Call for hosting EIP Water Conference in June 2017
After the successful edition of EIP Water Conference 2016 in Leeuwarden, EIP Water has announced a call for a host city and conference partners for the fourth one-day EIP Water Conference which is planned to take place in June 2017. The conference shall be preceded or followed by side events and site visits. EIP Water is inviting all interested host cities and conference partners to develop and submit their proposals by the deadline of 29 April 2016.
The host city and conference partners of the EIP Water’s fourth Conference will benefit from the great visibility of the event within the European water sector as well as a number of high-level speakers and international participants. They will be able to showcase their experiences related to water & innovation and, if so agreed with EIP Water, suggest specific topics and challenges of their concern. The previous EIP Water conferences in Brussels (2013), Barcelona (2014) and Leeuwarden (2016) have demonstrated that the EIP Water conference is a brilliant opportunity for strengthening pan-European and global networking for boosting innovation in the water sector. Since 2013, the event has continued to increase with over 350 participants in Brussels in 2013, more than 400 in Barcelona in 2014 and almost 700 registered participants in February 2016 in Leeuwarden.
The organizers are confident that the 2017 conference will once again be an outstanding event for the European water sector and will contribute to removing innovation barriers and creating opportunities for more water innovation in Europe and globally.
To read the criteria for host city & conference partner selection, please visit the EIP Water website.
For any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Ms. Michaela Matauschek.
Read MoreA new guide for implementation of IOPP procedures
Water PiPP project has now published a new practical guide titled ‘How-To Guide for Implementation of Innovation Oriented Public Procurement (IOPP) Procedures (EU Level)’ to help public and semi-public water authorities procure innovation in the water sector. Its objective is to provide a comprehensive overview of the legal and practical dimensions of IOPP. The guide provides:
- Room for Innovation by means of IOPP in the Water Sector
- Introduction to IOPP
- How to procure Innovation in the Water Sector Step-by-Step
As highlighted in the guide ‘Water innovation can apply not only to new sustainable technologies but also to new partnerships extending across public administration, research and industry: new business models and new forms of water governance that are not only innovative themselves but can also stimulate and support technological innovations’. Read more
To learn more about Water PiPP, please visit the project’s website.
Read MorePre-announcement of new Water JPI 2016 Joint Call ‘ Water & Agriculture Challenges’
On 15 of January 2016, the Water Joint Programming Initiative ( Water JPI) and the Agriculture Food Security and Climate Change Joint Programming Initiative (FACCE JPI) published a pre-announcement of the upcoming call for multi-national collaborative research projects. The topics of the call are the following and applicants must address at least one of them: Sustainable management of water resources in agriculture, forestry and freshwater aquaculture sectors by:
- Increasing the efficiency and resilience of water uses;
- Monitoring and reducing soil and water pollution;
- Integrating social and economic dimensions into the sustainable management and governance of water resources.
The indicative total available budget amounts to 26M€, subject to the successful negotiation of the WaterWorks2015 ERA-NET Cofund with the European Commission. The call is expected to open on 16.02.2016 with a closing date for pre-proposals on 19.04.2016. A two-step application procedure will be used in this call. Proposals (in English language) must be submitted electronically. All proposals are expected to apply research and innovation to develop new concepts, to assess risks, to attain cost effectiveness and to improve quality of life, thus contributing to tackling European water challenges.
Consortia have to comprise minimum of 3 partners (higher education institutions, public research institutions and private companies and organisations, including for non-profit) from three participating countries. The funding of participating researchers will be provided according to the project funding conditions of their respective funding organisations. Researchers from i) Water JPI partner countries not funding this call, ii) Water JPI observer countries, or iii) third countries, can participate in the consortia at their own expense.
For more detailed information, please have a look at the announcement.
Read MoreCall for evidence: the economic benefits of EU water policy and the costs of non-implementation
The Commission is looking for empirical evidence, studies and concrete feedback on:
- Water as a key resource for economic growth and well-being of the EU;
- Cost/benefit analysis of the proper implementation of the EU water acquis;
- How to maximise the economic benefits of water by identifying its most efficient uses.
It is expected that the outcome of this consultation will provide information, data and other evidence on the role of good quality water for a sound economic growth in the EU. The call for evidence runs until 11 March 2016 and has two objectives: a) identify and collect existing knowledge (i.e. studies, research), evidence and data on the economic benefits of EU water policy and the costs of non-implementation b) collect opinions, ideas and suggestions on which areas of the “economics” of the EU water acquis should be further investigated by the European Commission.
The call for evidence is the second step in a process organised by the European Commission with a view to launching an open call for tenders for contracting a study on the economic benefits of EU water policy and the costs of non-implementation, which aims at generating new and solid economic arguments to promote effective protection and efficient use of water resources for the well-being of European nature and citizens. All individual experts, stakeholders, organisations, research centers, universities, think-tanks with expertise in water economics are welcome to contribute to this consultation.
To read more, please visit the European Commission’s website.
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