Europe is particularly prone to natural hazards, and evidence shows that damages will increase in the future. While innovations for climate adaptation abound, many fail to reach the market. BRIGAID (which stands for BRidging the Gap for Innovations in Disaster resilience) is a four-year project (2016-2020) under EU Horizon2020. The project aims to bridge the gap between innovators and end users of tools to increase resilience to floods, droughts and extreme weather.

BRIGAID’s approach focuses on three aspects of innovations’ readiness: technical, social and market. Addressing these aspects simulataneously smooths the development path, because the requirements for technical, social and market readiness can be incorporated in the design of the tool early in the innovation process, as well as their business model and market approaches. BRIGAID also envisions a role for end users in directly contributing to the development of new products and solutions.

BRIGAID’s impact on SDG achievement

By bridging the gap between disaster resilience innovators and end users, BRIGAID is contributing to the SDGs’ implementation in Europe. Promoting innovation in this field deals directly with SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), which aims to foster innovation by integrating innovations into value chains and markets, while achieving SDG 13 (climate action).

In order to facilitate the market uptake of climatic resilience innovations, BRIGAID has developed the CLIMATE INNOVATION WINDOW (CIW) where descriptive information of innovations as well as results produced through the application of BRIGAID methods is made accessible to several types of stakeholders, e.g. innovators, public and private risk managers, policy and decision makers, industry and investors. Each innovation is linked to a specific type of hazard (e.g. coastal floods, river floods, droughts, heatwaves, heavy precipitation, wind storms, wildfires and multi-hazard) and a series of topics (e.g. agriculture, disasters and ICT, energy, forests, nature-based solutions, urban areas, water availability, water quality, and water safety). The consideration of both hazards and related topics allows to search for innovations based on supply or demand factors respectively.

The project will develop a quality stamp to certify that the innovation has applied BRIGAID’s integrated approach.

The topic linkages allow BRIGAID to tackle additional SDGs, such as SDG 15 (life on land); SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation); and SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities). BRIGAID aims to be an umbrella and an accelerator for innovative ideas that can help achieve multiple SDGs, preferably simultaneously. In addition to providing key information on each innovation, the project will develop a quality stamp to certify that the innovation has applied BRIGAID’s integrated approach.

Added value of the CIW

The Climate Innovation Window aspires to serve as an EU reference portal for innovations on climate change adaptation. Other platforms exist to highlight innovative solutions for climate change adaptation, but BRIGAID’s CIW focuses on new products, new processes and new forms of organization which are in the final stages of development. The BRIGAID approach ensures the generation of key information for end users and investors; for example, users can make a reliable comparison among potential solutions. Those interested in participating in the co-creation of solutions can derive particular benefits from the platform, such as identify the best candidates within a group of new innovations involved in operational testing and final adjustments.

Furthermore, the platform facilitates interaction among stakeholders by supporting the gradual establishment of an online community. Visitors can ask questions, add user experiences, contact the innovators and monitor the progress of innovations.

The Climate Innovation Window is open, and we look forward to receiving and sharing innovations.