Transition Management & Stakeholder Engagement

A Circular Water Economy is a system’s concept and therefore goes far beyond recycling loops and innovative technologies. It must be an integrated, interdisciplinary approach that rethinks how we effectively manage water and its associated resources. This work builds on the contributions of over 50 authors to identify, review and provide foresight into the various principles and factors that will enable a Circular Water Economy. The result of this ongoing collaboration will be published as a book entitled Circular Water Economy: principles, enabling factors and case-studies. In this talk, we aim to propose a model with our collective vision for Circular Water Economy. It draws on existing models for circularity, together with bibliometric analyses and the collective authors’ expertise and experiences during the writing of this book. It identifies and clarifies the role of each of the 6 enabling factors identified, which include: innovative technologies, digitalisation, innovation ecosystems, policy and regulatory frameworks, social capital and decision making. In addition, we will also discuss the experience and associated challenges of having these interdisciplinary and intersectorial discussions during the book writing process, hoping to draw conclusions that can be useful for making this concept a reality.

Addressing climate change, resource scarcity, and environmental degradation necessitate holistic solutions requiring inter- and transdisciplinary (ITD) engagement and collaboration. However, collaboration in ITD settings remains challenging, limiting the potential for widespread adoption of innovative climate and sustainability solutions. In the context of water and climate ITD research and innovation projects, effective stakeholder engagement, collaboration and knowledge integration are fundamental to navigating complex socio-economic challenges and achieving lasting impact. Drawing lessons from EU-funded ITD research and innovation projects – including B-WaterSmart, IMPETUS, REWAISE, ULTIMATE, WATER-MINING, and WIDER UPTAKE – we highlight the synergistic potential of combining structured stakeholder engagement activities with targeted and useful collaboration processes. Applying these activities and processes across project phases – i.e., pre-project and design, implementation and post-project – can help contribute to the co-creation of knowledge and innovative solutions that are rooted in socio-economic contexts. With these insights, we present pathways for researchers and practitioners to pivot from traditional research dissemination and exploitation methods to focus more on knowledge co-creation and integration processes that help ensure knowledge outputs and solutions are relevant to the intended users. In such a way EU-funded ITD research and innovation projects can maximise their socio-economic impact and contribute to the transition towards a more water-smart society and economy.

The concept of a circular city envisions urban areas as natural systems where resources are continuously reused, contrasting with traditional cities that follow a "use and dispose" model. Circular cities aim to close material and energy loops, minimizing waste and maximizing efficiency through practices like local production, recycling, sustainable mobility, and renewable energy use. The Spanish hub of the UNITED CIRCLES project, based in Salamanca, embodies this vision by promoting the transition to a circular and sustainable economy. This initiative fosters collaboration between industries and communities to achieve zero net emissions by regenerating wastewater, valorizing sludge, and recovering high value bioproducts, thus closing material and energy cycles in urban environments. The hub comprises leading biowaste management companies and key industrial end-users, focusing on four pillars: urban and industrial wastewater reuse, sludge valorization into energy, safe drinking water production, and resource recovery. Innovative approaches for wastewater technologies, such as capacitive deionization coupled with forward osmosis and various membrane technologies (RO, NF, UF, MF), will be validated at a relevant scale (TRL 8). Similar methodologies will be applied to sludge valorization: co-digestion, hydrothermal liquefaction, tubular anaerobic digestion, and biological methanation will be also validated at TRL8. Removal of pathogens and contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in drinking water will be addressed by upcycling activated carbon and implementing sensors for continuous microbiological control. Additionally, resources like cellulose and struvite will be recovered from urban wastewater for use in the pulp & paper and fertilizer industries, respectively. The outcomes of this project will not only benefit the environment but also drive innovation, create new employment opportunities, and strengthen community resilience. This work is part of the UNITED CIRCLES project, co-funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme, aiming to set a precedent for sustainable urban development and industrial biowaste management.