Highly interactive EIP Water Conference 2014 concluded 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 second EIP Water annual Conference took place on 5 November in Barcelona, the European Innovation Capital 2014.

Over 400 attendees participated in enlightening discussions on connecting water innovation demand and supply, learned about the activities of 25 EIP Water Action Groups, identified opportunities for collaboration and helped shape European water innovation policy. 

The most important Conference follow-up information is here:

• Over 400 participants attended the conference.
• The various presentations of the Conference are available here.
• The final Conference programme with details on the sessions, speakers and more is available here.
• The programme also included 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 took place on Thursday, 6 November.
• Various EIP Water partner organisations presented their work during the Conference Exhibition.
• Before and after the Conference, a series of open and closed Back-to-back meetings were held on 4 and 6 November 2014.
• The Conference 2014 hashtag was #EIPWater2014

Aim

The aim of the second Annual Conference of the European Innovation Partnership on Water was 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

Conference Organisers and Partners

The EIP Water Conference 2014 was 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 21^st 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.