InnWater · Promoting social INNovation to renew multi-level and cross sector WATER governance

Over the last decades water governance has drastically evolved, progressively moving from a resource management silo approach to the Integrated Water Resources Management. The validation of innovative and cross sector governance is the forthcoming step to face the multi-dimensions societal challenges such as the climate change impact, population growth at the global scale and ensure a safe cross-sectorial water access and uses at the local scale. The next chapter of water governance still needs to be framed with the clear challenge of involving equally all the stakeholders including the citizen to allow transparency, inclusiveness, and accountability. The governance is foreseen as one major lever to support and orientate water policy and sectoral policies impacting the water sector. Water Energy Food Ecosystem (WEFE) nexus needs to be valued to embrace all the water uses in a sustainable manner across generations. The main objective of InnWater (Promoting social INNovation to renew multi-level and cross sector WATER governance) is to provide a set of digital tools and services (that will be gathered in InnWater Governance Platform) to support tailored multi-level and cross-sector water governance, associated with economic and financial mechanisms to support EU green deal transition while ensuring water systems sustainability. The InnWater project will deliver a governance assessment matrix, quintuple helix and citizen (trust) engagement framework, WEFE Nexus economic and resources allocation simulation including household water tariff and environmental costs, a self-sustaining governance community composed of 5 pilot sites in FR, UK, HU, SP, IT addressing different water challenges, a set of raising awareness and training tools, the identification of replication opportunities in at least 14 EU basins and a set of policy, regulation and economic recommendations to support EU policy implementation and new orientations.