EIP Water Conference 2014: 5 November in Barcelona

The European Innovation Partnership on Water - EIP Water in short - has taken a central role on the European water innovation landscape, providing a platform for all actors in the field of water and innovation. After the success of the first EIP Water conference in November 2013 in Brussels, the EIP Water Conference 2014 will take place on 5 November in Barcelona, theEuropean Innovation Capital 2014.

We invite all interested parties to join us and participate in enlightening discussions on connecting water innovation demand and supply, learn about the activities of our Action Groups, find opportunities for collaboration and help shape European water innovation policy. We look forward to welcoming you in Barcelona!

The most important Conference information is as follows:

• A Conference News Special with updates as of 1 October 2014 is available here
• The city of Barcelona, European Innovation Capital 2014, will host the conference at theEurostars Grand Marina Hotel. 
• The preliminary Conference programme with details on the sessions, speakers and more is available here.
• Registration for the conference is now open, please register here.
• The programme also includes the launch of the CDP water program's Global Water Report 2014, which analyses business understanding of water risk at the world's largest corporations. 
• Several site visits sponsored by the conference organisers will take place on Thursday, 6 November. Please have a look at them and register for the site visits here.
• Various EIP Water partner organisations will present their work during the Conference Exhibition.
• Before and after the Conference, a series of open and closed Back-to-back meetings will be held on 4 and 6 November 2014.
• The conference language is English, no translation will be provided.

Aim

The aim of the second Annual Conference of the European Innovation Partnership on Water is to connect innovation demand and supply by:

• "Showcasing impact" e.g. via  presentations / an exhibition of successful experiences in accessing markets/implementation
• "Identifying demand for innovation", in particular demand for the water policy implementation and the private sector.
• Examining and addressing the gaps and barriers in innovation demand and supply in the water sector

Participants of the 2014 Conference

Participants of the EIP Water Conference 2014 will be water managers/launching costumers (innovation demanders) from the private and public sector (cities, regions and EU Member States), water-using sectors and innovation providers.

Participants from other sectors related to innovation development, uptake and financing are also encouraged to attend. The conference is free of charge for participants. However, the costs of travel and accommodation shall be borne by each participant and cannot be reimbursed by the organisers.

Conference Organisers and Partners

The EIP Water Conference 2014 is organised by the European Commission, with the support of:

Background

The European Innovation Partnership on Water - EIP Water in short - is an initiative within theEU 2020 Innovation Union. Launched in 2012, facilitated by the European Commission and coordinated by the DG Environment, EIP Water facilitates the development of innovative solutions to address major European and global water challenges and support the implementation of the Water Framework Directive. At the same time, EIP Water aims to create market opportunities for these innovations, both inside and outside Europe.

To achieve this, EIP Water also aims to remove legal, technological and other barriers to water innovations by advancing and leveraging existing solutions. Furthermore, it initiates and promotes collaborative processes on a pan-European level for change and innovation in the water sector across the public and private sectors, non-governmental organisations and the general public. EIP Water has established itself as Europe’s major platform for water innovation, and invites all national and European initiatives to be involved.

The first EIP Water Annual Conference held in Brussels on 21st November 2013 was a big success. The Conference Report and a brief film are available here. The Conference Report also includes an evaluation by participants.