On 26 February 2026, the Horizon Europe projects AWARD, InnWater, and WATERUN organised a joint webinar entitled “Policy recommendations from water innovation projects”. The online event brought together researchers, policy experts and water practitioners to exchange insights on the role of innovation, governance and citizen engagement in strengthening water resilience across Europe.
The webinar provided an opportunity to present key results from the three projects and discuss how alternative water resources, governance tools and innovative monitoring solutions can contribute to more sustainable and climate-resilient water management.
Advancing water resilience through Alternative Water Resources
The AWARD project focuses on integrating Alternative Water Resources (AWR) into strategic water supply planning, combining technological innovation with governance and social engagement approaches. The project investigates solutions such as rainwater harvesting, water reuse and aquifer recharge to reduce pressure on conventional freshwater resources and increase resilience to climate change.
During the webinar, AWARD partners presented policy recommendations aimed at improving awareness and acceptance of alternative water solutions among citizens and stakeholders. Survey results conducted across several European countries highlighted that while general awareness of global water challenges is relatively high, knowledge about innovative water solutions remains limited. Strengthening communication, education and local participation mechanisms was therefore identified as a key priority.
Among the recommendations discussed were:
- integrating water literacy into environmental and climate education,
- developing accessible and citizen-friendly information platforms,
- organising local water forums to support participatory decision-making.
These measures aim to foster public engagement and improve the uptake of innovative water solutions.
Governance tools for inclusive water management
The InnWater project presented its work on sustainable and inclusive water governance, highlighting the importance of coordination between institutions, stakeholders and local communities.
A key result of the project is the development of a water governance assessment framework and practical tool, inspired by the OECD principles on water governance. The framework supports practitioners in evaluating governance systems according to criteria such as institutional roles, financing mechanisms, environmental resilience and stakeholder participation.
These tools were tested in several pilot regions and aim to help decision-makers improve governance arrangements and support more integrated water management strategies.
Monitoring urban pollution and supporting water reuse
The WATERUN project addressed another crucial dimension of water management: urban runoff pollution and monitoring solutions. The project develops advanced tools to identify sources of pollutants in urban environments and support the implementation of mitigation measures such as green and blue infrastructure.
Through case studies in cities such as Aarhus, Santiago de Compostela and Amman, WATERUN demonstrates how innovative monitoring technologies and modelling tools can help reduce pollutant discharge and improve the management of urban water flows.
Strengthening collaboration between European initiatives
The webinar highlighted the strong complementarities between the three projects, which together address technical, governance and societal dimensions of water resilience.
By sharing results and policy recommendations, the projects aim to support decision-makers, practitioners and communities in adopting innovative approaches to water management and preparing for future climate challenges.
The discussion concluded with a call to strengthen collaboration between research projects, policymakers and local stakeholders in order to accelerate the transition towards sustainable and resilient water systems in Europe.
