Cofunded by the European Union

Pillar A focuses activities on the development of the thematic strategy of the Partnership and the implementation of appropriate communication and dissemination tools for the wide outreach of results. Outputs from Pillar A are meant to inform activities within other Pillars; hence, it has been conceived as the strategic backbone of the Partnership.

Efforts within Pillar A will lead, amongst others, to the update of the Water4All’s Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), which sets out topics that should be addressed through research and innovation for securing water for all.

The specific objectives of Pillar A are:

  • To set up a methodological approach for the review of the Water4All’s SRIA building upon consensus, inclusiveness, a permanent dialogue with partners and a wide variety of stakeholders, a foresight exercise, and an impact analysis of previous water research and innovation activities.
  • To deliver and manage tools to improve the visibility of activities and proposed solutions.
  • To identify areas of synergies, and possible activities, with other water related initiatives as a way to maximise the overall impact of activities and enhance the critical mass of the programme.
  • Structure and objectives

    The Pillar A structure is divided in 3 tasks:

    1. Task A.1. Developing and updating the SRIA (link to the SRIA page and or pdf) of the Partnership.
    2. Task A.2. Alignment and Coordination of RDI (Research, Development & Innovation) programmes and actions in the field of water.
    3. Task A.3. Raising awareness about Partnership outputs (communication & dissemination activities).

    To this end, the specific objectives of Pillar A are:

    • To ensure a permanent dialogue with all partners, a wide variety of stakeholders and Water4All Advisory Boards on water RDI needs, gaps, priorities, trends, drivers and enablers.
    • To identify areas of synergies, and possible activities, with other water related initiatives (to maximise the overall impact of activities and enhance the critical mass of the programme).
    • To deliver and manage tools to improve the visibility of activities and proposed solutions.

    Specific actions planned to achieve the objectives

    Update of the Water4All’s SRIA

    • Evolving policy contexts, the occurrence of hydrological extreme events, new sanitary challenges and the loss of aquatic biodiversity and ecosystems result in new water research and innovation gaps. Hence, Pillar A will carry out an update of the Water4All’s SRIA that will be completed by the end of 2025. To this end, Pillar A partners have built a participatory process based upon the organisation of two stakeholders consultative workshops, an open consultation, and a foresight exercise in which experts will be invited to propose possible scenarios for water in the light of the current and future environmental, socioeconomic and policy contexts. The process will be completed by a mapping exercise of national research and innovation priorities and an impact analysis in which key topics insufficiently understood for addressing the grand challenge of water for all will be teased out.

    Development of annual implementation plans

    • Water research and innovation players, and citizens in general, can consult Water4All’s annual implementation plans to have a better understanding of the activities of the Partnership, in particular as regards: (a) thematic activities to be launched e.g., calls for projects, knowledge hubs, TAP, etc.; (b) time planning of activities; and, (c) the efforts to be deployed.

    Identification of synergies with other European and international initiatives

    • Water is an area of interest of numerous European and international initiatives such as the Article 185 PRIMA programme, the Belmont Forum, other Horizon Europe Partnerships e.g. Biodiversity or BluEconomy, Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs) and Horizon Europe Missions. Water4All will ensure permanent dialogue with these initiatives in order to avoid redundancies or the duplication of financial and human efforts. For this purpose, Pillar A will promote the participation of Water4All in relevant strategic meetings, international conferences and policy dialogues. Discussions with representatives of these initiatives will inform Pillar A partners in the development process of annual implementation plans.

    Development and launch of Water4All’s communication and dissemination tools

    • Communication and dissemination activities are key in raising awareness, engaging all possible actors in the water research and innovation domain, exchanging information and knowledge on best practices and solutions, and promoting the policy and market uptake of Water4All’s results. Pillar A partners have agreed on a Communication and Dissemination Plan that will be updated if necessary to increase the overall outreach of Water4All. Water4All seizes the opportunities provided by social networks to widely communicate on latest developments.
  • Partners

    Pillar A counts the participation of 31 partners. In alphabetical order:

    AEI, AKA, ANR, BRGM, CNR, CREA, EPA, EUBA, FCT, FECYT, FORMAS, GEUS, IenW, ISPRA, LIS-Water, LNEC, MEEE, MoES, MST, MZP, NCBR, PTEA, RCN, SNSF, SUEN, SYKE, UEvora, VMM, WE, WETSUS, WRC.

    The different types of partners present in Pillar A are a perfect mix of knowledge related to both the identification of relevant topics for water research and innovation, the procedures leading to the implementation of joint activities to be launched within the frame of other Water4All’s, and the potential policy and market uptake of Water4All activities to be promoted in particular by Pillars C and D.

  • Outputs

    Expected outputs of Pillar A are:

    • To involve relevant stakeholders in strategic activities of Water4All through their participation in consultative seminars, public consultations, targeted interviews, etc.
    • To enable dialogue between water RDI programme owners.
    • To develop a better understanding of water RDI/ challenges under different scenarios.
    • To produce an exhaustive mapping of water RDI programmes all over Europe, funding schemes, funded projects, research infrastructures, mobility schemes and international cooperation.
    • To inform Water4All’s annual work plans.
    • To produce communication, dissemination and exploitation tools to promote Water4All’s results and enhance the societal relevance of the programme.
    • To set up a catalogue of success stories that could be transferable to other initiatives.
  • Medium and long term impacts

    Expected impacts:

    • Better coordination of existing water RDI programmes, i.e. common prioritisation of needs and identification of needs/ gaps, complementarity of activities, and the production of high quality .
    • To improve communication between the RDI community and potential end-users of Water4All’s results e.g. policy makers, water management authorities, private sector, water utilities.
    • To increase awareness and visibility of water RDI issues and water challenges in securing water for all.
    • To attain critical mass of water RDI programmes. Progress in the coordination and the implementation of Water4All activities is expected to attract additional partners and water RDI programmes.
    • To make of Water4All an initiative that informs policy making and water management.

    Short and medium-term impacts:

    • Improve dialogue amongst stakeholders and between stakeholders and Water4All partners
    • Increase awareness and visibility of water issues
    • Increase critical mass of water research and innovation programmes

    Long-term impacts:

    • Better coordination of national water research
    • Improve communication between solution providers and innovation programmes
    • Enable the integration of Water4All solutions in policy-making, water management and water planning 
  • Public delivrables
    • Water4All’s Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), September 2022.
    • Water4All’s Communication and Dissemination Plan, November 2022.

    The Water4All Partnership - Water Security for the planet - is co-funded by the European Union within the frame of the Horizon Europe programme (a key funding programme for research and innovation). The Partnership duration is for seven years from 2022. The objectives are to tackle water challenges as means to face climate change, help to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and boost the EU’s competitiveness and growth.

    The Water4All Partnership's objective is to enable water security at a large scale and in the long term. Its goal is also to tackle water issues in a holistic frame. 

    All forms of life on earth need water. All human activities operate with this resource. Water is part of our everyday life. It is also integrated within urban and countryside landscapes. It is one of the most valuable elements that we all share with plants and animals.

    These simple facts must be kept in mind to understand the Water4All ambition.

    This resource is weakened in many places due to climate changes, and human habits. We know that we can improve the way we use water. Everyone has a role to play and especially the scientific research community.

    Scientific research is the heart of the Partnership as It is a powerful tool to improve knowledge on how to preserve, restore, and manage this essential resource. 

    International cooperation is also needed as water has no borders on earth and runs from one country to another.

    Water4All brings together a wide and cohesive group of 79 partners from 31 countries in the European Union and beyond. This consortium gathers partners from the whole water Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) chain.