Online Innovation Workshop: Watch the recording
Author: Kerri Hall, Communications Manager
This week we hosted our first Innovation Workshop online. Despite soaring temperatures across Europe (43c for colleagues in Bilbao), we were joined by 20 dedicated participants all hoping to inspire solutions to promote safe and healthy seas.
We kicked off with BlueAdapt presentations to set the scene (the science is a little complicated). Then our external speakers talked us through successful technological developments, collaborations, and approaches to participatory governance across Europe and all the way to Japan.
Here’s a snapshot of what we covered:
Rethinking water quality: beyond bacteria (Dr Jessica Kevill, Bangor University)
Current bathing water standards focus on bacteria, but viruses such as norovirus may pose a greater health risk. Heavy rainfall and sewage overflows can increase contamination, while antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bathing waters is an emerging concern. Researchers are developing predictive “traffic-light” systems to provide more accurate, real-time risk warnings.
Collaboration across sectors (Aline Chiabai, BC3)
The HELIOS Living Lab in northern Spain demonstrates a One Health approach, bringing together researchers, healthcare providers, citizens, NGOs, and businesses to co-design solutions. Its focus on participation, trust, and collaboration helps link environmental restoration, citizen science, and public health initiatives.
The Value of Better Information (Mikołaj Czajkowski, University of Warsaw)
Reliable water quality information helps people make better decisions about where and when to swim. Research shows strong public demand for more frequent monitoring and better warnings, with informed users placing greater value on water safety.
From Data to Action (Sam Nichols, Surfers Against Sewage)
The Safer Seas and Rivers Service (SSRS) app provides real-time pollution alerts to more than 300,000 users. Future developments, including personalised alerts and predictive forecasts, aim to give swimmers more proactive information about potential risks.
Co-Creating Solutions (Jokin Etxebarria, Naider and Toni Caro & Francisco Albala, EoH for Good)
The final sessions highlighted the importance of co-design, collaboration, and systems thinking. Addressing water quality challenges requires innovation across social, environmental, and digital sectors.
The workshop highlighted that safer coastal waters depend on more than monitoring alone. Better data, predictive tools, community participation, and cross-sector collaboration will all be essential to improving water quality and public health.
