Join Us in Lucca: WATERSENS Open Day & Expert Workshops

Water challenges are becoming more complex, local, and urgent. How can we balance decentralised solutions with the need for coordinated, basin-wide resilience?

Join us in Lucca this June for a unique two-day WATERSENS event bringing together experts, practitioners, policy-makers, and the wider community to explore the future of water governance, innovation, and collaboration.

Register for the Open Day here: Link

17 June – Expert Workshops (Invite Only)

The first day will host two specialised workshops designed for invited experts, contributing directly to the WATERSENS governance modelling framework.

EKE Workshop – Beyond What We Can Measure

This session focuses on the non-monetisable dimensions of decentralised water and wastewater management—such as public health, ecosystem integrity, social equity, and community resilience.

Through structured expert discussions, participants will:

• Identify key non-market impacts  

• Assess their importance across sectors  

• Contribute to a Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) framework  

SEJ Workshop – Quantifying What Matters

In the afternoon, experts will work on defining robust numerical parameters for cost-benefit analysis of decentralised water systems across basin, urban, and industrial scales.

This workshop will:

• Elicit credible parameter ranges  

• Address uncertainties and expert disagreements  

• Feed directly into decision-support models for investment planning  

Together, these workshops bridge qualitative insights and quantitative evidence, supporting smarter and more inclusive water governance.

19 June – WATERSENS Open Day (Open to All)

The Open Day invites a broader audience to engage in a dynamic discussion on: “Navigating multilevel governance of water decentralisation”

Location: Autorità di Bacino Distrettuale Appennino Settentrionale Via Vittorio Veneto n. 1 – 55100, Lucca - Italy

Duration: 09:00 – 15:30

While decentralised water solutions offer flexibility, local adaptation, and innovation, they also raise critical questions:

• How do we avoid fragmentation?  

• How do local decisions impact entire river basins?  

• What governance models can balance local action with systemic resilience?  

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The Open Day will feature:

• Institutional insights from basin authorities and policy-makers  

• Regional and urban perspectives on governance challenges  

• Operational viewpoints from utilities, industry, and risk managers  

• A highly interactive roundtable, encouraging open debate on real-world challenges  

This is not just a series of presentations—it is a space for dialogue, exchange, and co-creation.  

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In afternoon, participants will also have the opportunity to participate to two thematic workshops;

The first workshop will focus on co‑designing the future of decentralised water management. It is a hands-on co-design session where researchers, authorities, utilities, technology developers and NGOs prioritise the functions of WATERSENS's Decision Support System and stress-test it for replication.

The second one is about co-designing the WATERSENS digital game. This is a short and interactive workshop via role playing that aims to help us co-develop the initial idea of the WATERSENS Digital Game.

For both workshops, you can reserve your seat through the registration form!

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Discover our final agenda in English and Italian!

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Why Attend?

• Gain insights into cutting-edge water governance approaches  

• Connect with experts, policy-makers, and practitioners  

• Contribute to shaping future decentralised water systems in Europe  

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Join Us in Lucca

Whether you are working in water management, policy, research, or simply interested in sustainable solutions, the WATERSENS Open Day offers a unique opportunity to be part of the conversation.

Secure your place today: Link  

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Not able to come in person in Lucca?

You have the possibility to participate to our Open Day online including one of the thematic workshops.

Open Day link: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/383365796836339?p=Cr4rrD3DuKclsiyowJ

First thematic workshop link: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/354657250367948?p=wfC9zLHqancIA8EHiY

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