Last week, the project consortium met in Alicante, Spain for the project steering board (PSB) meeting to discuss the progress of the project, use synergy effects, and exchange information. Due to the restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the first time that the researchers met in person. Therefore, a lot of time was used to network and finally get acquainted with each other.

The agenda contained a thorough overview of the challenges, progress, and future endeavors of each B-WaterSmart Living Lab, feedback from the ethics advisor and the project advisory board, and interactive sessions on “Policy & Regulation” and the “Innovation Alliance”. The meetings were framed by site visits to the Living Lab demonstration sites of Alicante, a trip to the Water Museum Alicante, and a joint conference dinner. In addition, Antonio Peral Villar from the City Council of Alicante held a greeting message and welcomed the consortium to the city. Prior to the meeting in Alicante, there was an online PSB meeting, where the Work Packages already reported about their progress.

The project is now going into the final stage where the developed solutions, tools and methodologies are being tested at our Living Labs to be verified and adapted further to local needs. Training materials are under development as well as an exploitation strategy for B-WaterSmart results. The meeting was organized by the project partners Aguas de Alicante and Cetaqua.

Here are some impressions of the meeting.