Michelle H. Williams explains how Knowledge and Innovative Communities can forge a holistic approach to water management.
Europe is faced with a myriad of complex and interconnected issues linked to climate change and environmental degradation. To deliver on sustainability, competitiveness and resilience targets, there needs to be increased investment in innovation, business creation and public infrastructure, and a closing of the skills gap (Draghi, 2024).
The water landscape is broad and fragmented, and there is an urgent need to take a more holistic approach to water as a valuable, finite and essential resource. Marine and freshwater ecosystems are threatened by climate change and pollution, which pose risks to biodiversity, the economy and our drinking water quality. These challenges are exacerbated by failures to seize opportunities to recycle and reuse water, with increased water scarcity that will lead to food shortages and water insecurity. At the same time, the increased incidence of extreme climate-related weather events requires investment in infrastructure for predicting and responding to flood and drought events.
A fragmented water, marine and maritime landscape hinders the market deployment of innovations, but this can be turned around by fostering a well-connected, cross-sectoral ecosystem to assist in bridging the gaps in funding opportunities, and to guide the scaling of ideas. Scalable innovation lies in reducing the water footprint of key sectors in Europe and unlocking circular opportunities that can provide a much-needed boost to the ecological status and health of all EU waters. Combining ecosystem improvement with social and economic impact remains one of the untapped potentials of the water sector. This cross-sectoral approach will become ever more important as the need to enhance Europe’s ability to adapt to climate change and extreme weather events increases. Achieving these goals relies, however, on future-proofing water, marine and maritime professionals through training in novel technologies and education in the field, focused on innovation and entrepreneurship.
Boosting innovation
As European innovative solutions are fostered, it is important that they are successfully transferred from the laboratory to the market, and there is a need to excel in scaling startups and demonstrating the value of new technologies and solutions to secure a digital and smart future for the water sector. Water is important for our everyday lives, and for European industries and the economy. The EU and its member states must lead global development within these fields through investment in innovation, education and business creation.
Knowledge and Innovative Communities (KICs)
Since 2010, the European Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT) has invested in the establishment of innovative ecosystems spanning the Knowledge Triangle: the nexus between education, innovation and business creation. Their ambition is to overcome societal challenges, like the ones faced by the water sector, but also to bolster European competitiveness by scaling innovative ideas found across the continent.
EIT invests in the future of European education, innovation and business creation through the establishment of Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs). Through the integration of the Knowledge Triangle, and a strong focus on entrepreneurship and business creation, they have delivered significant results across the nine existing KICs in areas as diverse as energy, climate, manufacturing, food and health.
The KICs have a strong focus on delivering impact within societal challenges, focused especially on industrial impacts, based on talent development, creating new businesses and launching innovations. Partner organisations and experts across sectors throughout Europe come together to identify gaps and deliver impact. One of the core activities is the training of entrepreneurs to help them transfer innovative solutions from research to market, and to attract investment to scale and demonstrate the value of their innovations. Meanwhile, existing organisations within the sector gain access to new talent, solutions providers, information on the latest developments, innovation projects, the up- or re-skilling of their workers, and a powerful international network.
From an organisational perspective, the KICs amplify regional and national expertise into a European context. The KICs also aim to overcome fragmentation and foster collaboration across traditional divides, both between sectors and disciplines. Each KIC is established with regionally based Co-Location Centres (CLCs) that are anchor points across national boundaries, where they leverage local specialised and innovation ecosystems and foster collaboration in a European framework. This regional anchoring is specifically strengthened in countries where innovative solutions need an additional boost to take off.
This impact has been achieved because of the expertise, relevance and diversity of the different member state partner organisations, and the ability of the KICs to take a truly European perspective. An added value of the KIC are synergies and collaboration across KIC themes, which strengthen broader partnerships and provide a high-level interdisciplinary approach to complex societal challenges. This cross-sectoral, cross-discipline approach is one of the strengths of the KICs.
Water focus
Water has been identified as an urgent societal challenge. Therefore, to address the challenges Europe faces and to secure a smart water future, EIT launched an open call for a KIC in the Water, Marine and Maritime (WMM) sectors and ecosystems in 2025, as part of its strategy for 2021-27. By the end of 2025, a new Water KIC will be announced. Through the unique EIT KIC model, the new European-wide water community will be established to bring together businesses, research institutions and universities to educate, innovate and invest in the future of the WMM sectors. To maximise effort and impact, the KIC will work together with existing European initiatives and partnerships to create a holistic and inclusive ecosystem that works across thematic areas, geography and types of organisations.
Allwaters bid
Five consortia bid into the 2025 EIT open call for a future Water KIC. One of the bidding consortia is called ‘Allwaters’ because of the broad scope of its proposal and diverse partnership. Allwaters spans the European continent, but will connect the water landscape from the Arctic to the Global South. It includes cutting-edge expertise within the water, marine and maritime sectors, across different organisations, from universities and research organisations through to NGOs, foundations, industry clusters, ports and public institutions, including small and large enterprises. By ensuring a holistic view and approaching the sectors as interconnected components of a complex system, Allwaters intends to deliver transferable solutions and systemic innovations to challenges that are cross-cutting by nature.
The core value of Allwaters is its inclusive, collaborative and open approach to ensuring that activities are relevant and impactful. A recurring challenge with earlier KICs has been in getting off the ground early, aligning all partners and growing the partnership. To overcome these challenges, the Allwaters partners have been actively involved in the design and writing of the Allwaters bid, which has led to significant commitment and investment being secured across its wide network of engaged partners. With this support, Allwaters has laid down the foundation for a launch-ready KIC, with the strategy to become financially sustainable early in the life of the KIC.
Allwaters aims to use the power of the network to deliver groundbreaking innovation, launch successful and impactful businesses, and help professionals become ready for future challenges. The ambition is to unlock the potential of the water, marine and maritime sectors, and to leverage impact to contribute to Europe’s safety, resilience, sustainability and competitiveness. With strengthened innovation, investments in education and a coordinated contribution to the industry, the goal is to position Europe as a global leader in the water sector and the blue economy.
The author:
Michelle H. Williams is Vice-Dean, Talent Development and Internationalisation, Aarhus University, Denmark
