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widely recognized and accepted but there is, in actuality, little theoretical foundation as well as
practical experience regarding how this integration could be achieved or of the consequences of attempts
to achieve it. Furthermore, the concept of IWRM remains nebulous. NeWater identifies key typical
elements of the current water management system and then focuses its research on processes of transition
of these elements to adaptive IWRM. Each key element is studied by novel approaches. Key IWRM areas
where NeWater is expected to deliver new insights include:

• governance in water management (methods to arrive at polycentric, horizontal broad stakeholder participation in IWRM)
  
• sectoral integration (integration of IWRM and spatial planning; integration with climate change
  adaptation strategies, cross-sectoral optimisation and cost-benefit analysis)
  
• scales of analysis in IWRM (methods to resolve resource use conflicts; transboundary issues)
  
• information management (multi stakeholder dialogue, multi-agent systems modelling; role of games in decision making; novel monitoring systems for decision systems in water management)
  
• infrastructure (innovative methods for river basin buffering capacity; role of storage in adaptation to climate variability and climate extremes)
  
• finances and risk mitigation strategies in water management (new instruments, role of public-private arrangements in risk-sharing)
  
• stakeholder participation; promoting new ways of bridging between science, policy and
  implementation