESS OF COLLECTIVE MANAGEMENT. THE SURVEY WILL ALSO COLLECT INFORMATION ABOUT THE USERS AND WE WILL MATCH EACH RESPONDENT WITH ANCILLARY INFORMATION ABOUT THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS FROM CONSERVATION, HYDROLOGY, AND HISTORICAL WATER USE SPECIFIC TO WELLS MANAGED BY THE RESPONDENT. WE WILL USE HYDROLOGY DATA AND MODELS TO UNDERSTAND THE APPROPRIATE MANAGEMENT AREA BOUNDARIES GIVEN LATERAL FLOWS OF GROUNDWATER AND EXISTING HYDROGEOLOGICAL CONDITIONS AND DEVELOP CONCEPTUAL MODELS TO FORM TESTABLE HYPOTHESES FOR THE EMPIRICAL MODELS.