During the last decade several initiatives aiming at conserving and protecting the water provision of Andean ecosystems have started. However, their a pplication have faced a number of limitations from the technical side mainly due to the lack of knowledge of hydrological processes and Andean-specific developed and tested hydrological models for scenar io analyses. The large variability found in ecosyst ems, climates and geomorphological settings makes hydrological research a complex task and answers to these societal problems therefore may take too long, unle ss a well coordinated collaboration between researc h centres, NGO's and local governments take place. This manuscript outlines the goals of a regional init iative on participatory-based networking of data monitorin g; describes how researchers can help local and reg ional stakeholders and vice-versa with data collection, p rocessing, storage and dissemination; highlights th e benefits of the collaboration for the scientific co mmunity and policy makers; and proposes measures to make the collaboration effective and sustainable.