SpongeWorks Community of Practice
Connecting Regions & Communities for Sponge Landscapes & Climate Resilience
What is a Community of Practice (CoP)?
“Groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis.”
Wenger et al., 2002
Why We Connect: Community Objectives
Facilitating collaborative learning, knowledge exchange, and sharing best practices among stakeholders.
Co-Creating sustainable solutions for water and soil management.
Bridging local action with regional, national and EU policy levels to foster adaptation.
Ensuring long-term impact, replication, and sustainability of SpongeWorks measures.
Download the COP brochure
Why Join the SpongeWorks CoP? Member Benefits
Members gain access to a collaborative network that provides:
- Knowledge & Learning
Exchange best practices, lessons, and tools to co-create solutions for water and soil management, and collaboration among practitioners, experts and stakeholders. - Capacity Building
Participate in trainings and peer exchanges to strengthen expertise. - Policy Influence
Contribute to shaping adaptation pathways at regional and national levels. - Replication Support
Access tools and guidance to adapt and replicate sponge measures. - Networking & Visibility
Connect with the 3 SpongeWorks demonstrators, 8 associated regions, and EU missions initiatives.
Interested? Email us at info@spongeworks.eu
Some of the practical questions the CoP addresses:
Value & feasibility
- How much do they sponge measures cost, what benefits can they deliver, and what are their limitation?
- What implementation and impact timeframes can you expect?
Design & implementation
- Who can implement sponge measures, and what skills, capacities, and resources are needed?
- How can sponge measures fit into existing river basin management plans and infrastructure?
- How can diverse sponge measures be coordinated into landscape-scale strategies?
Value & feasibility
- How can local communities and stakeholders be effectively engaged?
- What level of monitoring is needed to support adaptive management without over-burdening projects?
- How can sponge implementation be aligned with EU policies and funding frameworks (Green Deal, Water Resilience, Climate Adaptation, Nature Restoration Law)?
Videos
The SpongeWorks Dutch/German CoP in the Vecht(e) demonstrator is developing a 2050 vision of sponge landscape resilience
Kick-off meeting of the French demonstrator CoP in the Lèze valley
