Some 25 social and physical scientists from 12 participating organisations in 11 different countries met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to kick-off the GroFutures project. The GroFutures team began the workshop with a field trip to the Upper Awash Basin to assess changing patterns of groundwater management and use. Team members then worked together to review integrated physical and social science research plans in the 3 focal ‘Basin Observatories’ comprising the Upper Awash (Ethiopia), Great Ruaha (Tanzania), and Iullemmeden (Niger/Nigeria). Further details are reported here.