Time: Tuesday 28th June 2011, 10:00-16:00
Place: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 1 Victoria Street, London. SW1H 0ET (http://www.1victoriastreet.co.uk/meeting_rooms/location)

The NERC Water Security Knowledge Exchange Programme (WSKEP) is a three year (2011-2014), £1.8 million programme that will improve the delivery of NERC research to the user community.

The WSKEP is convening this workshop as part of the formal launch of the programme. During the first eighteen months of the Knowledge Exchange Programme activities will focus upon three main Sub Areas: Integrated Water Management, Increased Resilience to Extreme Events and Ensuring Water Resource Security.

Launch Workshop Goals: The workshop will bring together government and industry organisations with interests in water issues to raise awareness of the Water Security KE Programme, to identify research priorities, and to discuss how to improve research-user exchange.

Expected Outcomes: The launch workshop will begin a process to improve coordination of government – industry – academia water research and innovation. These improvements will increase the effectiveness of NERC science in supporting policy makers, regulators and industry.

The WSKEP workshop will also:
• identify stakeholders with specific interests in each Sub Area;
• create groups that wish to be involved in the KE activities over the coming months; and
• commence the planning of actions around each of the Sub Areas.
Current and potential future users of NERC science are invited to find out more about the WSKEP, to make their own research requirements known, and to find out how they can benefit from the on-going activities of the programme.

10:00 Coffee & Welcome
10:15 Introduction to the Day (Alan Jenkins – CEH)
10:30 Perspectives from policymakers & regulators (Stuart Kirk – EA)
10:45 Perspectives from industry (Michael Norton – Halcrow)
11:00 The NERC Knowledge Exchange Programmes (Perry Guess – NERC)
11:10 The Water Security KE Programme (Neil Runnalls – CEH)
11:20 Introduction to the Water Security Sub Area (Alan Jenkins – CEH)
11:40 Breakouts
• Integrated Water Management
• Increasing Resilience to Extreme Events
• Ensuring Water Resource Security

13:00 LUNCH

13:45 Breakouts reconvene
14:45 Feedback

15:30 COFFEE

15:45 Wrap up (Alan Jenkins – CEH)
16:00 Close

Please reply to: Beverly Simpson (beve@ceh.ac.uk) Tele : 01491 692555 by 21st June 2011

There is no charge to attend.