FORTH2o
FORTH2O is a ground-breaking partnership for the Forth Water Basin. We are aiming to optimise water resources for people and nature.
It is one of four £5m local policy innovation partnerships in the UK. It's the only one in Scotland and covers Fife, Clackmannanshire, Stirling, Falkirk, Edinburgh and the Lothians.
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Water resources provide essential goods and services that are vital to the health of our economy, society and the environment. Harnessing these productively and sustainably is a key route to optimising growth, value and community outcomes, as well as meeting future challenges of climate and demographic change.
FORTH2O will strengthen local capacity for innovation through its powerful scientific evidence base and enabling network of water decision-makers. The Partnership is at once a policy network, a learning community, and a direct actor in the water system - able to challenge the conditions that currently get in the way of positive action. The FORTH2O Partnership aims to:
- Optimise outcomes for places, businesses, communities, and individuals through a more holistic view of the ‘water system’ in our region.
- Use our convening power to create spaces to align interests and activities and collaborate at scale to influence policy and deliver system innovation.
- Build on world-leading technology, to create an evidence base to address challenges and opportunities in the Forth Valley through our ‘Hydro-Social Observatory’.
- Meet our vision of ‘a system that works for everybody to secure our water futures and stimulate wellbeing and prosperity for both humans and our natural environment’.
About us
The FORTH2O Partnership is a dynamic and forward-thinking network, dedicated to reshaping the way we engage with water. At once a policy network, a learning community, and a direct actor in the water system, we bring together diverse voices and perspectives to explore bold 'what if' questions.
As an open and generative space, we strive to optimise outcomes for places, businesses, communities, and individuals by viewing water through a holistic lens—understanding its complexities and interconnections.
Our mission is to foster a series of connected actions and activities that not only help us understand water better, but also inspire innovative ways to live and work with it. By harnessing our convening power, we create collaborative spaces where diverse interests align, policy is influenced, and systemic innovation flourishes on a scale that benefits everyone.
The Partnership will achieve its aims by co-producing solutions to four main challenges in the Forth Valley that have been identified during the first engagement phase of the project. These foundational challenges are:
- Policy Influence: Driving policy changes through high-quality analysis and stakeholder engagement to prioritise water in decision-making.
- Data and Modelling: Providing powerful tools for informed water management decisions with cutting-edge data and modelling techniques.
- Optimizing Value: Redefining water’s value with innovative frameworks and tools for equitable and sustainable outcomes.
- Creating Connections: Building strong, collaborative networks across the water management landscape to foster innovative solutions.
Projects
We will work with partners to innovate and bring together creative and productive combinations and solutions that demonstrate the power of the Partnership to innovate, and to achieve things that no single Partner could achieve on their own. We will collaborate along four main challenge areas:
- Business and Innovation: Promoting sustainable growth by unlocking business opportunities and encouraging innovation in key sectors.
- Place and Natural Capital: Balancing land use, planning, and regeneration with natural capital preservation for sustainable growth.
- Health and Wellbeing: Optimising the interaction between ecosystems and human systems to enhance wellbeing across the Forth Valley.
- Cultural Heritage: Capturing and preserving the cultural heritage of water through people’s stories and future visions.
We will also run a suite of Living Labs, a Commissioning Fund to spark new collaborations, initiatives and interventions, and potential ‘special projects’ we can facilitate in our region.
Contact us
Contact Dr Kathleen Stosch