Executive Summary
Over the last few decades a number of policies and research, innovation and development (RDI)
activities have been put in place in order to protect water resources. Despite these efforts,
many regions in Europe still face water scarcity and/or water-quality problems. Climate change,
groundwater over-abstraction and diffuse pollution are, among others, the main factors influ-
encing water availability. If no action is taken, their impact will be even greater in the years to
come. Guaranteeing a sustainable supply of good-quality water should be a priority for European
society; both policy and RDI activities should, therefore, contribute to this aim. Water supply
for the development of different activities (agriculture, energy production, public services, etc.)
also needs to be ensured to benefit the economic prosperity of Europe.
It is in this context that the Joint Programming Initiative ‘Water Challenges for a Changing
World’ (the Water JPI) has defined its grand challenge as ‘ach iev i ng sustainabl e water
systems for a sustai nab le economy i n Europe and abroad’.
JPIs are intergovernmental initiatives aimed at tackling societal challenges that cannot be ad-
dressed by European countries in isolation. To this end, JPIs foster cross-border collaboration
and coordination. The JPI process results in the definition of a Strategic Research and Innovation
Agenda (SRIA), a document that lays out specific actions in the short, medium and long term,
tackling a specific challenge. The Water JPI was launched in 2010. This initiative brings together
19 partner countries, the European Commission and 5 observer countries. The present doc-
ument contai ns Vers ion 1.0 of the SRIA of the Water JPI .
The development of SRIA 1.0 has been a long process, which started with the publication of
the Water JPI Vision Document in 2011 and with consultations to the Water JPI Advisory
Boards. Various information sources – including national RDI agendas, the strategic agendas of
neighbouring initiatives, foresight studies and European policy documents – were reviewed in
order to identify RDI needs and related actions in the water domain. Stakeholders and the gen-
eral public were consulted on the contents of the SRIA 1.0 through, respectively, the first con-
sultative workshop and a public consultation. Research needs and related actions are structured
around five core themes:
Mai ntain ing ecosystem susta inab il ity;
Devel oping safe water systems for the c it izens;
Promoti ng competi t iveness in the water i ndust ry;
Implementi ng a water -wi se b io-based economy; and
Clos ing the water cyc le gap.
The adoption of SRIA 1.0 results from the collaboration and consensus of Water JPI partners.
This collaboration will be extended during the development of the next version of the SRIA
(SRIA 2.0), as well as by the implementation of joint activities (such as collaborative projects,
mobility schemes or infrastructure sharing). The Water JPI will therefore play an important role
in the construction of the European Research Area (ERA) in the field of water.
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