The authors developed a collaboration between researchers and practitioners from the US, France and Australia emerging from conversations in Melbourne and Brisbane in 2023 to share ideas resulting in four key “ingredients” for effective waterway management 1) a strategic planning framework, 2) collaborative research models, 3) innovative planning and spatial tools, and 4) engagement practices for meaningful collaboration. The focus of this presentation is on innovative spatial, modeling and decision support tools for regional stream networks that support identification, prioritization and integration of management targets. Data-driven decisions are a cornerstone of evidence-based waterway management. However, data on waterway values and conditions is typically patchy and different data sources are often poorly integrated. At the scale that waterway management organizations typically operate, accurate mapping, spatially extensive data and spatially explicit models can mean that on-ground actions are strategically prioritized rather than directed towards highly visible sites, ‘squeaky wheels’ and locations where data happens to exist. Through examples of diverse regional waterway management organizations in Melbourne Australia, Denver Colorado, Las Angelos California and Austin Texas, we compare approaches that integrate, scale, connectivity and performance, resulting in much more efficient, effective and equitable waterway management decisions.