The Water Joint Programming Initiative, Water JPI for short, was launched in 2011. As of June 2019, the Water JPI membership included 23 member countries and three observer countries. Water JPI aims to tackle the challenge of achieving “sustainable water systems for a sustainable economy in Europe and abroad”. The 2019 Water JPI Workshop on International Cooperation, held on June 25 in Paris, France, was the second workshop dedicated to elaborating on a common strategy with other relevant EU and international initiatives on international cooperation in research, development and innovation. The second workshop was primarily targeted at researchers engaged in international collaborative R&D projects. The workshop was attended by 38 people, including researchers from 19 countries plus representatives from various funding agencies and international initiatives.
Philippe was one of the researchers sharing their experiences of international collaboration. He used the example of the Water JPI LEAP project (https://uwaterloo.ca/leap) to address the following questions:
- Why have an international consortium?
- What were the main challenges in coordinating the international project?
- What should funding agencies keep in mind?
The presentations were followed by a plenary discussion and, after lunch, by a breakout session where participants discussed the advantages of RDI projects involving international cooperation, common issues encountered in these projects, and possible solutions.
Further information on the Water JPI Workshops on International Cooperation can be found by visiting: http://www.waterjpi.eu/international-cooperation/international-cooperation-workshop