The program drives the transition
Water Wise Societies is one of five programs within Impact Innovation – a national initiative by Vinnova, Formas and Energimyndigheten.
The program is led by RISE in collaboration with IVL Svenska Miljöinstitutet, Linköping Science Park, Lunds universitet, Stockholm Environment Institute and Svenskt Vatten. We bring together actors from the public and private sectors, academia, research institutes and non-profit organizations to drive the transition towards Sustainable water for all 2050.
Water Wise Societies funds initiatives and implements activities in research, innovation, policy development, capacity development and internationalization. Through calls for proposals, we distribute around SEK 100 million a year to initiatives in the water sector that drive the transition towards the mission.
Governance of the program
The program office is the administrative function that runs Water Wise Societies and ensures the progress of the program. The program office works to create the greatest possible space for transition by setting direction, mobilizing actors, developing, financing and coordinating actions, and working on evaluation and learning.
Water Wise Societies is led by RISE in collaboration with IVL Svenska Miljöinstitutet, Linköping Science Park, Lunds universitet, Stockholm Environment Institute and Svenskt Vatten. The program office is staffed by the Program Manager, the Deputy Program Manager, the Program Coordinator, the Work Package Leaders and a number of other people with roles within the work packages.
The program council supports the program office in prioritizing key focus areas for Water Wise Societies.
The steering group will guide the program towards the overall mission: “Sustainable water for all by 2050” and decide on the long-term direction of the program. The Steering Group is chaired by Ingrid Petersson, who is, among other things, President of Lund University and former Director General of Formas, and consists of several competent members:
- Christian Bason, co-founder Transition Collective and Adjunct Professor at the University of Technology Sydney
- Birgitta Bergvall-Kåreborn, Vice-Chancellor at Luleå University of Technology
- Sigrid de Geyter, Head of the Water and Wastewater Department at Stockholm Vatten och Avfall
- Henrik Held, Head of Wastewater Department at Uppsala Vatten och Avfall AB
- John Joyce, Economist at the Chemicals Inspectorate and Adjunct Professor at Dublin City University
- Henrik Kant, Gothenburg City Planning Director
- Karin Lexén, Secretary General of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation
- Marco Lucisano, Head of Division Civil Engineering at RISE
Water Wise Societies brings together over 80 member organizations from across Sweden. We are a stakeholder-driven program where members are involved and influence the direction of the program. Members are invited to the Transition Arena which is the heart of the program. New actors are welcome to join the program as members.
Advisory functions
Water Wise Societies has four advisory groups. An international reference group of international experts and three national councils for research, policy development and the financial sector.
Theory of change
Water Wise Societies has a theory of change that describes how the program will achieve the desired transition. It shows the link between the programme’s objectives, actions and expected impacts and serves as an overall framework for the development, governance and organization of the program.