赋能未来就绪型城市的水资源创新生态构建洞察报告

Water-BOOST:Enabling Innovation forFuture-Ready Cities I N S I G H TR E P O R TO C T O B E R2 0 2 5 Contents ForewordExecutive summaryIntroduction1 Unlocking water innovation1.1 The need for urban water innovation1.2 Limitations of existing frameworks1.3 Methodology: Building a systems-based approach1.4 Case-study cities: A diverse testing ground1.5 Stakeholder engagement and co-design2 Water-BOOST: A systems toolkit for scaling water innovation2.1 Mapping the water innovation ecosystem2.2 Water-BOOST principles3 Water innovation ecosystems in practice: City-level insights3.1 San Francisco3.2 Valencia3.3 Singapore3.4 Accra3.5 Barcelona3.6 Bengaluru4 From mapping to strategy: Operationalizing Water-BOOST4.1 Cross-comparison of cities4.2 Cross-city reflections and emerging impact areas4.3 Scaling and future directions4.4 What Water-BOOST teachesConclusion: Aligning systems to accelerate innovationAppendixContributorsEndnotes34688910111215151722222425273032343436394041424449 DisclaimerThis document is published by the World Economic Forum as a contribution to a project, insight area or interaction. The findings, interpretations and conclusionsexpressed herein are a result of a collaborative process facilitated and endorsedby the World Economic Forum but whose results do not necessarily representthe views of the World Economic Forum, nor the entirety of its Members,Partners or other stakeholders. ©2025 World Economic Forum. All rights reserved. No part of this publicationmay be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, includingphotocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system. Foreword Tania StraussHead of Sustainable Growthand People Agenda; Memberof the Executive Committee,World Economic Forum Mary RyanVice-Provost, Researchand Enterprise, ImperialCollege London Water underpins the health, prosperity andresilience of cities worldwide. Yet the global watercrisis is intensifying. From increasing scarcityand pollution to more frequent floods, water-related risks are accelerating under the combinedpressures of climate change, urbanization,population growth and economic development.As cities expand and populations concentrate inurban areas, managing water wisely and equitablyis no longer optional; it is a fundamental enabler ofsustainable and resilient development, economicstability and human well-being. 130 stakeholders in six global cities, co-hostingWorld Water Day 2025 in London and presentingthe research at high-level panels and strategicdialogues to raise international interest in waterinnovation ecosystems. Beyond research and engagement, the outcomesof this ambitious fellowship programme convergeto a strategic framework and a practical toolkit,designed to help stakeholders map their enablingenvironments, identify barriers and define actionablepathways towards resilience and innovationat scale. Its name, Water-BOOST (BridgingOpportunities and Optimising Support Toolkit),summarizes its spirit and purpose. Addressing water challenges requires more thannovel technologies or isolated policy efforts. Itdemands whole-system, cross-sectoral solutionsthat bring together public and private actors,align regulatory and financial incentives andpromote environments that enable innovationto thrive. Despite encouraging advances, waterinnovation remains hindered by fragmented efforts,limited investment and an absence of enablingmechanisms to translate ambition into impact. Crucially, Water-BOOST is not only a tool for cities.Its adaptable, systems-based design makes itrelevant to water-sector ecosystems more broadly,including industrial, rural and regional contexts. Itoffers structured guidance on how diverse actors– utilities (utility service providers), regulators,innovators, investors, academia and communityorganizations – can work together to createenvironments in which water solutions are pilotedand, critically, scaled. Recognizing these challenges, Imperial CollegeLondon and the World Economic Forum partneredthrough the Hoffmann Fellowship programme,generously supported by André Hoffmann, whichempowers scientists and researchers to bridgeacademia and practice in tackling global challenges.This collaboration enabled the exploration of howinnovation ecosystems in cities and the broaderwater sector can be accelerated. The strengthof this partnership lies in its blend of academicdepth and rigour, together with the Forum’sglobal convening capacity, driving engagementacross government, industry, finance and civilsociety. Already, this collaboration has achievedkey milestones, including convening more than This report presents the outcome of two yearsof collaborative research and stakeholderengagement, demonstrating the value of structuredpartnerships among academia, industry and globalorganizations to address systemic challenges. Ultimately, Water-BOOST is a call to action torethink how we approach water – not just in citiesbut across all water-dependent systems –