Technical Abstract: Quantifying and elucidating fluid flow in partially saturated porous media remains an important challenge, with many scientific and management applications. This paper contains a synopsis of theoretical and experimental methods to study and estimate the hydraulic properties of unsaturated media. Our main purpose is to provide a framework for the Proceedings of the workshop "Characterization and Measurement of the Hydraulic Properties of Unsaturated Porous Media." We first discuss some of the problems related to the characterization and modeling of fluid flow in unsaturated media, as well as recent progress in this area. Subsequently we will peruse contributions to the workshop along five broad themes: (i) pore-scale phenomena, including those for multifluid systems, (ii) direct measurement methods, (iii) inverse modeling, (iv) indirect methods, and (v) other contributions pertaining to recent flow and transport research. We conclude by listing a number of topics in need for further investigation; this following a similar list compiled after the previous workshop [van Genuchten and Leij, 1992].