The Leeuwarden declaration is about water innovation and - the circular economy - regions and cities - the SDG’s - regulation - finance - public procurement - partnerships - showcases, demonstration sites

1. The Leeuwarden declaration:
Why and how to drive water
innovation in Europe
Key findings & Innovation Action Agenda

2. The Leeuwarden
declaration
1. The circular economy and water innovation
2. Regions and cities and water innovation
3. SDG’s and water innovation
4. Regulation and water innovation
5. Finance for water innovation
6. Public procurement and water innovation
7. Partnerships and water innovation
8. Showcases, demonstration sites and water innovation

3. 1. The circular economy & water innovation
Key findings
1. Water becomes an increasingly scarce resource
2. Only a holistic - circular - approach which recognizes used water
as a resource can address these challenges.
Innovation Action Agenda
1. European policy-makers need to address barriers to water re-
cycling, re-use and recovery of raw materials and energy in
water cycle.
2. Circular economy approach should strive to keep water as raw
ingredient of design or production process as pure as possible.
3. All stakeholders involved in re-use and recycling of water should
support new circular economy strategy presented by EU
Commission in December 2015.

4. 2. Regions & cities and water innovation
Key findings
1. Urban areas in EU have high water needs with low flexibility.
2. Areas increasingly affected by floods or drought with significant
economic loss.
3. Envisaged integrated approach: supply and demand closer linked,
ecological and socio-economic impacts better managed.
Innovation Action Agenda
1. Regions, cities to give water innovation higher priority @
smart specialization strategy, operational programs for
regional development, rural development programs.
2. Investments in innovative and adaptive nature-based
solutions and green infrastructure always more
beneficiary and sustainable than investments in post
disaster recovery.

5. 3. SDG’s and water innovation
Key findings
1. SDG’s highly relevant to the European Union.
Innovation Action Agenda
1. SDG’s shall be addressed in an integrated way.
2. EU institutions and MS shall continue to drive actions
3. International cooperation, capacity-building support to non-EU
countries shall be expanded.

6. 4. Regulation and water innovation
Key findings
1. Ambitious regulation has often been strong driver for water
innovation (e.g. WFD)
2. Alignment of various regulatory domains (e.g. between energy,
floods, agriculture, raw materials and water) require more
attention and more systemic solutions. Harmonisation in
regulation and legislation needed.
Innovation Action Agenda
1. More joint approaches and harmonisation to enable more rapid
and widespread uptake of innovation, smart business models
and integrated IT-based water solutions in rural and urban areas
to support uptake of water innovations.

7. 5. Finance for water innovation
Key findings
1. Financial flows for water sector in Europe often insufficient to
fully address innovation of infrastructure and management.
2. Support from Cohesion Policy funds, Horizon 2020 and EFSI is
highly needed to address market gaps and overcome perception
of risk-reward balance by private investors
Innovation Action Agenda
1. Innovation uptake requires proper resources at water
management bodies
2. Offer financial and risk-sharing resources, to overcome existing
innovation barriers and accelerate innovation and market
replication.

8. 6. Public procurement and water innovation
Key findings
1. Good progress made in developing tools, guidelines and help
desk functions for procurement of innovative water-related goods
and services.
2. Uptake in practical terms needs further stimulation. EU
Commission, and in particular EAFIP acknowledged for good work
until now.
Innovation Action Agenda
1. Public procurers in water sector asked to make more use of the
tools available to increase “public procurement for innovation”.

9. 7. Partnerships and water innovation
Key findings
1. Partnerships in water innovation are successful when including
demand side and key partners of entire value chain of both,
water sector itself and water-dependent/using sectors.
Innovation Action Agenda
1. Public and private sector stakeholders in water innovation asked
to develop and disseminate best-practices in partnership
approaches.

10. 8. Showcases, demonstration sites & water innovation
Key findings
1. Insufficient number of showcases, demonstration sites and
testing facilities in water sector a key barrier to support and
promote water innovation.
Innovation Action Agenda
1. EU MS, research institutions and relevant stakeholders asked to
further develop showcases and demonstration sites and increase
their visibility.
2. Existing water innovation platforms should actively promote
visibility of such sites at European and global level.

11. Thank you !
See you in
June 2017!