赋能未来就绪型城市的水资源创新生态构建洞察报告

I N S I G H TR E P O R T Contents Foreword Executive summary Introduction6 1.1The need for urban water innovation8 1.2Limitations of existing frameworks9 1.3Methodology: Building a systems-based approach10 1.5Stakeholder engagement and co-design12 2Water-BOOST: A systems toolkit for scaling water innovation15 2.1Mapping the water innovation ecosystem2.2Water-BOOST principles1517 3Water innovation ecosystems in practice: City-level insights22 3.1San Francisco3.2Valencia3.3Singapore3.4Accra3.5Barcelona3.6Bengaluru222425273032 4From mapping to strategy: Operationalizing Water-BOOST34 4.1Cross-comparison of cities4.2Cross-city reflections and emerging impact areas4.3Scaling and future directions4.4What Water-BOOST teaches34363940 Conclusion: Aligning systems to accelerate innovation41 Appendix 42 Contributors 44 Endnotes49 Disclaimer This document is published by the World Economic Forum as a contribution to aproject, 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 represent ©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; Member Mary RyanVice-Provost, Research 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. 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 water 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 actionable 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 innovation 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, 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 broader This report presents the outcome of two yearsof collaborative research and stakeholderengagement, demonstrating the value of structured Ultimately, Water-BOOST is a call to action torethink how we approach water – not just in citiesbut across all water-dependent systems – and tounlock innovation as a catalyst for water security, Executive summary Cities need enabling environments inwhich innovation can thrive, scale and Findings from stakeholder engagement and fieldresearch revealed that successful ecosystemsare not defined by any single actor or technology.Instead, progress depends on the quality of Urban water innovation is becoming increasinglycritical in addressing mounting pressures oninfrastructure, governance and resource security.Yet, despite growing ambition and a steady flow This research, supported by the HoffmannFellowship and conducted through a collaborationbetween the Forum and Imperial College,began by asking: what conditions allow urbanwater innovation to thrive – and how do keyactors and institutions need to interact for thatto happen? Drawing on systems thinking, theresearch project investigated the governance From this insight emerged a novel systemsframework to better understand the enablingenvironments: Water-BOOST (BridgingOpportunities and Optimising Support Toolkit).Water-BOOST was developed to support cities,policy-makers, funders and innovators in assessing The framework is grounded in three core principles: Strategic recommendations emerging from this 1.Innovation cannot scale without ecosystem –Use structured ecosystem mapping to alignstakeholders around common goals A functioning innovation ecosystem requiresa minimal viable system (MVS): the essentialconfiguration of stakeholders and enablingmechanis