Knowledge and innovation for sustainable societies

C2B2 aims to trigger transformative change in ocean governance.  It seeks to move away from a single-use/single-actor paradigm towards multifunctional use through co-creation founded on data for ecosystem resilience. The C2B2 project  aims to create the conditions for a robust, inclusive and just transition towards participatory ocean governance. To achieve this, C2B2 will provide the basis for a continuously evolving knowledge system for science-based ecosystem governance in Sweden. The project will also  demonstrate in practice in LivingLabs how the transition towards science-based ecosystem governance of a sustainable blue economy can be achieved. It aims to reshape the relationship with the ocean by instilling new ways of working together and practicing science-based ecosystem governance. The project, funded by MISTRA, the Swedish foundation for strategic environmental research, runs from 2023 to 2027. More information here.

CitiObs  consolidates and applies tools and practice-based knowledge for co-creating data, knowledge and local action via Citizen Observatories (COs). These tools will enhance existing and new citizen observatories to engage citizens and marginalised communities; add value to environmental observations in the urban context; increase and validate citizen observations of the urban environment as part of the existing in-situ Earth Observation systems; co-create inclusive local actions for sustainability, and ensure that CO data contributes to research and policy development towards the objectives of the European Green Deal. To ensure broad use, the CitiObs tools and approaches will be developed in co-creation with COs in five Frontrunner cities, fine-tuned with 30 Implementer cities and showcased to 50 Fellow cities. This European Union Horizon project runs from 2023 to 2026.

MAR2PROTECT  provides a holistic approach to preventing groundwater (GW) contamination from global change and climate change impacts based on a new-generation managed aquifer recharge (MAR). The project uses artificial intelligence to improve GW quality and will collect information from demo sites in Portugal, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, Tunisia and South Africa. MAR2PROTECT ensures strong engagement of civil society in GW prevention actions via LivingLabs in all demo sites. The project also involves national and EU policymakers who, in collaboration with a Community of Practice formed by worldwide experts, will strengthen EU policy to  prevent  GW contamination. With a holistic approach and to  highly replicable results, MAR2PROTECT aims to lead to a marked enhancement in GW protection across the EU and beyond, and to generate knowledge for the transition to a sustainable water management. This European Union Horizon project  runs from 2022 to 2026.

The CLINT project aims to  develop an Artificial Intelligence framework that uses  machine learning techniques and algorithms to process big climate datasets for improving climate science. The framework will be used to improve the detection and attribution, as well as the establishment of the cause, of extreme events (EEs) such as tropical cyclones, heatwaves and warm nights, droughts and floods. The CLINT AI framework will also quantify  EE impacts on a variety of socio-economic sectors under historical, forecasted and projected climate conditions, and across different spatial scales (from European to local). The  ultimate goal is to develop innovative and sectorial AI-enhanced climate services. This European Union Horizon project runs from June 2021 to June 2024.

The EIFFEL project develops tools for better access to global data available through Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), which can be combined with local data for developing climate mitigation and adaptation applications. The project develops the tools for five different pilot areas across Europe. IHE Delft leads the development of applications for all pilots. For one of the five pilot areas, the Belgian-Dutch Aa of Weerijs catchment, IHE Delft also is setting up hydrological models that serve as a basis for analysing climate adaptation strategies for dealing with drought conditions. This European Union Horizon project runs from June 2021 to June 2024.  

The Water-ForCE project develops a roadmap for the   water services of Copernicus, the Earth observation component of the European Union’s Space programme. The Roadmap will provide a user- and stakeholder-driven concept for water services (water quantity, water quality, hydrological parameters, ice, snow, etc.). It will assess existing and emerging needs as well as opportunities presented by current and future technical capabilities of satellite and in situ sensors, and address current disconnects between remote sensing, in situ observations and modelling communities. The Roadmap will provide clarity about the public and private sectors’ needs and expectations of the core Copernicus mission and about the wider research and business innovation opportunities stemming from Copernicus. This European Union Horizon project runs from January 2021 to January 2024.

FUTURAL aims to enhance the resilience, sustainability and connectivity of rural areas and eventually the quality of life of citizens living in rural Europe. The project aims to serve these communities and to ensure they are prepared to face and tackle  challenges including depopulation, brain drain, ageing population, limited connectivity and restricted access to public infrastructure and services. The project will develop seven digital Smart Solutions: Circular Bioeconomy, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management; Climate Adaptation and Mitigation; Resilience to Shocks; Citizen Engagement and Quality of Life, and Lifelong Education and Training. This European Union Horizon project runs from January 2021 to January 2024. Read more here.

The Shelter project developed a data-driven and community-based knowledge framework that brings together the scientific community and heritage managers to  increase  resilience, reduce vulnerability and promote better and safer reconstruction in historic areas. It highlighted the need for comprehensive disaster risk management plans  that consider the specific characteristics of cultural heritage,  the nature of the hazards within a regional context and the specific socioeconomic conditions  The SHELTER developed an Operational Knowledge Framework implemented in a multiscale and multisource data driven platform that is able to provide the necessary information for planning and adaptive governance. The project validated five open-labs, representing the main climatic and environmental challenges in Europe and different heritage’s typologies. It established five IHE Delft-led open labs, located in Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Turkey and the Eastern European  Sava river basin. They represented the main climatic and environmental challenges in Europe and different heritage typologies and served to validate the progress and developments of the project.  This European Union Horizon project was conducted from 2019 to 2023.

CSEOL was a virtual incubator for citizen science (CS) and earth observation (EO) projects for the European Space Agency, led by  IHE Delft and implemented with Starlab, a private research and development company. The project engaged a wide community of users of EO data and providers of information to support the validation and exploitation of EO with citizen science. The physical CSEOLab was placed at IHE Delft’s  premises  and formed a central place for idea generation and the co-design of CS EO projects. It featured new digital technologies and tools for CS and EO, the wider CS community and other actors such as schools, civil society organisations and others.  CSEOL catalysed the potential of CS for EO into five concrete, funded and achievable pilot projects. CSEOL was conducted  from January  2019 to December 2022.

Partners in the MICS project co-designed citizen science initiatives with communities in Romania, Hungary and Italy to help them make the case for nature-based solutions (NBS) in their local environments – or to measure the impacts of such solutions. The project guided  five case studies, in Romania, Hungary, Italy and the United Kingdom, in assessing their impacts. The project developed a tool that helps assess how effective citizen science is by considering its impact in society, the environment, the economy, governance and science and technology.

IHE Delft developed a finalised version of the project’s conceptual framework, guidance for co-design of citizen science activities in the project’s case study sites and recommendations about the assessment of the impact of citizen science.

This European Union Horizon project was conducted from  January 2019 to July 2022.

WeObserve tackled three key challenges that Citizens Observatories face : awareness, acceptability and sustainability. The project  systematically addressed these challenges and helped move citizen science into the mainstream by improving the coordination between existing Citizen Observatories and related regional, European and International activities. It initiated  four international Communities of Practices on distinct knowledge areas related to citizen science and citizen observatories, namely i) co-design and stakeholder engagement, ii) impact and value for governance, iii) interoperability and standardisation and iv) the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Collectively, these  consolidate the knowledge base on citizen science and citizen observatories among practitioners and scientists. Under the lead of IHE Delft, project partners and the Communities of Practice created the WeObserve Cookbook  to provide guidance for Citizen Observatories (COs). The cookbook highlights four areas: 1) getting to know and understanding COs; 2) creating and running a CO; 3) achieving impact with COs; 4) ensuring sustainability of COs. It guides users through available resources that support successful and sustainable Citizens Observatories. This European Union Horizon Coordination and Support Action Project was conducted  from December 2017 to June 2021.

Scent involved 10 partner organisations across six countries. It aimed to lead a global citizen movement aimed at land use monitoring through a people-centred observation web.

Scent engaged citizens in environmental monitoring and enabled them to become the ‘eyes’ of the policy makers. In doing so, citizens supported the monitoring of land-cover/use changes using their smartphones and tablets. IHE Deft created flood models and used data collected by citizens in the models to support decision makers. This European Union Horizon project was conducted from 2016 to 2019.

The AfriAlliance project aimed to better prepare Africa for future climate change challenges by having African and European stakeholders work together in the areas of water innovation, research, policy, and capacity development. Rather than creating new networks, the 16 EU and African partners in this project consolidated existing ones, consisting of scientists, decision makers, practitioners, citizens, and other key stakeholders, into an effective, problem-focused knowledge-sharing mechanism. This was coordinated by means of an innovation platform: the Africa-EU Innovation Alliance for Water and Climate. This European Union Horizon project was conducted from 2016 to 2020.

The Ground Truth 2.0 project set up and validated six citizen observatories in real conditions, in four European and two African demonstration cases. The project demonstrated that such observatories are technologically feasible, can be implemented sustainably and that they have many societal and economic benefits. The ultimate objective was the global market uptake of the concept and the enabling technologies. This European Union Horizon project was conducted from 2016 to 2019.