In 2014, the state of California enacted a new law requiring the creation of groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) and the development and implementation of groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) in basins throughout the state. Groundwater basin management already exists within several basins in the state, and groundwater management activities in those locations are directed at most of the same policy goals as the new legislation. This paper describes a research program that is getting underway for the purpose of using research on those existing groundwater management eff orts to inform the implementation of the new law. The current and planned research described in this presentation is being conducted with a team of researchers at Stanford University’s Woods Institute on the Environment, Water in the West Program, and Gould Center on Dispute Resolution. Preliminary work is being supported by a grant from Stanford’s Environmental Ventures Program (Janet Martinez, PI).