Kicking Off IDEATION: Building the Future of Digital Twin Inland Waters

The future digital twin will be fully integrated and interoperable with the existing Digital Twin Ocean  – a virtual representation of the oceans – resulting in a comprehensive digital twin of the European hydrosphere. Such a digital twin of the hydrosphere will empower governments, researchers, businesses, and citizens alike to make informed decisions backed by science and data to restore, preserve, and sustainably manage the marine, coastal, and inland waters. KWR is in the lead of the stakeholder engagement activities: supporting project partners with planning and hosting Multi Stakeholder Forums in 13 countries using existing Water Oriented Living Labs (WoLLs) and other relevant stakeholders. The work has started!

WoLLs Involvement and Initial Engagement

In June, we reached a significant milestone with Water Europe presenting the Water Oriented Living Labs (WoLLs) at the IDEATION Kick-off Meeting (KoM), and discussions began on how they will engage with the project. The WoLLs play a crucial role in the project by providing real-world settings for experimentation and collaboration. They are pivotal in co-creating solutions with stakeholders, and in particular in understanding the functional and non-functional requirements for the future Digital Twin Inland Waters¹The Digital Twin Ocean (DTO) is a virtual model of ocean environments, aimed at improving understanding and management of oceanic systems. The IDEATION project extends this concept to Digital Twin Inland Waters, integrating rivers, lakes, and wetlands into the digital framework., as well as for validating its reference architecture design. The discussion has now evolved into planning specific engagement activities with WoLLs and other stakeholders, setting the stage for their active involvement in the upcoming phases.

Development of Reference Scenarios and Stakeholder Mapping

A critical aspect of the project is the characterization of project reference scenarios (RS) and the mapping of stakeholders (SH). The project partners have successfully identified 13 country-based RS, each representing a different European Union country, including The Netherlands. These scenarios were developed by starting with the WoLLs and then including the countries of the project partners, ensuring a comprehensive representation. Additionally, Romania was included to address the Danube-Black Sea Lighthouse, an area not initially covered in the proposal. This inclusion enhances the geographical and thematic scope of the project, reflecting our commitment to a broad and inclusive approach. The project partners have identified coordinators, determined the types of waters to be investigated, and compiled an initial list of stakeholders for each RS. This preparatory work is crucial for the next phase, as it laid the groundwork for stakeholder engagement activities that started in September 2024.

Next steps

As we move forward, our focus will shift towards finalizing the RS characterization and stakeholder register, refining our engagement strategy, preparing and executing the intensive stakeholder engagement phase. The input and collaboration of WoLLs and other local stakeholders will be critical, and we look forward to their contributions in co-developing the reference architecture of the future Digital Twin Inland Waters.

The next few months will be pivotal, and we are confident that with the continued collaboration and dedication of all partners, we will achieve our goals and set a strong foundation for the future phases of the IDEATION project.