H2020 WaterWorks2015 Project: Hydraulic Works 2016-2020 in Support of the JPI of Water (WaterWorks2015) - Sustainable use of water in agriculture, to increase water use efficiency and reduce soil and water pollution

The WaterWorks2015 proposal responds to the 2015 Horizon 2020 (H2020) Societal Challenge 5 call theme, Water-3 [2015]: Stepping up EU cooperation in water research and innovation. WaterWorks2015 aims to pool resources from the 32 participating research programme owners/managers from 23 countries to implement a joint call for proposals, with EU co-funding, in the area of sustainable water use in agriculture and forestry. It is a collaboration between the Joint Programming Initiatives (JPI), Water JPI “Water Challenges for a Changing World” and FACCE JPI “Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change”. Achieving “sustainable water use in agriculture, to increase water-use efficiency and reduce soil and water pollution” lies at the intersection of the two JPIs, contributing to the implementation of their respective Strategic Research Agendas. WaterWorks 2015 includes nine partner and third-country organizations in an effort to strengthen international cooperation. Additional activities will also be undertaken to further support the implementation and strategy of the Water JPI. The overall objectives include:

1. Increasing the value of relevant national and EU R&D funding through concerted and joint planning, implementation, and evaluation of national research programmes.
2. To pool financial resources from participating states for the definition and implementation of a co-funded transnational and multidisciplinary call for research and innovation proposals. The objective of the call will be to support the implementation of environmental initiatives and policies, particularly those related to water, agriculture, and forestry, as a way to increase water use efficiency and reduce soil and water pollution.
3. Overcoming the fragmentation of European research and innovation activities related to water and agriculture/forestry.
4. Support the implementation and development of the two Joint Programming Initiatives, seeking synergies in overlapping research topics.