--- title: Users layout: layouts/skeleton.mustache breadcrumb: - title: Home path: / - title: users path: /Users --- {{#markdown}} ![Stolsvass dam Hol hydropower plant, Hilde Harket, NVE](stolsvass-dam.png "Stolsvass dam Hol hydropower plant, © Hilde Harket, NVE") Image source: Hilde Harket, NVE EdgE is a user-focussed project, engaging with water users across Europe through Stakeholder mapping, market analysis and case studies, to identify user requirements for water sector climate services. ## What is stakeholder mapping? We are actively engaging with a broad range of stakeholders and end-users in the water sector to understand how climate-related decisions are made and to identify the information needs of prospective European users. We are working with Focus Groups in three European countries to identify these needs. **Further info:** The specific objective is to identify what water information, estimated as hydrological impact indicators – or Sectoral Climate Impact Indicators (SCIIs) – is of most relevance to their decision-making in relation to both seasonal and longer term timescales. The project achieves this by establishing a number of Focus Groups and working with them to identify the metrics and indicators of most use to them. We supplement outputs from the Focus Group with information from other pan-European engagement activities. The information collected is used to produce a specification of user requirements for the design of the demonstrator Sectoral Information System (SIS). The project has established Focus Groups in each of the project countries, chosen to represent different hydro-climatic regions and user audience: - Norway: snow dominated region with much hydropower use; - Spain: Mediterranean region with many water allocation issues; - UK: a range of weather conditions and water use pressures. **Further info:** Each Focus Group will meet a minimum of three times during the project; to discuss information needs including hydrological indicators, to test a prototype of the demonstrator tool and to support user guidance and implementation of the final demonstrator. Each Focus Group represents a different user audience. The UK group is focussed on public water supply stakeholders. Two groups have been established in Norway: one is focussed on the hydropower industry and the other has a local authority focus. The Spanish group focuses on operational water resource management within a single, large river basin, the Jucar, and has a particular geographical focus. Together the groups also represent users with varying levels of experience of applying a range of climate and hydrological information to inform their decision-making. ## How does EDgE engage across Europe? Our stakeholder engagement activity is not restricted to the Focus Groups. There are many other water dependent industries across Europe and a targeted programme of wider stakeholder engagement is being undertaken. This is achieved through interviews with users identified through appropriate networks and literature. **Further info:** The wider European engagement provides an opportunity to test the relevance of our hydro-meteorological indicators and metrics to a broader range of users and consider where they might need to be refined to ensure that the project deliverables are of use to a wider range of water users throughout Europe. Examples include engagement with the agricultural sector, the European Environment Agency and the consultancy service sector, both large multi-national and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). EDgE also explores the information needs of geographical settings that are different to the UK, Spain and Norway, for example large, trans-border river basins. ## How stakeholder needs are used in EDgE EDgE is gathering a large amount of information from a range of stakeholders. It is condensing this information and looking for common requirements which can be delivered through the EDgE research activities and web interface. ![Climate services user need summary. Source: Climate Ready, Environment Agency, UK](climate-services.png "Climate services user need summary. Source: Climate Ready, Environment Agency, UK") Example of climate services user needs summary. Source: Climate Ready, Environment Agency, UK **Further info:** It is likely that there may be some hydro-meteorological indicators and metrics that users would like, but which we are not able to produce within the scope of EDgE. We will capture this information and any other priority needs identified by users but that cannot be delivered within the existing project and include them in the roadmap for integration of EDgE with C3S to inform future research needs. ## What will the market analysis provide? As well as identifying the climate information needs of end users, it is also important to identify the size of the demand and the potential benefits that will accrue from providing the information. This is critical to our understanding of the value of the service to the people of Europe, whether that be in terms of economic growth, hazard management or environmental protection. EDgE is reviewing existing climate services in Europe and identifying gaps in provision as well as undertaking a benefits based approach to assessing the value of the EDgE demonstrator tool to the European water sector. {{/markdown}}