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Project POWER

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki





The aim of the project "Political and sOcial awareness on Water EnviRonmental challenges" (POWER)[1] was to set up a user-controlled digital social platform for existing water networks. The POWER project shared knowledge and experience via digital solutions for local authorities related to water scarcity, water security, water quality and water consumption. The main result is the POWER Water Community platform, that is an open-source digital social platform (DSP) installed on a server of a given city. This digital tool can be set up by a city, a utility, a municipal-level agency or, in the case of POWER, a water-related entity. It is aimed to be used by local community members, activists, volunteers, municipal officials and experts. Users of the platform can learn about climate protection methods through the "network effect", build new capacities and promote local activities. The platform can be used to reach a consensus between local governments and their citizens on environmental and climate issues.

Thematic background[edit]

Preparing for climate change realities that are impacting water resources is seen as a defining challenge of the 21st century that requires adaptation strategies at local, regional, national and global levels. As populations grow and natural environments become affected, ensuring that everyone has access to sustainable water resources and sanitation services is an increasing concern. Communities and municipalities constantly tackle the critical problems presented by water stress and work on improving and consolidating water resource management. Water, as all Earth’s resources, is a finite resource[2] that is essential to life and to every aspect of our societies. Local water authorities around the globe are on the front line to address[3] the challenges of climate change to mitigate the impacts. For that reason, cities are constantly working on ensuring the sustainable supply, use, reuse and management of water[4] now. ICT facilitated tools, such as water community platforms, can contribute to the efforts of cities to become sufficiently water-wise in facing these increasing water-related challenges.

Organisational structure[edit]

The project's methodology was based on research-based background models for citizen engagement (ConCensus), water governance framework (Water Governance Capacity Framework), water issue analysis (City Blueprint) and user-driven best practice databases (Best Pratice Repository). It was implemented through an online digital social platform integrating social online networking tools with content management system and best practice databases enhanced by gamification features for desktop computers and smartphones. The methodology and the digital social platform was tested in four cities with four different thematic water-related issues (so called challenges). The digital social platform is open source and available for all municipalities outside the project consortium to adapt.

Methodology and tools[edit]

The structure of the research-based methodological background for the platform was set up by aligning the following elements:

  • a citizen engagement model called "ConCensus"
  • the Water Governance Capacity Framework alongside with the City Blueprint as analysis and visualization tools for municipal water issue management,
  • and a Best Practice Repository with social network features for peer learning and knowledge management tool.

The partners used these methods on the four POWER digital social platforms of four demonstration sites (Leicester, Milton Keynes, Sabadell and Jerusalem) that were developed and used as online tools.

Citizen engagement model “ConCensus”[edit]

Many issues that municipalities face require long term policies divided into coherent stages in order to be implemented. The ConCensus approach can produce decisions that lead to environmentally sustainable municipalities through a process of citizen engagement. ConCensus is a mechanism developed by the project partner EURECAT that rewards engaged citizens with direct involvement to oversee the development and implementation of a specific municipal policy. The implementation of ConCensus is a vehicle through which a local administration, having already created a long-term road map with the active contribution of citizens, and interacting with representatives of the research and private sectors, can implement this road map. The POWER Community platform uses the ConCensus process as a method to provide communication and citizen participation.

City Blueprint[5][edit]

Extreme weather events resulting from climate change present a challenge for cities to adapt because the cost of inaction may be very high. The KWR Water Research Institute and the University of Utrecht developed City Blueprint [6] a communicative tool that grasps which elements of a city's water-cycle are already sustainable and which need to be adapted[7]. City Blueprint is a tool aiming to support cities to lay out their path towards sustainability and to learn how their watercycle services can be improved.

Water Governance Capacity Framework[edit]

The Water Governance Capacity Framework is an analysis of the conditions that determine the governance capacity needed to address specific water challenges. It aims at identifying main barriers and opportunities to improve urban water management by pointing to the most effective applications and possibilities for the use of the Digital Social Platforms (DSP) in the local context. Following a literature study for a set of indicators, interviews with the main stakeholders and feedbacks of the stakeholders, the definitive indicator scores are set. The results are discussed in workshop(s) and the barriers, solution pathways and follow-up steps are outlined. For the elaboration of the follow-up steps, a range of applied knowledge and tools such as the Digital Social Platform are offered. The Water Governance Capacity Framework was carried out in the POWER Project with four cities: Leicester, Milton Keynes, Sabadell and Jerusalem.

Best Practice Repository[edit]

POWER best practice repository collects examples and concepts for addressing water-related challenges. These come from the cities using POWER Platforms as they share local insights with a global audience to exchange ideas. This repository is connecting urban environments engaging a community of experts, professionals and other stakeholders. The four main themes covered are:

  • Extreme weather events,
  • Reduction of water consumption,
  • Variables related to water conservation,
  • Quality of water reuse.

Under each theme a number of tags helps to browse more easily through the contributions - or explore the examples by city. The best practice examples are structured in two main areas: “Featured Best Practices” and “Community Contribution Area”. The first one features best practices selected and published by the POWER project and open for feedback and discussion to the world. In the second one, users can contribute their own tips and examples of best practices as well as discussing them. The most active cities which contribute most examples and are engage in many discussions are awarded with golden, silver and bronze badges and listed among the Top 10 POWER Cities on the first page.

POWER Digital Social Platform (DSP) - An online water community model[edit]

The platform is using the citizen engagement model called “ConCensus” to support local communities, online networking tools for interaction among users and best practice repositories as well as gamification learning methods for knowledge building. This online tool can be applied to any sustainability related challenge, such as urban heat waves. The POWER water community platform[8] is available through a dedicated website of a given city and an accompanying POWER Water Communities mobile app.The POWER digital social platform (DSP) prototype was developed and piloted during the project financing period of 4 years. The currently existing platforms are run by four cities: Leicester and Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom, Sabadell in Spain and Jerusalem in Israel.

Each POWER water community platform provides:

  • information on water environmental challenges;
  • best practices of water management;
  • interaction and sharing knowledge among citizens;
  • interaction and sharing knowledge between citizens and the municipality;
  • knowledge visualisation with gamification features;
  • peer-to-peer exchanges on local needs, personal experiences and knowledge.

The information on local water environmental challenges stem from the municipality and from the local community. The identification and sharing of community-driven best practices stem from local experience and is stored in a database. The project identified four water issues as problem areas in the specific region and presented them as challenges that require solutions. These four challenges were matched with four cities representing the respective water issue:

  1. reducing water consumption (Milton Keynes, UK)
  2. water quality (Sabadell, Spain)
  3. flood risks following extreme weather events (Leicester, UK)
  4. function of the water network (Jerusalem, Israel).

A separate DSP was set up for each of these cities, including a respective "best practices repository", the implementation of four DSP's constitute the piloting of the online water community model.

Platform Design[edit]

The platform is designed[9] in an open and modular way, organised in three main tiers that address the specific needs of the different actors and target groups, these tiers are referred to as the:

  • HUB (the information and content management back end),
  • PUB (the public web portal: front end),
  • MOB (the mobile app).

Each water issue is displayed via a list of relevant “challenges”, provided on the start page. The start page leads the user to a sub-page which gives a brief overview of local water issues. Platform owners can create challenges in the HUB with the information relevant to users. The HUB is the content management backend. Here, all relevant adjustments can be made and information uploaded so that the PUB looks the way the city wants it to fit its theme. Additionally there is a POWER app (MOB), which allows the use by smartphone or tablet. Anyone who registers on the POWER platform can comment, share and “like” an article. Documents and pictures can also be uploaded to the comments section by users. The interactivity of the POWER Water Community platform means that registered users can follow certain topics, share them with other non-registered users and comment on the contents of the topics. These comments can also be commented on, shared, evaluated and recorded with further information such as uploaded documents or images.

User interaction and participation[edit]

User interactions are related to so called challenges. For a user to have a say or follow a challenge, they must log in which requires them to register. An unregistered user can explore a topic, but this user cannot participate by leaving comments or collecting points to see a knowledge increase. The city representative can moderate participation and have full control of what is published on the relevant city’s POWER Water Community platform. Once activated, contributions are made publicly visible on the PUB. Each challenge contains text about an overall water issue and it is possible to integrate interactive elements such as uploaded documents and location-based services at local, regional or global level, such as Geographic Information System (GIS) maps of relevant water or climate change ‘hot spots’.

Gamification[edit]

Gamification and knowledge visualization[10] are pillars of the POWER Water Community platform that serve two main goals:

  1. To support citizens in gaining personal, social and political awareness of water and sustainability related issues by drawing their attention to certain content, encouraging user contribution (e.g. comments) and facilitating action in the platform (e.g. attending city events on related sustainability topics).
  2. To enable municipalities to track the awareness levels on different sustainability topics in their respective communities.

The POWER Water Community platform's gamification elements and mechanisms include progress feedback, points, digital badges, and rewards. By performing different actions on the platform such as reading an article, commenting, sharing content on social media, users gain more knowledge on the sustainability issue and are awarded points for their efforts and know-how. Users can monitor their progress through the gamified visualization charts presented on the platform.

In addition to the individual charts, there is a community preparedness chart that shows the overall awareness and knowledge of the platform’s registered users. With this community chart, a user can compare their own progress to their community’s progress. Different communities working on the same topics can also compare their overall progress amongst themselves. Moreover, this collective visual community preparedness chart is also an instrument for the city to monitor which areas of awareness, knowledge and action (personal, social or political) that users are most engaged with, and hence identify where additional action is needed.

Examples of the POWER Water Community platforms in cities[edit]

The following examples describe the use of the POWER Water Community platform by the partner key demonstration cities: Leicester (UK), Milton Keynes (UK), Jerusalem (IL), Sabadell (ES). These cases illustrate how they use the POWER Water Community platform in their communication and engagement with stakeholders. Each platform created a main Challenge to focus on.

Leicester, England - Challenge: “Do you know your flood risk?”[11][edit]

Through the Leicester Water Community, Leicester City Council aim to inform citizens about the flood risk in the city, the sources of flooding and increase awareness of flood risk management. This includes the measures the city council and other agencies are taking to reduce flood risk and steps that citizens can take to protect properties, businesses and their occupants. These topics are expanded upon in the “What can you do against flooding”, “Prepare yourself for flooding”, “What is the city of Leicester doing to prevent flooding?” and “Sustainable Drainage in the City” challenges. In order to provide citizens with the best possible information, an interactive map has been included in the “Do You Know Your Flood Risk?” challenge, which presents the city's flood zones, hotspots and critical drainage areas. Users can either search the map by postcode or manually select the area on the map that is relevant to them and check their own flood risk. Further guidance, local strategy and policy information is provided in the attached documents section, which are freely available for download. In addition, real time data widgets presenting local river gauge data and latest flood warnings have been integrated into the challenge. With this, users can use the live data widgets and the information presented on other challenges on the Leicester Water Community to understand their flood risk and react accordingly. Under the section “Get ready to act!” a link has also been integrated that directs users to the Environment Agency, where they can register for flood warnings and take further steps to protect themselves, their properties, businesses and communities against flooding. The Leicester Water Community is empowering citizens[12] to understand, manage and mitigate flood risk, to better protect their properties, businesses and communities.

Milton Keynes, England - Challenge: “Water Scarcity”[13][edit]

Although the United Kingdom is surrounded by water and more than enough seems to fall from the sky, the efficient use of water is becoming increasingly important. Milton Keynes (MK) is in the dark brown patch in the eastern central region of the adjacent Meteorological Office map. As one of the fastest growing populations in one of the driest areas of the UK, it is critical that MK citizens are encouraged to use less water so that the community can grow without the risk of water shortages. The MK Water Community platform has a section about what actions citizens can take to use less water such as take shorter showers and collect rainwater to wash the car and water the garden. Small changes make a big difference and if everyone changes their daily routines, water consumption in MK will go down. There is also a section on UK water legislation for anyone who wants to know more about building regulations and water regulations and strategies. Targeted challenges on the subject of water scarcity have been created to get people thinking about ways they can save water in their own homes and gardens. These challenges have been successful in generating a variety of innovative water saving suggestions from MK citizens. Suggested ideas have included everything from turning off the tap while brushing your teeth, and avoiding flushing the toilet unnecessarily, to watering plants with cooled water that has been used to sterilise baby bottles.

Jerusalem, Israel - Challenge: “Increasing awareness of water issues in Jerusalem”[edit]

The POWER project is working with Jerusalem’s water utility company, Hagihon, to help reduce the municipality’s non-revenue water (NRW). This NRW is water that has been “lost” before it reaches the customer, which can be “physical” losses such as through pipe leaks, and in “apparent” losses, such as through theft or metering inaccuracies. Because high levels of NRW are financially detrimental to the water utility as well to the quality of the water itself, Hagihon is encouraging customers to save water and use the POWER Water Community platform to share information.

Residents are also learning how to irrigate public, community and private gardens with smart irrigation as a way of reducing water usage through monitored care of plants by automatic application of the right amount of water in the right place at the right time. This water saving activity has been adopted as part of the POWER ConCensus process where citizens have demonstrated that they want a greener city and are adopting water saving measures to manage their gardens. To complement Jerusalem’s sustainable approach to water, Hagihon and the POWER project are managing an educational programme that teaches 6000 students a year about sustainability, water conservation and ecology. The curriculum is conducted in 3 languages: English, Hebrew and Arabic to students from elementary to high school to provide them with information about water in Jerusalem and Israel.

Sabadell, Spain - Challenge: “Educassa, education from the beginning"[edit]

Sabadell, a city near Barcelona with more than 200,000 inhabitants, is employing its POWER Water Community platform to address issues of water quality and water reuse[14]. All Sabadell's citizens, regardless of their age, can be addressed through the Water Community platform. For example, the challenge “Educassa, education from the beginning” has school-teachers and children as the main target audience. Educassa is an environmental education program that Companyia d’Aigües de Sabadell (CASSA) has been developing for 25 years to promote responsible water consumption. The program content has been made for children aged from 3 to 14 years with activities tailored according to each age group. The challenge gives information about all the activities of EDUCASSA so that teachers and parents can know exactly what students are going to do and contact CASSA to participate in the program with their school. It provides online activities that complement the students’ visits to water treatment plants. These activities can be tests to help them understand what has been explained during the visit or for example, interactive mini-games to apply a practical insight into the way a treatment plant functions. The challenge also has space for teachers to leave their comments after the activities. Within the framework of the POWER project, the topic of water quality and water reuse in Sabadell was examined in more detail by scientists from the KWR Water Research Institute and the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands. Sabadell is actively trying to counteract the problem of water scarcity both through technical systems and by raising awareness among the population.

Technical project details[edit]

The project was funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 ICT10c-2015 Call[15]. It was carried out by an international project consortium from December 2015 to November 2019. The main objective was to make citizens aware of environmental and climate problems, in order to increase public participation in decision-making processes. The project consortium comprised four research institutions dealing with environmental, social and governance issues, two SMEs, two European organisations and four municipalities:

Project Partner Country Key expertise/responsibilities
De Montfort University UK Sustainable Development; Project Coordinator
Baseform Portugal Software development for water management
European Institute For Participatory Media EV Germany Engagement methods including gamification and social impact assessment
Centre Tecnològic de Catalunya Spain Political awareness and action on water issues
KWR Water B.V. Netherlands Water governance
University of Utrecht Netherlands Water governance
Climate Alliance – Klima Buendnis – Alianza del Clima EV Germany Dissemination
Consortium Ubiquitous Technologies Scarl Italy Communication, engagement and exploitation
Companyia D'aigues De Sabadell SA Spain Key Demonstration Site
Hagihon Company Limited Israel Key Demonstration Site
Leicester City Council UK Key Demonstration City
Milton Keynes Council UK Key Demonstration City

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "POWER h2020: project funded by the EU". POWER h2020. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  2. ↑ "European Commission - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - The European Critical Raw Materials review". europa.eu. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  3. ↑ "8 Ways The UK Is Making Strides In Sustainable Energy". HuffPost UK. 2018-06-05. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  4. ↑ Koop, S. H. A.; Koetsier, L.; Doornhof, A.; Reinstra, O.; Van Leeuwen, C. J.; Brouwer, S.; Dieperink, C.; Driessen, P. P. J. (2017). "Assessing the Governance Capacity of Cities to Address Challenges of Water, Waste, and Climate Change". Water Resources Management. 31 (11): 3427–3443. doi:10.1007/s11269-017-1677-7.
  5. ↑ "CITY BLUEPRINTS - Improving Implementation Capacities of Cities and Regions (AG041) | EIP Water". www.eip-water.eu. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  6. ↑ van Leeuwen, Cornelis J.; Frijns, Jos; van Wezel, Annemarie; van de Ven, Frans H. M. (June 2012). "City Blueprints: 24 Indicators to Assess the Sustainability of the Urban Water Cycle". Water Resources Management. 26 (8): 2177–2197. doi:10.1007/s11269-012-0009-1. ISSN 0920-4741.
  7. ↑ "Assessing governance capacity to address water challenges in cities". Global Water Forum. 2018-01-08. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  8. ↑ "THE NEW POWER DIGITAL SOCIAL PLATFORM IS ONLINE". Netwerc H2o. 2017-10-19. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  9. ↑ Koroleva, Mathias Becker Ksenia; Vitorino, Kalina Drenska Diogo; Novak, Jasminko (2019). "Developing a Collective Awareness Platform for Urban Sustainability Challenges: Case Study of the POWER Project". European Journal of Sustainable Development. 8 (4): 214–226. doi:10.14207/ejsd.2019.v8n4p214. ISSN 2239-6101.
  10. ↑ Michell, Nick (2017-04-12). "Four cities to pilot water gamification models". The Source. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  11. ↑ "Local flood risk management strategy". www.leicester.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  12. ↑ Mukhtarov, Farhad; Dieperink, Carel; Driessen, Peter; Riley, Janet (2019-05-04). "Collaborative learning for policy innovations: sustainable urban drainage systems in Leicester, England". Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning. 21 (3): 288–301. doi:10.1080/1523908X.2019.1627864. ISSN 1523-908X.
  13. ↑ "MK Council launch water shortage campaign". CitiBlog. 2017-10-11. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  14. ↑ Šteflová, Marketa; Koop, Steven; Elelman, Richard; Vinyoles, Jordi; Van Leeuwen, Kees (June 2018). "Governing Non-Potable Water-Reuse to Alleviate Water Stress: The Case of Sabadell, Spain". Water. 10 (6): 739. doi:10.3390/w10060739.
  15. ↑ "Horizon 2020". Horizon 2020 - European Commission. Retrieved 2019-11-11.

External links[edit]

Category:Water management


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