SIMIL II | WATER

TIMELINE OF ACTIVITIES

We start from experience; our first edition of the SIMIL program has allowed us to learn about the strengths and successes of the program, but also the areas for improvement. Based on reflection on that trajectory, we will seek to generate a format that encourages the participation of representatives from public administrations and researchers, with the ultimate goal of increasing impact on the territory. Therefore, the second edition of SIMIL will incorporate the following approach:

A NEW SIMIL

Our experience from the previous dialogue program between science and politics showed us that we can have a tangible impact. We will aim for this result in the new program, attempting to achieve changes applicable at local and regional levels. We seek to land solutions that help political representatives solve specific issues that have arisen in their territories. If you want to see practical examples of how concrete solutions were achieved in our first edition.

 

Following the same logic, we aim to apply the SIMIL programs in the environmental areas that most affect the population and the political space that acts upon them. In a joint process, and with the help of public administrations, we have chosen water as the central element of SIMIL II, whose deficit and contamination already concern and affect the entire population of the central Catalan region, and which will continue to pose new crises more frequently due to global change.

In contexts of high complexity (both social and ecosystemic)<(strong> and in matters such as water, which is influenced by various factors (environmental, social, economic, cultural, scarcity, etc.), it is essential to apply a similarly complex and systemic perspective. Therefore, we find it indispensable to seek an integral, holistic, and interdisciplinary approach. As a novelty compared to the SIMIL I program, we will try to address the challenges from a sociopolitical approach, not just a technological one.

CT BETA will coordinate and launch the SIMIL II program after a collaborative reflection process on the topic, the challenges to be addressed, and the approach the program will take. Through consultation with previous participants and new actors interested and involved in water crisis management, we will build the various sessions and shape the program, the challenges it tackles, and the solutions that can be used in the political and decision-making sphere.

We will become the conduit for transmitting challenges and concrete, relevant solutions to the participants. We will seek to generate and strengthen ties between politicians and researchers. To achieve this, we will foster understanding from both perspectives, using a common and comprehensible language for both parties, enabling the connection of scientific and political knowledge.                

 Through dynamics, workshops, and even artistic and creative activities organized by CT BETA, we will create a common space that allows for mutual understanding. In this bidirectional dialogue, a lasting bond can be formed between participants (researchers and politicians), but also with the subject matter at hand. We believe that this bond, in this case with water, which can generate affinity and even environmental affectivity, is also essential for achieving strong political engagement in areas related to the environment.

A territorial approach cannot begin without understanding the interests of the different actors; therefore, we will work on involving those implicated in the topic we are addressing. Political representatives and researchers will take the lead in this program, but we will also include the economic sector and civil society, actively involving citizens and thus completing what is known as the "quadruple helix" of innovation.



These action axes of the II edition of the Simil program will unfold in a specific theme: water, its uses, access, and management in contexts of water crisis. The persistent drought in the Catalan area for three years has become one of the main challenges of the region. The need to provide solutions to the causes and consequences of the situation becomes urgent and pressing. In this program, we will address this need, identified collectively, in the areas affected by this environmental and social phenomenon.

Project ENGAGEgreen

The SIMIL II program: Uses, access, and management in contexts of water crisis, is part of the Erasmus+ project: "ENGAGEgreen. Enhancing Institutional Capacities for Policy Engagement for Green and Digital Transitions," an initiative funded by the European Union. The SIMIL II program is the science-policy pairing scheme executed by the CT BETA, converging in a common effort by various European universities and academic institutions to develop their own pairing schemes.

The pairing schemes being implemented by the various universities are a form of dialogue between science and politics. They help bridge the practical gap between public policies and academic research. Building bridges between these spaces leads to informed, efficient, and evidence-based decision-making, while also fostering scientific involvement in sociopolitical issues and directing research toward resolving them, ultimately strengthening the institutional capacity of universities for political engagement. This is why we speak of bidirectional dialogues.

 

The ENGAGEgreen project applies various dialogue and meeting formats in the areas of Ecological and Digital Transition. This project will create examples of good practices, generate tools for political participation, and provide training materials for conducting both in-person and virtual workshops. This process involves researchers at all professional levels, students, and political and public administration representatives. In addition to the local and regional formats that each university or research center will apply, the aim is to conduct transnational and European-level dialogue (“transnational pairing scheme”).

 

The BETA Technological Center (University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia), will be joined by the  following institutions in this project:

 

The project began in October 2023 and is currently in progress, with this phase lasting until its conclusion in March 2026.