A HUNDRED REPRESENTATIVES OF ENTITIES OF THE WATER SECTOR GATHERED AT THE VI STRATEGIC IMMERSION OF THE CATALAN WATER PARTNERSHIP 2021

The 6th Strategic Immersion of the Catalan Water Partnership CWP was held on the 30th of September, the first face-to-face event in 18 months, with the participation of a hundred entities of the water sector. The event revolved around the following main themes: water, post-COVID19 economic recovery, innovation, digitalisation and leadership. It was an opportunity for networking among the hundred or so managers from the water sector who took part in the event.

The event began with a welcome speech by Mr. Jordi Cros, president of the CWP, who highlighted the increase in the number of members this year: “So far this year we have 18 new members, and we have reached 117 members, which consolidates our idea that the cluster is a useful tool for members”.

He also highlighted the effort made by the cluster in this time of pandemic to try to recover normality “Since February 2020 we have not organised a face-to-face event, but we can say that in 2020 we held the Strategic Immersion conference, and in 2021 we will also have done so”.

As a first step, he informed about the creation of the advisory service for members of the recovery fund “I announce that the CWP will open an office offering support and advice on NEXT GENERATION projects”.

Samuel Reyes, director of the Catalan Water Agency (ACA) welcomed the participants, highlighting the main challenges of the ACA and the entities of the Catalan territory. “It is increasingly urgent to find solutions, together with all the agents involved: administrations, companies and the field of innovation and research to face the challenge of the climate emergency”, highlighting the role of the water cluster in this role.

Samuel Reyes stressed that “Over the next 6 years we will mobilise more than €1.4 billion through the planning of the 3rd cycle in which the strategic axes will be: guaranteeing water and reducing the deficit, sanitation and improving the quality of the environment, flooding, digitalisation and energy efficiency”.

Firstly, Mr. Raül Blanco, Secretary General for Industry of the Ministry of Trade and Tourism, presented the recovery, transformation and resilience plan for the transformation of the Spanish economy, addressing issues such as digitalisation, the AEIs, the circular economy and support for the PIME.

According to the Secretary General for Industry and SMEs, Raül Blanco, “once the worst of the crisis is over, the Government’s priority during these months has been to support the recovery of our productive fabric by maintaining a safety net, while at the same time promoting actions for the transformation of the main sectors. The investments foreseen in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan will generate a tractor effect of which the clusters must be protagonists due to their territorial capillarity, due to their capacity to generate cooperative projects, especially between SMEs”.

After a coffee break enriched by networking between the entities of the water sector, the presentation continued with Esteve Almirall who explained how disruptive technologies are influencing the changes of digitalisation in organisations and how AI, IT or Cloud computing are revolutionising the economy and all business sectors. Finally, Lucia Langa, professor at EADA, spoke about leadership, the vital balance of the leader and what a healthy mental diet for managers should be like. After a year and a half of pandemic, disruptive changes and organisational tension, it was a time to reflect on how we can improve managerial skills.

Totes les fotografies de la VI Immersió Estratègica del CWP 2021 aquí