The aim of this project is to develop new instruments and tools that will enhance environmental research and promote innovation in Danube Region, including the Danube Delta and the Black Sea. Importantly, the new instruments and tools did not start ab initio but were built on existing projects – covering multiple sources of funding (public, private or PPP), whether national, regional or European – which have been identified and clustered. The project first performed a critical analysis of what has been achieved so far in the region to then build upon results of achievements to-date, to design innovative solutions to strengthen knowledge transfer in this area. This is achieved by gathering top level representatives of the academia and business communities as well as decision makers, specialized in various sectors of integrated management of the Danube –Black Sea macrosystem.

• critical analysis of achievements in integrated river – delta – sea management in the Danube – Black Sea Macrosystem, based on a metadata analysis comprising the most significant results and deliverables from major projects/programmes/initiatives performed at regional / national / European / international level and place them within the wider context of international research on this environmental system.
• Analyse the links between the achievements, deliverables and results of the work performed in order to identify training needs and opportunities to meet long-term objectives for sustainable aqueous ecosystem management.
• Define a set of instruments to enhance environmental research and innovation in the Danube Region, including the Danube Delta and the western Black Sea coast.

Lead Partner: National Institute of Marine Geology and Geoecology – GEOECOMAR, România
CORILA – Consorzio per il coordinamento delle ricerche inerenti al sistema lagunare di Venezia, Italy
ZSI – Zentrum fuer Soziale Innovation, Austria
INSB – National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences, România
WasserCluster Lunz – Biologische Station GMBH, Austria
BOKU – Universitaet fuer  Bodenkultur Wien, Austria
CIIRC – Consorcio Centro Internacional de Investigacion de los Recursos  Costeros, Spain
HCMR – Hellenic Centre  for Marine Research, Greece
The University of Stirling, United Kingdom
University of Hull, United Kingdom
University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
UCC – University College Cork, National University of Ireland,  Cork, Ireland
BFG – Bundesanstalt Fuer Gewaesserkunde, Germany
Ifremer – Institut  Francais de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer, France
Institute for Water Education – UNESCO – IHE, The Netherlands
University of Novi Sad – Faculty of Sciences, Serbia
Széchenyi I. University, Hungary