On the 27th January 2020, it took place at the facilities of the Intermunicipal Community of Alto Minho (CIM do Alto Minho) in Ponte de Lima (Portugal), the first meeting of the group of local stakeholders, under the project “BIGDATA 4RIVERS: Improving the European Rivers Water Quality Through Smart Water Management Policies”. This first regional meeting with the stakeholder group of CIM Alto Minho had as main purposes: to frame and present the BIGDATA 4RIVERS project to the group of stakeholders, to initiate the establishment of an effective communication and collaboration framework between CIM Alto Minho and the group of local stakeholders aiming at defining the best action plan possible (with a real impact on the effectiveness of the regional policy instrument), as well as sharing ideas and collecting input from these key players in defining the action plan.
Representatives from below organizations participated in the meeting as stakeholders:
• Águas do Alto Minho group
• European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation Rio Minho (AECT Rio Minho)
• Integrated Rural Development Association of Lima (ADRIL)
• Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo (IPVC)
• Port Authority of Douro, Leixões and Viana do Castelo (APDL)
The majority of stakeholders expressed their willingness to collaborate with CIM Alto Minho in the implementation of the BIGDATA 4RIVERS project, recognizing their interest in the results resulting from the action plan, as well as in the exchange of knowledge and sharing of experiences.
The relevance of involving other agents / stakeholders in these sessions of discussion and exchange of experiences was also pointed out, and that is why it was agreed to hold a new meeting for the stakeholders who were unable to attend this meeting as well as including the entities indicated. This new meeting will take place on the 18th February 2020.
