From 25 to 27 March 2025, the partners of the InnWater project gathered in Padova, Italy for the project’s third General Assembly. Hosted by Etifor and the Consiglio di Bacino Brenta (CBB), this event brought together all consortium members to review progress, align strategies, and prepare the next key steps in advancing inclusive, effective, and replicable water governance solutions across Europe.
🔹 A Time for Reflection and Planning
The General Assembly opened with welcoming words from the hosts and project coordinator, followed by a message from the European Commission, encouraging the consortium to focus on dissemination and exploitation of results.
Over the three days, each Work Package (WP) presented its current status, milestones, and upcoming deliverables:
- WP2 (Water Governance): D2.1 and D2.2 were delivered and validated in multiple pilot sites. Focus is now on refining D2.3 and preparing consultations for further validation and recommendations.
- WP3 (Citizen Engagement): Tailored roadmaps were developed in each pilot site, and an integrated evaluation phase is now underway to ensure sustainability and replicability.
- WP4 (Digital Tools): Integration of key tools (MSM, CGE, WGA) into the InnWater Platform is ongoing, along with the development of the Learning Environment.
- WP5 (Pilot Sites): Updates from each site highlighted concrete progress, including local stakeholder engagement, testing of governance tools, and upcoming youth-focused actions.
- WP6 (Impact and Dissemination): The team advanced on the replication assessment, the identification of Key Exploitable Results (KERs), and planned dissemination activities including the Summer School, workshops, and events.
🔹 Working Sessions: From Theory to Application
Several interactive sessions allowed partners to deep dive into technical content and collaborative design:
- A session on the Reference Guide and governance framework validation
- A working session on citizen engagement and KPI tracking
- A synthesis of economic modelling tools (CGE & MSM) and how they will be hosted and used on the InnWater platform
- A session on defining and prioritising the project’s Key Exploitable Results, including reflections on intellectual property and long-term impact
These discussions provided the foundation for future decisions on replication, communication, and the legacy of InnWater tools and methodologies.
🔹 A Field Visit to the Brenta River Basin
The General Assembly concluded with a visit to the Brenta River Basin, one of the five pilot sites of the project. Partners explored how local water governance integrates ecosystem services, stakeholder coordination, and financial tools. The visit reinforced the project's practical ambition: to translate innovative governance concepts into tangible, locally adapted solutions.
🔹 Looking Ahead
The final phase of InnWater will focus on consolidating the tools developed, disseminating the results, strengthening stakeholders' engagement, valuing replication outcomes as well as ensuring a useful and sustainable exploitation of the project outcomes.
A final event is already foreseen in Hungary (early 2026), which will combine a final internal GA and a broader public event, bringing together policy makers, water managers, and EU-level stakeholders to promote the project’s achievements and outcomes.