The main expected impact of Co-UDlabs is to establish and make sustainable a European and user-based network for Urban Drainage facing current and future challenges and research questions.
The Co-UDlabs approach is based on the development of a set of coordinated Networking Activities fed by Joint Research Actions, focused on the standardization of the large datasets gained in the operation of real field sites and the large-scale facilities offered as Transnational Activities.
This will allow European stakeholders, researchers and innovators in the urban drainage sector to raise and accelerate the efficiency of research by avoiding duplication of work, building common interests, sharing knowledge and fostering international innovation in a collaborative way.
This approach will have a strong and positive impact on UDS users, such as water utilities, operators, administrations and policy makers, and the European society in general. To contribute to this objective, Co-UDlabs addresses the expected impacts of the call H2020-INFRAIA-02-2020 but it will also have additional economic, societal and environmental impacts.
Research & Innovation impacts
- Wider, simplified, and more efficient access to RI
- Development of synergies between TA providers leading to the improvement of their common services, less duplication of efforts and improved used of efforts
- Availability of new or more advanced RI services to a wider community
- Fostered innovation through a reinforced partnership with industry
- Training and education of a new generation of researchers
- Increased collaboration between academic and non-academic UD actors
- Better management of the data-sets collected in the facilities
- Integrated and harmonised access to Co-UDlabs contributing to evidence-based policy making
Socio-economic impacts
Co-UDlabs will boost the development of multi-sectorial teams (including researchers from academia and industry and end-user) to co-create better innovative products tested at the full-scale level, supporting the EU’s drive to deliver a more knowledge-based economy as well as improving performance of its own urban water infrastructure.
Socio-environmental impacts
The research infrastructure access within Co-UDlabs will enable breakthrough research and innovation opportunities to research teams and water utilities and their supply chain partners to develop a variety of sustainable technologies such as the integration of autonomous, low-cost monitoring systems to ensure timely detection of faults that impact the functioning of large drainage infrastructure systems.