Skip to main content
European Commission logo
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS
CORDIS Web 30th anniversary CORDIS Web 30th anniversary
Content archived on 2024-06-18

Social Innovation in the Water Treatment Sector in the Amazon

Final Report Summary - AGUASOCIAL (Social Innovation in the Water Treatment Sector in the Amazon)

The mobility provided by the project is a training opportunity, encouraging scientific, educational qualification and strengthening networks of researchers. In the social field, the experience of another reality allows the observation of the different local stakeholders with regard to the use of water resources. Partners at the institutional level is the opportunity for new partnerships aimed at developing research and technological innovation.

The approach of the academy with the government and the private seems to be a way for the scientific development and innovation. In this sense, ÁguaSocial can serve as a means for expanding partnerships and contribute to the strengthening of our institution and regional development.

Multidisciplinary research included within AguaSociAL requires from the exchange of best practices that will further let to interact with other markets and players by sharing resources and means, improving the communication between researchers from different disciplines. Besides, through the secondments, and the multidisciplinary knowledge transfer, an enhancement of research quality within the water treatment sector due to the outputs of such secondments will contribute to:

• Access to new technology and information,
• Exposure to international quality standards,
• Contribution to the development of international opinion leaders and cross-border awareness, encouraging commitment to R&D,
• Enhanced cooperation image of countries that favors implementation of visionary and cutting edge technologies and
• Attraction of foreign investment.

As a result of the performed secondments within the scope of AguaSociAL all the organization involved gained benefit from the exchange of best practices concerning research and innovation activities. Besides, an efficient transfer in both directions was guaranteed, meaning for the staff to be seconded but also in the return phase of seconded staff.

In overall, due to the partner’s capabilities to transfer and receive the knowledge and by the successful realization of the project’s dynamics, the increase of the research quality and overall capability and competitiveness of each partner is expected. As all seconded staff is being required to return-back to the home institution to transfer the acquired knowledge into the organization of origin by using different tools and channels (i.e. research seminars, scientific papers, teaching graduate students, brief reporting and dissemination to the local authorities) a successful transfer of the learned practices is guaranteed.
In terms of added value, the main networking activities are justified based on the acquisition of new skills, increase of the partners’ research quality and a sustainable knowledge over all RTD capabilities and increased competitiveness.

Thanks to the exchange period, that has let the researchers to plan future collaborations.

Moreover exchanging programmes of researcher was an important activity for promoting knowledge transfer between EU and Brazil, with 4 main impacts:

1. The assessment and comparing of the knowledge and technologies used in water management
2. The understanding of water management in the Amazon Region
3. The improvement of innovation and learning capabilities of targeted Countries
4. The building of the EU-Brazil network of Universities and Teams of researchers, in order to link communities of scholars.