Policy and industry to absorb new water technologies
Over the last decade, the EU has invested considerable resources to support the development of water technologies. But, as is often the case with novel innovations, the resources to exploit the technologies at the needed scale remain limited. The EU-funded ‘Sustainable technologies and research for European aquatic management’ (STREAM) project aimed to bridge the gap between research, policy and industry. A diversified series of dissemination and communication actions were tailored to the needs of the different stakeholders to raise interest in novel water technologies. STREAM mediated with the coordinators of 439 projects from the main European support programmes. This resulted in 140 research project factsheets, which formed the basis for the activities of STREAM dissemination. The project also produced an e-learning course consisting of modules on EU legislation, innovation and research. Two summer schools were also held, and focused on bringing young researchers together with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Researchers and politicians were brought together through several policy seminars. This was to ensure that politicians were able to base their activities on the latest research results. Lastly, communication tools were offered to water research projects. For example, selected EU water research projects were supported by developing short videos, which provided easily accessible communication of the project's outcomes. The project website and social media pages further supported these efforts. STREAM achieved its target of increasing the uptake of EU water research in policy and industry. It also succeeded in creating the necessary synergies among different projects and between different stakeholders.
