(continued from previous page)

Hwang's massive undertaking, paid for by a combination of grants, begins with giving and analyzing a 20-page survey for each of Argentina's 600 water cooperatives. Next comes tedious classification, tagging co-ops by social mission, service type (water-only or combined with electricity, for instance), fund-raising approach, and managerial style. Hwang will plot each co-op as a node and analyze relationships among all of Argentina's water co-ops. Noting where resources overlap may indicate where organizations can consolidate efforts nationwide.

To separate the thickets of collected data, Hwang will turn to open-source software called Pajek and Ucinet, which convert esoteric concepts, like the extent to which co-op members personally interact, into measurable outputs. A stronger visualization program, NetDraw, can be used to digitally plot nodes and ties. Hwang suspects that the resulting web of relationships will reveal the organizations' holes.

As if that weren't already a handful, she'll then analyze stacks of paper records for 5 to 10 co-ops in Greater Buenos Aires, from which she'll extract lists of major players and their duties. A core sample of in-depth interviews will complement the nuts-and-bolts study, informing Hwang on decision makers and their methods. Since decisions may be solidified by political leaders at informal settings such as soccer matches--not indicated on the organizational chart--this method will inform her research more effectively than examining only "official" procedure.

Having spun these intricate digital webs, Hwang will draft business strategies based on their results. For individual co-ops, that means detailing ways to pump the bottom line while treating and delivering more water. For the 600 co-ops together, it means working with the government and international nonprofit agencies to organize cross-cooperative collaboration. Manager training sessions, new standards for trade associations, and collective bargaining policies are all possible outcomes.

Hwang's journey will be demanding. It will take a year and a half--minimum--of dedicated sleuthing, classifying, number-crunching and strategizing before Hwang's suggestions will be picked up by organizations already buzzing with interest, and even then there's no guarantee she'll have the power to put her studies into action. "These problems are not something one person can tackle," she acknowledges.

Yet the bubbly Hwang is game for the challenge. "What is important is that you do what you can at a given moment, and that you never stop doing the right thing no matter how small the immediate rewards. You feel so powerful and motivated to change the world," she said, "and at the same time, you feel so small."

Whether or not Hwang can help more poor co-nationals access potable water at her project's close, her adviser doesn't doubt she'll continue trying. Rebeca "has fantastic technical skills and analytic abilities," Ortolano said, "but what makes her special is her spirit."