EIP Water Conference 2014

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, this year the EIP Water is organizing its annual conference in Barcelona, European Innovation Capital 2014.

We invite all interested parties to join us and participate in 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 and look forward to welcoming you in Barcelona!

1. 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 for the water policy implementation and the private sector.
• Looking into the gaps and barriers between innovation demand and supply in the water sector and developing possible answers  for overcoming that gap and removing the barriers

2. Participants and target audiences of the 2104 Conference

The main target audiences of the EIP Water Conference 2014 are water managers/launching costumers (innovation demanders) from private and public sector (cities, regions and EU Member States), water using sectors and innovation providers.

Furthermore, attendees from other sectors which are related to innovation development, uptake and financing are very much encouraged to attend. The conference is free of charge for participants; travel and accommodation costs cannot be reimbursed and need to be borne by each participant.

3. Date, Venue and Registration

The Conference will take place on Wednesday, 5 November 2014; on 6 November, conference participants can choose to participate in several site visits. The city of Barcelona, European Innovation Capital 2014, will host the conference. The Conference venue will be announced during the summer 2014 and registration will start in September.

4. Preliminary programme

A preliminary programme already providing some session details, speakers and other information has been developed and can be viewed here. The conference language will be English, and no translation will be provided.

5. How to participate and get involved?

If you want to participate and get involved in the 2014 EIP Water Conference, please:

• Save the date
• Register as Conference participant at the EIP Water Marketplace from early September 2014 onwards, incl. Registration for the site visits.
• We will confirm participation by end September 2014, and provide you with additional information on allocation, travel, etc.
• Organize a back-to-back meeting on 4 or 6 November 2014 - please see the following paragraph for more details.

6. Your back-to-back meeting on 4 or 6 November 2014

In case you are interested in organising a closed or open water-innovation related meeting in Barcelona on 4 or 6 November 2014, the EIP Water offers to incorporate this into forthcoming Conference announcements, to help promoting your event and boost the number of participants.

Please provide related information on such a back-to-back meeting promotion request here by 15 August 2014; we will reply in detail by 15 September 2014.

7. Conference Organisers and Partners

The EIP Water Conference 2014 is organised by the European Commission, with the support of the Municipality of Barcelona, the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Spanish Ministry for Economy and Competitiveness, and CETaqua/Agbar.

8. Background

The European Innovation Partnership on Water - EIP Water in short - is an initiative within the EU 2020 Innovation Union. Launched in 2012 and coordinated by the DG Environment, the 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, the EIP Water aims to create market opportunities for these innovations, both inside and outside of Europe.

To achieve this, the 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 sector, non-governmental organizations and the general public. The EIP Water has established itself as Europe’s major platform for water innovation, inviting all existing national and European initiatives to be involved, facilitated by the European Commission.

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