STICHTING WATER ALLIANCE

Their core work

Water Alliance is a Dutch network organization based in Leeuwarden (Friesland) that supports SME innovation in the water and resource efficiency sectors across Northern Netherlands. They operate primarily through the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), providing coaching, mentoring, and key account management to help small businesses access EU funding instruments and grow their innovation capacity. Their work bridges water technology companies with broader value chains in food production, energy, and resource efficiency.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2015-2017), Water Alliance focused squarely on SME instrument support — coaching, mentoring, and innovation management for small businesses navigating H2020 funding. From 2018 onward, their scope broadened to include sectoral themes like food production, energy, water, and resource efficiency through the VIDA project, while continuing their EEN backbone work. This signals a shift from pure innovation brokering toward domain-specific value chain support.

Water Alliance is evolving from a generic SME support broker into a sector-focused innovation intermediary, particularly at the water-food-energy nexus — making them increasingly relevant for consortia needing regional SME engagement in these domains.

How they like to work

Water Alliance has never coordinated an H2020 project, always participating as a partner — consistent with their role as a regional network organization rather than a research performer. With 14 unique partners across 7 countries, they maintain a moderately diverse network, though their repeated EEN Northern Netherlands involvement suggests a stable core consortium. They are best understood as a reliable regional delivery partner who brings SME access and coaching infrastructure to larger initiatives.

They have collaborated with 14 unique partners across 7 countries, reflecting a solid European reach for a regional organization. Their network is anchored in Northern Netherlands but extends across the EU through the Enterprise Europe Network consortium structure.

What sets them apart

Water Alliance occupies a niche as the water sector's gateway to SMEs in Northern Netherlands — a region known for its water technology cluster (WaterCampus Leeuwarden). For consortium builders, they offer direct access to water tech SMEs and a proven track record of delivering EEN innovation support services. Their combined expertise in water, food, and resource efficiency makes them a practical partner for projects that need to engage industry in these intersecting sectors.

Highlights from their portfolio

• VIDA
  Their only funded project (EUR 125,469), and notable for connecting food chain innovation with water and energy efficiency — showing their domain expertise beyond pure SME support.
• EEN Northern NL
  Four consecutive EEN actions (2015-2021) demonstrate sustained trust as a regional EEN delivery partner, a rare continuity that signals institutional reliability.