At the beginning of 2017, the Waterboard Hollands Noorderkwartier, together with PWN, the Province of North Holland, the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management WNN and the Municipality of Texel, started the initiative to create a Salinisation Centre. These parties saw a challenge in good connections between practice, research and policy in the field of freshwater and salt water. The ambition started on Texel, but it soon became clear that the same questions also played a regional and supra-regional role. The initiating parties therefore commissioned the project team to investigate whether a Salinisation Centre for the whole of the Low Netherlands was desirable and feasible and in what form it could be set up.

The aim is to increase the impact of smart solutions for dealing with sweet and salt. This can be achieved by focusing on connecting with practice, create access to knowledge and working on awareness. After a broad inventory, the project team sees broad support for a Salinisation Centre among government authorities, users, knowledge institutes and education in the North Netherlands, Holland and Zeeland Delta regions. A condition of these organisations is that it has clear added value compared to the existing ones and that the existing organisations and structures are well connected to it. The added value turns out to lie in elaboration in the region, interconnecting regional networks and linking up with the national network, in which the national water programmes play a prominent role.

Requirements

Inspiration sessions, meetings and individual discussions with more than 70 organisations led to a sketch of the needs in the region. The parties indicated that meeting these needs offers clear added value compared to the current situation.

Required dynamics

The figure below shows in a compact way what dynamism is needed. The Salinisation Centre is going to create these dynamics.

Role of CONEXYS

During the research phase, Chris led the project and ensured the connection and involvement of all parties that could play a (potential) role in the Centre. As of February 2018 Chris will be quartermaster of the Salinisation Centre in order to arrive at an effectively functioning Centre with the three regions and the ministries responsible for the national water programmes.