The IDEATION project has published its final exploitation strategy, outlining the framework for the utilisation of its research outcomes. The project focused on integrating inland water data and models into the Digital Twin Ocean (DTO) to support water management across Europe.

To ensure long-term impact, the consortium has developed seven Key Exploitable Results (KERs), now available through an open-source strategy to facilitate broad adoption by researchers, industry, and policymakers.

Key Project Results:

KER1: Lessons Learnt & Stakeholder Insights

Objective: Synthesizes stakeholder feedback and project requirements to define the functional and non-functional needs for inland water Digital Twins. It was a Collaborative Effort led by KWR with support from a consortium including CETAQUA, UNEXE, WE, UCY, and CERTH. It serves as a central hub of knowledge, drawing from the project’s SWOT analysis (KER4) and aligning with the final project recommendations (KER5) to ensure a unified approach to Digital Twin development.

KER2: OpenKIWAS (Inland Water Knowledge System)

The OpenKIWASis designed to be an indispensable tool for researchers, policymakers, water managers, and innovators. By consolidating diverse and crucial data, it aims to foster collaboration, drive innovation, and support informed decision-making for the sustainable management and protection of our precious inland water resources. It provides access to the following catalogues:

1. Policies & Standards: A comprehensive catalogue of EU and international policies and standards governing inland waters.
2. Project Outputs: A huge collection of outputs from relevant European projects and information systems, showcasing practical applications and advancements.
3. Scientific Research: An extensive catalogue of scientific research results, offering insights into the latest discoveries and understandings.
4. Advanced Technologies: A detailed catalogue of data models, AI technologies, simulations, intelligent systems, and Digital Twins specifically related to inland water management.
5. Data & Sensing Sources: A collection of open data and sensing sources.
6. Meteorological Data: A catalogue of valuable data and services from national meteorological organisations.

KER3: Reference Architecture & Interoperability

The IDEATION Reference Architecture (KER3.1) is a high-level framework that integrates components for the inland waters Digital Twins. The architecture has been designed by ENG based on the benchmarking of existing DTO initiatives, especially EDITO-Infra and EDITO-Model Lab, and in alignment with established design principles.

It is explicitly conceived not as a rigid or monolithic system, but as a modular and scalable framework, capable of adapting to diverse implementation contexts and evolving in step with the broader European Digital Twin ecosystem. The IDEATION Reference Architecture is organized into a set of conceptual layers, each designed to fulfill a specific role in the operation and functionality of the Digital Twin. Three proofs of concepts validated the interoperability of the IDEATION reference architecture with both DestinE and the DTO.

KER4: SWOT Analysis

To identify the strengths and weaknesses of the co-created RUCs, as well as their opportunities and threats that they face, a SWOT analysis has been performed in two phases, led by UNEXE. First, it has been performed to each of the RUCs together with the involved stakeholders and then, new input from the replicability study performed with different stakeholders has been considered to update it.

KER5: Recommendations

A set of recommendations have been organized in categories considering: feedback from stakeholders (MSF, Socio-economic assessment (SEA), RUCs, and SWOT); the performed TCA, the technical governance; and the feedback from the consortium gathered during the final project board meeting held on April 17, 2026 in Brussels. 

KER6: The IDEATION Roadmap

One of the main objectives of IDEATION is to provide a roadmap for the future development of the Digital Twins for inland waters. According to the experience of IDEATION and the work done, this actions should be followed by any developer who wants to implement and develop a Digital Twin for any of the considered type of waters: rivers and estuaries, reservoirs, wetlands, lakes, snow and ice, groundwater, urban water, and coastal water. 

KER7: Reference Use Cases (RUCs)

A central component of the IDEATION methodology is the development of Reference Use Cases (RUCs), which translate wide-ranging functional and non-functional requirements gathered through Multi-Stakeholder Forums (MSFs) into concrete, actionable scenarios illustrating how inland water DTs can deliver value. Therefore, RUCs guide planning, validation, and technical definition of complex digital ecosystems shaping robust digital water services. This structured co-creation process that involves relevant stakeholders ensures that the resulting RUCs reflect operational priorities, governance realities, and societal needs, providing a robust foundation for shaping the IDEATION reference architecture and future roadmap.

For more information, visit the project website.