WSKEP news

Considered at the national scale, weather conditions in February (although exceptionally sunny) were typical of the late winter but the spatial and temporal variations in rainfall amounts were substantial – reflecting the preferred paths taken by the rain-bearing frontal systems. Generally river flows continued their late January recessions during early February with frozen catchments contributing to relatively depressed flow rates. A recovery thereafter saw widespread moderate spate conditions but an absence of extreme flow rates, and the number of fluvial flood alerts was modest for the time of year. Runoff from Great Britain was appreciably below the February mean but, for the winter as a whole, the average was exceeded by around 10%.

The Hydrological Summary is available here 

All indications are that river flows and groundwater levels are most likely to be in the normal range throughout the UK during March.

Some regional variation appears  for the three month period March to May. River flows in north-east Scotland are most likely to be below average, and there’s an increased probability of above average flows in  the most south-easterly corner of England, although here normal flows are the most likely outcome. Groundwater levels are also most likely to be above normal in this corner of England over this period, but further west  indications are for lower than normal levels in the Chalk aquifer of the Berkshire Downs and west Wessex.

The full summary can be found here and you can register here to receive email notification of when the Outlook is published.

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the achievements of the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007-2013). The results of the consultation will feed into the ex-post evaluation of this programme. The consultation is open now and will run until 22 May 2015.

£6m funding opening soon for registration - 16 March 2015

Innovate UK in partnership with Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) will invest up to £6 million in collaborative research and development (R&D) projects. Information on briefing events.

The aim of this funding competition is to encourage the development of smart products that use a combination of functional, hybrid and multiple materials. More information & Competition registration page.

Competition Briefing & Consortia Building Events, 9th March onwards at several locations

The event is an excellent opportunity for you to receive first hand information about the competition - its scope, application process, key dates etc. as well as meet and network with peers, potential partners, market leaders & innovators in the industry. More information & event registration pages.

The ERA-NET Cofund WaterWorks2014 was launched in 2014 in support of the Water JPI. It is funded by the EC under Horizon 2020.

WaterWorks2014 aims at tackling European water challenges through the development of transnational and trans-disciplinary research and innovation actions. WaterWorks2014 addresses the specific challenge of integrating the efforts and Strategic Agendas of many European Water Research and Innovation Funding Organisations.

WaterWorks2014 will benefit researchers, policy-makers, water authorities, utility operators, industry, farmers, and citizens by developing new solutions in the water domain.

For further information can be on the Water JPI website.

The European Commission’s Investment Plan will unlock public and private investments of at least € 315 billion, addressing the 2030 climate and energy framework and reducing barriers to knowledge transfer and innovation; the EIP Water’s 3rd call for Action Groups ended on 31 January and 13 applications were recieved, which are currently being assessed. On Monday, 9 March, the European Commission will publish a Communication on “The Water Framework Directive and the Floods Directive: Actions towards the ‘good status’ of EU Water and to reduce flood risks”.

The Valuing Nature Programme is inviting interested parties to contribute to the shaping of its forthcoming Health & Wellbeing call - to be announced in May 2015 - by completing the an online survey (deadline March 13th) 

The five year, c£6.5m Valuing Nature Programme (VNP) is supported by NERC, ESRC, BBSRC, AHRC and Defra. This funding call will address the goal of “Improving our understanding of the role biodiversity and ecosystem processes play in human health and wellbeing”. Research for this call will focus on the themes of:

• Natural hazards and extreme events
• Exposure of people to vector-borne diseases and marine toxins
• Health improvements associated with urban ecosystems (green space)

The VNP Coordination Team is asking for input to identify key research challenges that could help develop interdisciplinary capability. All responses will be used by the VNP funders to shape the Health & Wellbeing call.

A supporting document provides further details of the funders’ perspectives relating to this call and additional background aimed at stimulating ideas to help identify key challenges. 

Help to shape the call by completing the survey 

Further information can be found here

Applications are invited from SMEs and entrepreneurs seeking investment!

INNEON provides access to specialist business support, pan European market intelligence and networks, an online matchmaking platform, and exclusive networking to improve the quality of investment propositions and allow for efficient matching of entrepreneurs and investors.

To find out more and see if your business is eligible, visit the Water Innovation Network website.

The UK Water Partnership was launched today to promote the UK’s expertise in the sector around the globe.

The creation of the Partnership marks a dynamic new chapter for the UK water industry as public and private sector organisations join forces for the first time. Countries around the world require infrastructure investment – and underpinning it all is the need for reliable and sustainable water supplies.

The Chair of the new body is Lord Smith of Finsbury, who expects the body to play an important role in promoting both resilience and growth.

Launching the new body, Lord Smith said, “There’s nothing more important than water. With expanding urban concentrations around the world and the growing impacts of climate change, we need to get better at managing water, conserving it, cleaning it, delivering it, and using it. That’s where innovation is going to be so important. The UK Water Partnership will bring together people across the UK water community to stimulate ideas and develop the products and services that will take on these challenges for the future.”

The Minister responsible for water at Defra, Dan Rogerson, also welcomed the creation of the new body. He said, “This new partnership offers a huge opportunity for all sectors of the UK water industry. By developing new technologies and driving knowledge and skills, we will be better placed than ever to respond to global challenges. I am certain that by working together, the partnership can break down barriers across the industry and set the standards around the world.”

Among the many other organisations who have expressed support for the initiative are Severn Trent, Arup, British Water, the Met Office, Pinsent Masons, Research Councils UK led by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the Society of British Water and Wastewater Industries (SBWWI), WRc, the UK Water Research and Innovation Partnership, Innovate UK, Defra (the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and UK Trade and Industry (UKTI).

UK Water Partnership Director, Tom Flood, outlined the key themes behind the group’s work. “I think we have a great opportunity here to align innovation with growth opportunities both in the UK and internationally. As such, the UK Water Partnership can play an important role in building more sustainable and resilient global networks, while contributing to the economic growth of the UK,” he said.

The Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir Mark Walport, also lent his support to the new body. As he pointed out, “Water is vital to our wellbeing, health and economy. I am pleased that both industry and the public sector have agreed to support this very worthwhile initiative. The action that the partnership is undertaking will ensure the future challenges facing us in water security and the global water market are well coordinated. Numerous examples have shown that industry sectors with a strong private-public leadership are the areas that move forward most quickly and that is why I fully support this initiative.”

A new UN report warns that without large new water-related investments many societies worldwide will soon confront rising desperation and conflicts over life’s most essential resource.

Presenting their report at UN Headquarters, New York, officials of UN University and the UN Office for Sustainable Development said unmet water goals threaten many world regions and form a barrier to key universally-shared ambitions including stable political systems, greater wealth and better health for all.

Continued stalling, coupled with population growth, economic instability, disrupted climate patterns and other variables, could reverse hard-earned development gains and preclude meaningful levels of development that can be sustained into the future.

Says lead author Bob Sandford, EPCOR Chair, Canadian Partnership Initiative in support of the UN Water for Life Decade: “The consequence of unmet water goals will be widespread insecurity creating more international tension and conflict. The positive message is that if we can keep moving now on water-related Sustainable Development Goals we can still have the future we want.”

Published in the run-up to the adoption this September of universal post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the report provides an in-depth analysis of 10 countries to show how achieving water and sanitation-related SDGs offers a rapid, cost effective way to achieve sustainable development.

The countries included in the study cover the full range of economic and development spectrum: Bangladesh, Bolivia, Canada, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Pakistan, Singapore, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia.

Based on the national case studies, the report prescribes country level steps for achieving the global water targets.

Among top recommendations: Hold the agriculture sector (which guzzles roughly 70% of world water supplies), and the energy sector (15%), accountable for making efficiencies while transitioning to clean energy including hydropower.

Prepared in association with the Global Water Partnership and Canada’s McMaster University, the report says the success of global efforts on the scale required rests in large part on a crackdown on widespread corruption in the water sector, particularly in developing countries.

“In many places … corruption is resulting in the hemorrhaging of precious financial resources,” siphoning an estimated 30% of funds earmarked for water and sanitation-related improvements.

The report underscores the need for clearly defined anti-corruption protocols enforced with harsh penalties.

Given accelerating Earth system changes and the growing threat of hydro-climatic disruption, corruption undermining water-related improvements threatens the stability and very existence of some nation states, which in turn affects all other countries, the report says.

Further information can be found here.

NERC, along with RCUK and PraxisUnico, are delighted to announce their collaboration on the Impact Awards 2015, celebrating the outstanding work of Knowledge Exchange, Technology Transfer and Commercialisation Teams (KEC) across the UK.

The Impact Awards highlight best practice and innovative approaches to KEC in UK research organisations and beyond, showcasing the vital contribution made by KEC professionals in developing excellent research into tangible, real-life benefits to society and business. NERC, RCUK and PraxisUnico are working together to highlight how the excellent work being done in this field significantly contributes to the UK’s position as a world-leading destination for research, innovation and to grow business.

The Impact Awards competition has four different categories:

• Contribution to Business: recognising the outstanding contribution that knowledge exchange, knowledge transfer and/or commercialisation activities have had in benefitting (or have the potential to benefit) a company and/or the economy
• Contribution to Society: recognising the outstanding contribution that knowledge exchange, knowledge transfer or commercialisation activities have had in benefitting (or have the potential to benefit) society
• Outstanding KEC initiative: recognising how an innovative approach to knowledge exchange and commercialisation has the potential to be transformative for the community of KEC professionals
• International Award: recognising outstanding KEC practices, or contribution to business or society by institutions outside of the UK

An overall winner will be selected from the first three categories who will be awarded ‘KEC team of the year’. They will also receive up to £50,000 to contribute to the delivery of KEC approaches as identified in their competition entry. Please note that only institutions currently eligible to receive RCUK funding are eligible to receive the monetary award.

The final judging day and awards ceremony will take place in London on 15th September, 2015.

Teams or individuals wishing to enter must complete the online entry form on the Impact Awards website before the competition closes at midnight on Thursday 16 April 2015.

The Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and landscapes are changing rapidly, with human activities being a major driver. Monitoring and modelling these changes are critical because they allow governments, society and the private sector to make informed decisions about climate, energy, food security, natural hazards, health and other societal challenges.

Earth Observations (EO) are remote sensing or in situ measurements collected by a wide diversity of sensors on-board various monitoring platforms such as ships, buoys, aircrafts, balloons, drones, or satellites. They can also be ground-based or acquired by citizens using for instance their smart phones or other mobile devices. Such monitoring sensors and the related Earth observation information systems are managed by a high diversity of public and private entities around the world.

Aiming at improving Earth observations, the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO) provides a framework where governments and international organisations can develop new projects and coordinate their strategies and investments. GEO’s main role is to develop and implement a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) which aims to facilitate discovery, access and integration of global Earth observations in order to improve environmental decision-making.

Why this survey?

Through this EU public consultation, the European Commission is actively seeking contributions by all those in Europe interested in the global context of Earth observation in order to help:
• estimate general awareness of and stance on Earth observations (EO), GEO and GEOSS;
• appreciate how to maximize EU benefits from an increased Earth observation coordination through GEO;
• collect views on a set of possible actions at EU level in the field of global Earth observation and GEO.

The consultation can be found here.

The outlook for river flows and groundwater levels across the UK for February indicates some variability. Above normal river flows are the most likely outcome in north-west Scotland; for the remainder of Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and most coastal areas of England normal to above normal river flows are most likely. For most of central England the most likely outcome is for river flows to be in the normal range. During February groundwater levels are most likely to be in the normal range. There are, however, parts of the east coast of England above Norfolk, and north-east Scotland in which, while normal flows and groundwater levels are most likely, there is the possibility of below normal flows and groundwater levels.

The outlook for both river flows and groundwater levels from February to April is for normal conditions.

The full summary can be found here and you can register here to receive email notification of when the Outlook is published.  

NERC invites proposals for the first round of highlight topics, a new route for funding strategic research. Highlight topics focus strategic research on defined topic areas, and will be delivered through independent projects.

The highlight topics in this call are:

• Understanding and predicting anomalous trends in surface temperature and implications for decadal to centennial climate behaviour
• Environmental pathways, impacts and fate of manufactured nanomaterials
• Dynamics of freshwater ecosystems within an integrated landscape system
• Integrated dynamics of natural capital systems: bringing the natural environment into economic decision making
• eDNA: a key new tool for 21st century ecology

NERC has allocated £12m to this call and a maximum of £3m (cost to NERC) is available per highlight topic. There are more highlight topics than funding is available for, so that all highlight topics will not, necessarily, result in funded grants. This is to ensure that only the very best research is funded.

Please see the NERC website for the Announcement of Opportunity and full details.

This year NERC expects to participate in a spending review that sets budgets for government departments, and ultimately research councils, for 2016-2020. A call for evidence has been launched which will inform decisions as to how NERC can most effectively invest in environmental science and innovation to continue to support UK priorities, balancing society's need to benefit from environmental resources whilst managing our environment responsibly.

All the detail and how to respond can be found on the NERC website.

This call for evidence asks NERC's community and stakeholders to take a prospective view in answering questions about future priorities in order to deliver our strategic societal challenges:
• benefitting from natural resources
• building resilience to environmental hazards
• managing environmental change.

This scoping exercise is part of the new Science for Humanitarian Emergencies and Resilience (SHEAR) programme. The programme aims to enable greater and more effective investment in disaster resilience and earlier action to respond to natural hazards by:
• providing decision makers with improved risk mapping and analyses
• event monitoring
• providing more reliable warning systems.

The programme is jointly supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

This scoping exercise focusses on the potential of big data to support disaster and climate resilience in developing countries. The goal is to provide a critical review of the evidence, explore ‘proof of concepts’ and identify a roadmap for future research and policy dialogue. Applications can be made for up to £2,500 for case studies, reviews, policy analyses or small prototype projects under £10,000. Projects must be completed within two months of the start of the grant.

For more information and the call specification visit the ESRC website.

Renewable energy technologies can address trade-offs between water, energy and food, bringing substantial benefits in all three key sectors. This report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) looks at how adopting renewables can ease trade-offs by providing less resource-intensive energy services compared to conventional energy technologies.

An energy system with substantial shares of renewable energy would be less water-intensive than one dependent on fossil fuels. Renewable energy technologies can boost water security by improving accessibility, affordability and safety. Integrating renewable energy in the agrifood supply chain helps to rein in cost volatility, bolster energy security, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to long-term food sustainability. Modern bioenergy – sustainably and efficiently managed – could play an important role in these ongoing transformations.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise, supported by Innovate UK is launching a new SBRI funding competition with up to £800K funding available.

The aim of this competition is to develop new and innovative solutions to recover phosphorus and/or priority substances from the water environment.

More information on this competition  and how to apply can be found here.

Competition briefing event, 29 January, Edinburgh.

The briefing event is an excellent opportunity for you to receive first hand information about the competition - its scope, application process, key dates etc. as well as meet and network with peers, potential partners, market leaders & innovators in the industry.

Register for the briefing event

If you are interested in attending the event, please email diane.duncan@hient.co.uk

For queries about this competition, please contact support@innovateuk.gov.uk

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) are inviting research proposals under the ‘Using Critical Zone Science to understand sustaining the ecosystem service of soil and water’ call. This call is supported by the UK through the Newton Fund which forms part of the UK governments Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment and is only open to joint UK-China applications.

The programme aims to understand the role of soil and water within the framework of the Critical Zone (CZ), and use CZ science in the provisioning of China’s key ecosystem services, including agriculture and climate mitigation. The programme will cover all of the following three objectives, with individual proposals expected to address one or more of these objectives within the framework of the programmes aim:

• understand the importance of spatial variation and scale (from field to landscape) on the ability of soils and water within the critical zone to perform their multiple functions;
• development of modelling approaches and improvement of model skill, with the integration of wider disciplines, in the prediction of resilience; and
• within the context of environmental stressors within China (e.g. erosion, pollutants, extreme weather, changing agricultural practices, and water availability), seek to understand and improve the resilience of soils and water to perturbations.

Further information can be found on the programme website.

This report aims to get all UK businesses to start thinking about their relationship with water and they can manage their use more sustainably and to become more resilient to extreme weather.

The report details six steps businesses can take for a more responsible water management policy

• Understand your business' relationship with water
• Create a plan of action
• Manage direct water use
• Manage indirect water use
• Build resilience to flooding and water shortages
• Collaborate on sustainable water quality management

Read more >>