Innovation emerges where strong collaborations, extensive synergies and creative research networks are fostered. NEXUSNET action builds on scientific cooperation and robust research ties towards advancing excellence, interdisciplinary research, and young researchers’/innovators’ empowerment.

Innovation emerges where strong collaborations, extensive synergies and creative research networks are fostered. NEXUSNET action builds on scientific cooperation and robust research ties towards advancing excellence, interdisciplinary research, and young researchers’/innovators’ empowerment.

COST Action CA20138

Network on water-energy-food nexus for a low-carbon economy in Europe and beyond – NEXUSNET

NEXUSNET is an international network of researchers collaborating with universities, research institutions, policymakers and the business sector to better understand how the water-energy-food Nexus fosters policy coherence and biophysical interactions in the domains of water, energy and food, supporting the transition towards a circular and low-carbon economy in Europe. The network focuses on job creation, enhancing wellbeing, establishing broad synergies and care for the environment. The Nexus concept is tested at different scales (i.e. local, regional, national, European), while the international dimension is explored through the involvement of international proposers. More Nexus-compliant practices are foreseen through a knowledge/research sharing hub at European level and beyond. Public-private initiatives pave the path for Nexus compliant practices, building on network members’ advice. NEXUSNET will deliver examples of nexus compliant policies, decision making, and recommendations to best achieve them, to come-up with an overview of Good Nexus Practices in Europe (policy coherence, Nexus-compliant practices and more coherent nexus evaluations). Trans-disciplinary approaches are adopted to test Nexus compliant practices with the involvement of relevant stakeholders, while interaction and engagement with current and finished Nexus-related projects will be pursued. Academic Nexus knowledge will be translated into practical and applicable knowledge for the private sector or policy makers. A series of intense knowledge transfer and dissemination actions are planned to ensure that the network will have a significant impact in Europe and beyond.

Activities and Grants

Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs)

STMTs are funded as part of the COST Action CA20138 NETWORK ON WATER-ENERGY-FOOD NEXUS FOR A LOW-CARBON ECONOMY IN EUROPE AND BEYOND (NEXUSNET). STSMs allow scientists to conduct short research and study visits up to six months to a research institution or laboratory in another COST Country in order to strengthen the existing networks and to foster collaboration, to learn a new technique or to use equipment, data and/or methods not available in their own institution and to contribute to the scientific objectives of the Action.

Training Schools

Training schools are intensive coaching opportunities for Action participants that last for up to 15 days. Training is organized by each COST Action on a topic of their choice and held on the premises of a participating institution or organization. Young researchers in particular typically benefit from the training school initiative; however study opportunities can also be offered more widely within the Action and can be useful for participants wishing to learn new skills or retrain.

Meetings, workshops and conferences

Meetings are organized by COST Action Management Committees (MC) in any COST Member State joining the network. They can be of different types, such as MC meetings, working group meetings, workshops and conferences. They may be open to the wider community and provide opportunities to enhance the COST Action’s visibility. COST will contribute to the travel and subsistence costs of the invited participants, and to the cost of organizing the meeting.

Conference grants

These grants are aimed at young researchers and PhD students from Inclusive Target Countries (ITC) and help individuals attend beneficial international conferences that are not organized by COST Actions.

Communication and Dissemination

The sharing of scientific results is vitally important in strengthening science and research. Due to the value and impact communication and dissemination activities can have on the wider research community, COST actively encourages and supports Actions to share outcomes with researchers, policymakers, the private sector and civic society such as NGOs.

Virtual Networking Tools

COST has developed two new types of Grants to respond to the rising need of digital tools in the context of the pandemic and to ensure continuity of COST Actions’ work activities: a) Virtual Networking Support (VNS) Grant to stimulate virtual collaboration among all the members of a given Action by designating a Virtual Networking Support Manager. The successful applicant will be selected by the COST Action Management Committee (MC) to promote the virtual collaboration, such as developing a virtual networking strategy for the Action, taking overall responsibility for Virtual Mobility Grants and supporting the MC in the discussions and planning of virtual events and collaboration activities, b) Virtual Mobility (VM) Grants to strengthen the existing networks by allowing individual participants to foster collaboration, to exchange knowledge, to learn new techniques, etc. The successful applicants will be selected by the MC to perform activities that do not necessarily require in-person presence. These activities may include surveys, questionnaires or preparation of protocols, virtual mentoring of activities that can generate capacity, build new skills, etc.

News and events

New blog published by BIONEXT project

News

A new blog entitled “Close your eyes and imagine Europe in 2050” has been published by BIONEXT project.

New article published by BIONEXT project

News

A new article entitled “What a nature-centered Europe can look like in 2050” has been published by BIONEXT project.

1st Training School on Nature and People in the Nexus – Program and Trainers

News, training

The 1st training school, organized by NEXUSNET/COST Action CA20138 “Network on water-energy-food nexus for a low-carbon economy in Europe and beyond – NEXUSNET” starts on May 22nd.

The eighth NEXUSNET blog “Monitoring the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus: Indicators Supporting the Performance of SDGs” is now published

News

The eighth NEXUSNET blog "Monitoring the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus: Indicators Supporting the Performance of SDGs" is now published by Dr. Chrysaida-Aliki Papadopoulou, Research Associate, School of Rural, Surveying and Geoinformatics Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Greece and Dr. Nikolaos Mellios, Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Thessaly, Greece.

SustainFood Webinar

News

SustainFood” is happy to invite you to attend a webinar on “Exploring spatio-temporal hydrological and eco-environmental dynamics for integrated land and water resource management in the Upper Mzingwane sub-catchment of Zimbabwe”.

1st Training School on Nature and People in the Nexus – 2nd Call

News, training

This is the 2nd Call for applications to join the 1st training school, organized by the COST Action CA20138 “Network on water-energy-food nexus for a low-carbon economy in Europe and beyond – NEXUSNET”.

New article published by BIONEXT project

News

A new article entitled “Identifying pathways to sustainable societies – BIONEXT’s methodologies as a tool for nature-centered futures” has been published by BIONEXT project.

2023

New article on air: Scaling-up circularity efforts to support UN’s Water Action Agenda

News

A new article, prepared by NEXUSNET members Serena Caucci and Zeynep Ozkul has been published. The article addresses how Nexus activities / projects we are working on could contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development agenda.

New blog published by BIONEXT project

News

New communication output of BIONEXT project has been published. BIONEXT is a research and innovation project that joins the fight for nature and biodiversity.