The aim of this WP is to ensure a fast and efficient dissemination of the results safeguarding commercial exploitation options of the partners. During the project, plans for the dissemination and exploitation of the results will be developed and implemented by all the partners. Participation to seminars, exhibitions and workshops will be favoured for presenting non-confidential results. This will be the key action for the initialisation of further developments and the introduction of the market contact phase after the end of the project. The dissemination of the scientific results will be implemented through peer-reviewed publications, conferences participation as well as the use of internet-based tools. Appropriate procedures will be also established to ensure the commercial exploitation of the results safeguarding eventual Intellectual Property Rights of the partners. The identification of selected groups of stakeholders and end-users together with the organization of workshops with their involvement will support the marketing of the results as both groups represent the most appropriate platform to present the results and discuss the needs and perceptions of potential users. Such an identification step will be a major goal in this WP. In fact,research and development activities must not be de-coupled from the needs and perceptions of potential users of the results. Hence, an active involvement of stakeholders and end-users in the area of industrial wastewater treatment is foreseen to ensure feed-back on the project objectives, methods and results. Such potential users will be identified among those with potential interest in the project topics and particularly in the activities at the case study sites at various levels (e.g. water companies, water authorities, engineering companies, consultancies etc.). Based on such identification, users will be actively involved in the project through open forums (web based and workshop based). Stakeholders and end-user groups will be routinely informed about the project progresses through web site communications. Some dissemination actions will be launched in languages other than English to reach a wider audience. The audience that should be reached includes stakeholders, potential users, policymakers, and the relevant scientific and technical community. Furthermore, institutions that influence public acceptance, i.e. environmental, political or societal groups, as well as people in news and communication media will be included. All the possible means to reach such an audience, e.g. publications in journals or papers, conferences, presentations, electronic media, TV, and perhaps most importantly, personal contacts as well as general project visibility will be used. The interaction with the audience has to be coordinated (scheduled) and if necessary initiated by the project co-ordinator. Depth, form, and language of any dissemination action have to be adapted to the intended audience.An important dissemination tool that will be used is the dedicated web site, designed to promote the dissemination of the results and linked to the analogous web site of the NEPTUNE project. This web site is intended as a permanent tool capable of evaluating and disseminating not only the results of this project but also subsequent developments in the area of industrial wastewater treatment. It is envisaged that innovations and research results and best practice procedures will be evaluated and made available to interested people through the web site. At the end of the project, the web site is intended to be self-sustaining by virtue of a membership open to any interested enterprise or organization through the payment of a membership fee sets at a level sufficient to cover running costs. It must be pointed out that part of the dissemination activities will be jointly carried out together with the management team of the EC project Neptune. In fact, in the same call of Innowatech, the project Neptune (New Sustainable Concepts and Processes for Optimization and Upgrading Municipal Wastewater and sludge Treatment) has been approved. The two projects are complementary as Innowatech focuses on industrial wastewater and Neptune on municipal wastewater. Since dissemination and public access of the gained knowledge is one of the main goals of both projects, a number of activities (e.g., knowledge transfer, results dissemination, stakeholders and end-users involvement, life cycle assessment of the investigated technologies, etc.) will be jointly planned, coordinated and carried out. The web site (www.eu-neptune.org) provides additional information about the Neptune project.
PUBLISHABLE-FINAL-ACTIVITY-REPORT
