The adoption of Earth Observation (EO)-based systems in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) requires integration of different perspectives including ecological, financial and social. These are needed to shape how information from EO systems is packaged and then used to inform real-world decision-making. Co-development is a strategy that aims to bring together various perspectives of stakeholders in the design, development and implementation of end-products. The co-development approach intensifies the co-operation between the different sectors of the water-related value chain and the developers and, thereby, determines the level of confidence in the final system.

At PrimeWater, a comprehensive consultation procedure is being deployed from the early stage of the project throughout the development phase. This approach will consolidate user requirements into the system design, followed by an industry evaluation of the end products, in order to achieve wide acceptance and uptake by different sectors. To facilitate co-development, an international Multi-User Panel (MUP) has been set up as part of PrimeWater Project Task 5.2 (End-user evaluation and feedback reporting) and it includes industry representatives and experts in diverse thematic areas of the water sector (i.e. environmental protection, water resources management, emergency planning, potable water production, amenity and recreation, hydropower production) actively engaging them in the co-development process from the early design to the development stages.

Geographical distribution of MUP representatives

The purpose of the MUP is to serve as an international panel of users of EO downstream services who provide expert feedback on the EO-enabled services developed or extended in the context of the project and participate in the co-generation process itself, through a mutually beneficial dialog. Additionally, the MUP will stimulate collaboration and co-production of knowledge services, review and otherwise contribute to improving the key outcomes of the project, and inform strategic choices made during the lifespan of the project. The MUP will also serve as a vehicle for dissemination, exploitation and communication of the project’s outcomes.

The MUP will meet three times during the course of the project. The first MUP workshop was held on the 22nd of October 2020 and it aimed to 1) understand the specific problems in the water sector as well as the current practices in place to address these problems; 2) Understand how different users consider the added value of different services (e.g., monitoring water quality, forecasting, and provision of decision support base on forecast and observations) to address the problems identified; and 3) Understand barriers and preferences through choice experiments. The results of the discussion will be published in a public deliverable which will be available on the PrimeWater website. Visit https://www.primewater.eu/about/ to learn more.