Assessing the Impact of Water JPI Projects

The Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) and the Università Politecnica delle Marche (UNIVPM) are undertaking an in-depth assessment of 100 EU-funded projects within the Water JPI portfolio. The goal: to evaluate how these projects translate research into tangible applications, using the methodology outlined in the European Commission’s report Research and Innovation for a Water-Resilient Europe: A Contribution from EU R&I Framework Programmes.

To structure the analysis, projects will be grouped according to the main challenges and key issues they address. In the initial phase, each cluster will be thematically summarised, highlighting the scientific advances they bring, their market potential, and the main barriers they face. This will offer stakeholders a clear thematic overview. Each project will also be mapped and assessed for its technical, social, organisational, and legal maturity levels, providing a multidimensional perspective on scalability and impact potential.

The second phase will take a closer look at two groups:

• High-maturity projects – These will be analysed in detail to identify innovative, scalable solutions, their real-world applications, and the barriers—technical, regulatory, social, and economic—that may hinder adoption. The assessment will also explore how their results contribute to the objectives of the European Water Resilience Strategy.
• Lower-maturity projects – These will be evaluated for their development potential, identifying pathways for further progress.

Finally, all projects will be positioned within the Cyclic Innovation Model (A.C. Berkhout, 2007), enabling a strategic view of their innovation journey and potential to deliver lasting impact.