Background
The Water Helix was amongst the third tranche of Helix communities launched by Crowdhelix in June 2017, and is led by the “water@leeds” research group at the internationally-leading academic institution University of Leeds in the United Kingdom.
Scope
The Water Helix provides an Open Innovation community for experts seeking international collaborators to carry out research and innovation across a wide range of water-focused activities, in support of the following broad strategic goals set out in the EU’s “water priority” area:
- bridging the gap from innovative water solutions to market replication
- developing integrated approaches to water and climate change
- stepping up EU R&I cooperation in the water area
- harnessing EU water R&I results for industry agriculture policy makers and citizens
- strengthening international R&I cooperation in the field of water
Due to the highly cross-cutting nature of the water domain, the Water Helix is therefore closely entwined with the activities of several other Helix communities; including Maritime & Marine, Transport, Materials, and Climate. This integration is also reflected at the EU policy level, with a dedicated “flagging” system for Blue Growth-related funding topics across the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Horizon Europe
The Water Helix is also oriented towards the activities of the Horizon Europe Mission “Healthy oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters”, which aims to develop R&I interventions and impacts across many of the strategic goals listed above, whilst raising awareness of their importance amongst citizens. Crowdhelix intends to align its own activities in support of this endeavour by helping to provide the widest possible access to collaborators across the many sectors involved in the water R&I field globally.
