Water resilience experiment : gathering learnings through multilevel governance for innovative policymaking at the European Commission

The Water Resilience Experiment aims to contribute to the European Commission's Water Resilience Strategy through the lens of design for policy and behavioural insights. The project focused on increasing cross-DG collaboration around the water topic and reducing the policy-implementation gap by engaging stakeholders across different levels of governance. The project adopted a holistic, cross-cutting, and systemic approach. The experimentation built on various workstreams generating qualitative insights from governance across local, regional, national, and international levels. Workstreams included the collection of citizen stories, participatory research conducted by innovation labs engaging numerous regional stakeholders, an analysis of the media discourse on water in 9 EU languages, and a collection of case studies as basis for a serious game. During workshops and serious gaming sessions, 55 policymakers and over 60 scientists collaboratively analysed research outcomes using systemic and visual thinking approaches, fostering deeper insights and strengthening collaboration. We identified three essential dimensions for a comprehensive approach to water resilience: the framing of the topic, common internal organisational practices, and the interplay between EU and local knowledge in implementation. Based on these observations, the Water Resilience Experiment proposes eight transformative actions to strengthen the Commission's internal and external water resilience efforts, directed at policymakers, water-focused groups, and communities within and beyond the Commission.