Policy Brief 2 - InnWater

This second Policy Brief clarifies the distinction between citizen engagement (intentional dialogue with decision‑makers) and public participation (often bottom‑up), anchors engagement in the EU Water Framework Directive and the World Bank’s accountability framework, and advances an OECD‑aligned approach that builds trust, inclusion, and co‑creation through a practical local roadmap answering why, what for, who, and how to involve people; it stresses accessible information, continuity, and explicit consideration of underrepresented groups, and offers EU, national, and local recommendations to institutionalise engagement, ensure open data and digital tools, adapt to local contexts, and prevent capture, with InnWater pilots providing tested methods to embed engagement within broader governance improvements for resilience and sustainability.