Water Technology Innovation Roadmaps

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The iWATERMAP project focuses on suporting the innovation policies in water technology sector, helping to increase the critical mass of innovation ecosystems in partner regions in this sector. The critical mass in innovation ecosystem approach means that all the necessary elements for innovation ecosystem are identified and put in place stage by stage, such as academia and business cooperation, cross-cluster fertilization, interregional networks and cooperation, science and education, thus ensuring stable and sustainable development of the system. The Project has selected the water technology sector as a focus area. The importance of the sector lies in its ability to help to address societal challenges related to water resource management - water scarcity, efficiency, use in other industrial sectors, resource recovery from waste water and waste water treatment etc. The sector has a large potential for generating innovative products and services which can be exported, thus also contributing to the creation of growth and jobs in the region. Overall Project objective is to improve innovation policies for enhancing the critical mass development of innovation ecosystems in the water technology sector. Reaching the critical mass in innovation will allow partner regions in future to rise above their own weight in innovation development, creating the conditions for raising competitiveness, growth and jobs in the regions. Project will address 7 policy instruments by assessments, learning sessions, roadmaps, action plan development, good practice identification and sharing and involvement of regional stakeholder groups. One of its main outputs will be preparation of roadmaps (3) for reaching the critical mass in ecosystem innovation in the sector. There are 9 partners and 7 regions participating in the Project from NL, LV, PT, ES, EL, RO and CZ, thus combining a leading regions in innovation (NL) with moderate (CZ, LV, ES, PT, EL) and modest (RO) innovators.

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