During the past months, a dedicated team of AWARD researchers has been busy preparing and finalizing a new AWARD report. The report is one of the initial deliverables of the AWARD project, which is funded by the EU through Horizon Europe.
Objective of the Report
AWARD's Work Package 2 – "Socio-political support and engagement for AWRs management" – aims at improving the understanding of the social awareness and acceptability of AWR use in Europe through examining the existing policies and regulatory frameworks in order to identify current challenges in managing and upscaling AWR. The report analyzes the political and legal systems in which AWR are operated in Europe, focusing on the legal and regulatory frameworks as well as the financing of AWR.
Regulatory Influence on AWR
AWR are influenced by regulation/legislation on the European level, but also by national, sub-national, and municipal laws, regulations, and standards. Hence, the focus is two-fold: on the European as well as the national and subnational-level regulatory and financial frameworks.
Research Methodology
The research for this report consisted initially of desktop-based research and a questionnaire, which served to solicit detailed information on the regulatory and legislative frameworks in the AWARD Demo Case Countries as well as Serbia, Hungary, Moldova, and Bulgaria. Based on these initial results, targeted interviews have been conducted in the second half of 2024 with national and European-level experts and policymakers to gain further insights into legislative, regulatory, and financing gaps.
Future Impact and Next Steps
The report serves as a basis for further research and other AWARD products, namely:
- AWR guidelines and recommendations
- A list of actions to strengthen AWR use in Europe
- Concrete recommendations and proposals for action
Access the Full Report
The report is publicly available for download here.