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The auditing process is a sequenced, coordinated activity aimed at obtaining a specific result. The audit plan was designed to establish the baseline in each Research Performing Organisation (RPO) and Research Funding Organisation (RFO) to be able to evaluate and change the structural and cultural assets to include RRI (as defined in "D5.1: Self-Tailored RPO&RFO Audit Plans - Parts A&B" of the GRRIP project). This report contains the analysis of the evidence related to the five case study organisations. The audit was designed to collect data at the organisational level from the site leads (i.e., a top-down approach), and a survey was conducted with researchers and stakeholders, as a bottom-up approach. The top-down approach aimed at collecting objective data and documents from the five case study organisations. The bottom-up approach aimed at collecting data: 1) from the staff of the five RP(F)Os, and 2) from the Quadruple Helix stakeholders in conjunction with the activities carried out in "WP4 - Q GRRIP D&C Board". Interviews were conducted with the leaders of the GRRIP working groups established within the five RP(F)Os to complement information collected from the top-down and bottom-up survey to facilitate interconnection with the other Work Packages (WPs). The audit results presented within this report aim to inform the development of the action plans for institutionalising RRI. The findings, however, cannot be considered an exact reflection of the existing organisational processes and procedures about RRI dimensions as they are constrained by low response rates of the sent-out surveys and the use of convenience sampling method. In our analysis, we were interested in the correlation between the answers coming from the bottom-up analysis returning us a picture of the situation, even if it does not have statistical significance due to the number of answers received from the case study sites. We decided to use the Pearson's coefficient, as Pearson correlation coefficient is most appropriate for measurements taken from an interval scale according to Choi et al. [1]; in this respect, see also the response from Abdulvahed Khaledi Darvishan in the ResearchGate post (https://www.researchgate.net/post/Which-correlation-coefficient-is-better-to-use-Spearman-or-Pearson). The analysis of information and data collected is shown in Appendix A and Appendix B of this deliverable. Complete data and information are available only for the Consortium, the project officer and the GRRIP project's evaluators (on request). Section 2 provides a summary of the methodology used to collect data necessary to carry out the audit analysis. Section 3 describes the method to establish the baseline maturity level and definition of the indicators. Section 4 describes the maturity level for the five M&M RP(F)Os. Section 5 concludes the deliverable.

This policy brief provides recommendations for the science needed for the next decade and beyond to support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The document outlines the societal outcomes of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainability (A Clean Ocean, A Sustainably Harvested Ocean, A Safe Ocean, A Healthy Ocean, A Predicted Ocean, A Transparent Ocean) and provides recommendations from the 'Navigating the Future V' Position Paper (2019) by the European Marine Board to address each societal outcome.

This paper deals with the question of how to manage vulnerable coastal systems so as to make them sustainable under present and future climates. This is interpreted in terms of the coastal functionality, mainly natural services and support for socio-economic activities. From here we discuss how to adapt for long term trends and for short terms episodic events using the DPSIR framework. The analysis is presented for coastal archetypes from Spain, Ireland and Romania, sweeping a range of meteo-oceanographic and socio-economic pressures, resulting in a wide range of fluxes among them those related to sediment. The analysis emphasizes the variables that provide a higher level of robustness. That means mean sea level for physical factors and population density for human factors. For each of the studied cases high and low sustainability practices, based on stakeholders preferences, are considered and discussed. This allows proposing alternatives and carrying out an integrated assessment in the last section of the paper. This assessment permits building a sequence of interventions called adaptation pathway that enhances the natural resilience of the studied coastal systems and therefore increases their sustainability under present and future conditions.

We live on a blue planet, and Earth’s waters benefit many sectors of society. The future of our blue planet is increasingly reliant on the services delivered by marine, coastal and inland waters and on the advancement of effective, evidence-based decisions on sustainable development. ‘Oceans and Society: Blue Planet’ is an initiative of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) that aims to ensure the sustained development and use of ocean and coastal observations for the benefit of society. The initiative works to advance and exploit synergies among the many observational programmes devoted to ocean and coastal waters; to improve engagement with a variety of stakeholders for enhancing the timeliness, quality and range of information delivered; and to raise awareness of the societal benefits of ocean observations at the public and policy levels. This paper summarises the role of the initiative, current activities and considerations for future directions.

Navigating the Future V gives a birds-eye big-picture view of marine science and looks into the future (2030 and beyond) to identify key topics/themes that are set to significantly advance our understanding of the marine and broader earth and climate systems; and will be of increasing importance to societal wellbeing in decades to come.

This deliverable was produced within the activities of the "WP 5: RPO&RFO Working Groups setup, and audit and impact assessment of RRI maturity" and in particular it is the result of the "Task 5.2 - Develop self-tailored Audit plans" of the GRRIP project. The auditing process is a sequenced, coordinated activity aimed at obtaining a specific result. The Audit Plan, as defined in the GRRIP project, aims at establishing the objectives, activities, teams, and timing of the audit activities, for collecting information and assessing the initial state of the institutionalization of RRI into the Research Performing Organisations (RPO) and the Research Funding Organization (RFO) that are the case study demo sites involved in GRRIP. This will enable each organization to establish the baseline to evaluate and change the structural and cultural assets to include RRI. An audit process consists of different phases, i.e. planning, fieldwork, and reporting. This document describes the planning phase, i.e. the Audit Plan of an audit process. It plans the activities to be implemented in the fieldwork for assessing procedures and practices to identify RRI gaps (knowledge acquisition). The task "T5.2 - Develop self-tailored Audit Plans" of GRRIP has to define the Audit plans for RPOs and RFOs that are described in this deliverable. This document will be the basis of the implementation of the Audit Plans (Task 5.3 - Conduct Audit parts A&B for each RPO&RFO). The Audit Plan is delivered in each Organisation through the representatives (the Working Group manager) of the Working Groups, which has been already established in GRRIP (see task T5.1). Each Working Group member is invited to participate in the Audit of her/his organization to assess the maturity level of RRI practices and determine how well the organization is currently performing and is also invited to share and facilitate the dissemination of the survey that is addressed to the researchers of the organisation. The remaining of this document contains one section about the goals of the GRRIP Audit Plan, one section that gives a picture of the type of information and data to be collected with the audit activity and necessary for the audit analysis, one section that describes the process for the Audit Plan definition, and one section containing the General framework of the Audit Plan on which the RPOs ant the RFO base their tailored Audit Plans. Finally, this document includes an appendix containing the Process for Working Group Manager related to the Audit Plan.

Research at the interface between terrestrial, riverine, estuarine and marine environments is frequently constrained by significant disciplinary and geographical boundaries. This article outlines an international initiative, DANUBIUS-RI, which aims to address these problems by facilitating biogeochemical monitoring and interdisciplinary research on river-sea systems. The scope of the project spans the environmental, social and economic sciences and was accepted into the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures roadmap in 2016. When operational, DANUBIUS-RI will offer researchers access to interdisciplinary expertise, facilities and European river-sea systems, providing a comprehensive platform for multidisciplinary research and training.

Adaptation to climate change is an increasing priority for coastal management. European Union and Member State adaptation policies and strategies have been promulgated but associated with minimal delivery of adaptation interventions and tangible gains in resilience. Generic stages of adaptation and barriers to adaptation have been identified; various tools or instruments have potential to strengthen adaptation delivery. Scenario analysis is one tool which provides a description of alternate possible future states and has been used to support adaptation planning. This work aims to assess how readily those engaged in coastal management decision-making are able to develop and utilise scenarios of change for adaptation and whether it represents a ‘best practice’ approach for adaptation planning. The scenario analysis facilitated many aspects of the adaptation process, which ultimately led to a tractable adaptation strategy being produced. However, pathways for integrated approaches to co-deliver adaptation were less evident. The planning horizon, much beyond usual governmental budget and project cycles, the need for trade-offs and embedded institutional constraints meant that a majority of those who had started out on the scenario analysis became disengaged by its conclusion. The analysis undertaken concurs with theoretical work which projects a tail-off of the benefits of scenario analysis at the later stages of the adaptation cycle. The work concludes that scenario analysis offers the potential to overcome key barriers to adaptation progress. However, the gains may be limited as the institutional drivers for longer-term pro-active planning may be weak compared to present day roles, responsibilities and competitive pressures.

Using the example of ICZM implementation in Cork Harbour – an intensive multi-use setting – the potential to inform and advance the implementation of climate adaptation is examined. National level policy for climate adaptation is reviewed with a local ICZM initiative with a focus on process, principles and people. Lessons learned and critical contributions are identified that can inform endeavours in similar coastal environments, and ensure that ICZM is optimised to support the implementation of climate adaptation and resilience enhancement. Evidence suggests that despite being implemented through different institutional and policy frameworks, the local partnership-based ICZM model can provide enabling mechanisms, facilitate capacity building and harness knowledge exchange and learning to support the local scale implementation of national climate policy.

Seaports as critical shore-based infrastructure are particularly vulnerable to impacts such as sea level rise and increasing incidents of severe weather events. In excess of ninety percent of global trade by volume is transported by sea. In Ireland, seaports are of strategic importance to the national economy. As an island nation, ninety eight percent of trade by volume comes through its seaports. Climate issues facing Irish ports include increasing storminess, such as the Atlantic storms experienced in the winter of 2014. Ireland provides a particularly valuable case study as the scale of Irish port sizes, analysed in this research, range from 500,000 to 30 million throughput tonnage. This tonnage range, is more typical of port sizes globally, and adds relevance to the study. The specific objectives of this paper are to establish the readiness of the seaport sector in Ireland to build adaptive capacity to respond to climate change and to assess lessons from and for Ireland in the context of international best practice. The research identified a lack of awareness and understanding of climate change amongst the sample population of seventy senior managers (comprising of national regulators and local authorities; commercial port harbour companies; and indigenous and multinational industries located in the port hinterland), as representatives of the maritime sector in Ireland. Evidence of a knowledge gap was identified from in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted over a twelve month period. Many industry stakeholders were actually implementing adaptation measures within their organisational strategies, unaware of the explicit links with climate adaptation.

Adaptation to climate change is an increasingly urgent priority for coastal managers. At the highest levels of governance, European Union and Member State adaptation policies and strategies are now well established, but meaningful adaptation interventions illustrating tangible gains in resilience remain scarce. A clear framework for generic adaptation processes, along with barriers to their smooth progress, have now been identified in the literature, and equally generic scenario analysis tools have been put forward to strengthen adaptation delivery by assisting coastal managers to overcome them. Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) is a relatively novel option in this respect, having yet to achieve the kind of widespread uptake and trial that more orthodox futures approaches such as intuitive logic scenarios have. FCM is however growing rapidly in its range of uses and breadth of uptake, and its utility in overcoming the barriers to adaptation among coastal managers is therefore worthy of analysis. This case study, in which FCM was employed in place of intuitive logic scenario analysis within an adaptation strategy development process, found FCM to carry a number of key strengths that intuitive logic scenario analysis has been found to lack. Through enabling a more detailed and granular level of participatory development of the ‘engine’ of the futures process than possible under an intuitive logic approach, the level of buy-in and commitment to the adaptation strategy development process achieved among coastal managers and stakeholders was significantly greater.

Different marine and coastal activities have diverse economic, environmental, and socio-cultural objectives, which can lead to conflict when these multidimensional activities coincide spatially or temporally. This is sometimes driven by a lack of understanding or other users’ needs and consequentially adequate planning and the utilization of acommonlanguage is essential. By using a transparent approach based on multi-criteria analysis, we characterize and establish priorities for future development/conservation for all users in the coastal area using six representative European Case Studies with different levels of complexity. Results varied according to location, but significantly it was found that stakeholders tended to favour ecological and social over economic objectives. This paper outlines the methodology employed, the results derived, and the potential for this approach to reduce conflict in coastal and marine waters. Keywords: case studies, coexist, conflict (reduction), European Coastal Zone, marine spatial planning, multi-criteria analysis, stakeholders.

Critical barriers to adaptation to climate change include the timely detection and agreed definition of problems requiring adaptive action. In the context of local scale coastal management in north-western Europe, challenges to problem detection and identification are exacerbated by the diffuse nature of administrative, sectoral, and legal rights and other professional governance obligations. Yet, if adaptation is to progress in a manner that is both locally legitimate and in accord with national policies, climate signals must be detected and climate impact problems framed in similar ways by two key groups; local scale ‘bottom-up’ experts and decision makers, and national scale ‘top–down’ scientists and policy makers. With reference to case study sites in Ireland and Scotland, we employ participatory modelling with coastal stakeholders using Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) to trial its potential in measuring and assessing stakeholder perceptions of climate vulnerability both individually and collectively. We found that FCM not only offers insight into the existing detection and framing of climate signals in coastal decision making but also provides a structured communication platform from which climate problems might be coherently integrated into future coastal management deliberations as the adaptation process matures.

This paper describes the influences on operational management of erosion at Inch beach, Co. Kerry on the south west coast of Ireland with specific reference to the CONSCIENCE Frame of Reference for erosion management and the key concepts defined under the EUROSION project. It provides an insight of the wave climate and quantifies contemporary erosion patterns through a combination of field analysis and modelling. An attempt is made to assess the response of the coastline to storms with varied return periods and to place current change in an historical context. The reasons for the lack of application of these key concepts are explored in combination with the applicability of the Frame of Reference to the management of Inch Strand. This paper describes the outcomes of attempting to apply this Frame of Reference at Inch Strand and the affect that national coastal policy, or lack thereof, has on the utilisation of internationally recognised erosion management concepts by local stakeholders with responsibility for eroding coastlines. The paper is of significance not only to an Irish audience, but also the wider international community who may face similar challenges in managing their coastal resources.

The main objective of the Conscience project was to develop and test concepts, guidelines and tools for the sustainable management of erosion along the European coastline, based on the best available scientific knowledge and on existing practical experience. Four concepts are potentially capable of providing the nexus between scientific knowledge and management: coastal resilience, coastal sediment cell, favourable sediment status and strategic sediment reservoir. The project has tested the use of these concepts and found that they are useful, provided that they are positioned and linked within a logical structure that we shall call the Conscience “Frame of Reference”, defined in time and space and supported through data and monitoring. Practical experience in six coastal sites in Europe has shown that the use of this Frame of Reference together with these concepts can make management objectives explicit and transparent. It can therefore support the design of an appropriate, resilience based coastal erosion management practice.

Coastal environments are susceptible to a range of impacts arising from medium and long-term climate change. However, as Ireland's population and industrial centres are concentrated in coastal locations, Ireland's coastal communities will be particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Therefore, making the best use of existing knowledge to inform the establishment of governance structures capable of facilitating the measures and actions which may soon be required is a national imperative. Coastal communities worldwide have turned to integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) as a process to deliver sustainable development. This paper explores how experience gained from ICZM implementation can be harnessed to inform the development and implementation of climate adaptation policies, with a particular focus on the coastal zone. Using the principles and conceptual basis of Earth System Governance – an emerging approach to analyse complexity of governance under global environmental change – the paper maps the architecture of ICZM and climate governance in Ireland. The research identifies the main barriers to, and opportunities for, integrated application of the two policy domains. Barriers include the fragmentation of governance structures and responsibilities of key stakeholders, a lack of coordinated support for ICZM implementation at the national level, and a relatively weak awareness of the specifics of adaptation at the local level. Opportunities include the availability of expertise gathered from phases of ICZM implementation in Ireland, which encompasses mechanisms for science-policy integration, and invaluable experience of stakeholder participation and interaction. Current political and scientific support at national and EU levels give an additional impetus to climate research and actions which may bring additional opportunities and resources to coastal governance in Ireland.

The coastal environment is commonly the location for multiple human activities, of which recreation is just one. The coastal and marine sector has experienced nascent growth and this trend is likely to continue into the foreseeable future; the projected growth of the sector will impact coastal and marine resources, whilst also placing demands on those tasked with planning and managing the coastal environment. In Ireland, this presents particular challenges for coastal local authorities, as the principal planning consent body. In order to address these emerging challenges an innovative working partnership was developed between the research community and local authority to examine marine recreation in Cork Harbour, situated on the southern coast of Ireland. A programme of work was devised to identify data gaps in terms of: baseline information; user attitudes and perceptions towards existing management framework and facilities for recreation; interactions between different user groups; and, spatial distribution of recreational activities. The results of the assessment provided an improved understanding of the current coastal recreational situation, have value as input to spatial planning and contribute to the development of an integrated management plan for Cork Harbour.

Throughout northwest European coastal countries risks associated with coastal erosion are significant but spatially and temporally variable. The level of this risk is largely dependent on the extent of development within the coastal zones and a variety of approaches have been adopted for its management. The decision-making process for responding to erosion risk depends to a large extent on national policy. Coastal protection policy in northwest European countries varies in terms of the level of centralisation and formality of arrangements. In this paper the practical outworking of the informal practice-based system of Ireland, where there is no national policy framework, is compared with the policy-led system of England and Wales where formal national guidelines exist. Using case studies, the strengths and weaknesses of both the bottom-up and top-down approaches are assessed. The findings reveal strengths and weaknesses in both existing types of approach.

Cresce cada vez mais a quantidade de cenários e aplicações que necessitam de processamento e respostas em tempo real e que se utilizam de modelos matemáticos e de mineração de dados a fim de garantir o melhor suporte à tomada de decisão. Neste trabalho, propomos uma metodologia para processamento e clusterização de grandes volumes de fluxos, contínuos e infinitos, de dados com respostas em tempo real, através do uso de redes neurais artificiais conhecidas como mapas auto-organizáveis. Os experimentos e simulações foram realizadas em um ambiente de Cloud Computing sobre um conjunto de dados climáticos. Os resultados mostram a eficiência da proposta ao garantir que o modelo neural utilizado possa gerar respostas em tempo real para o processamento de Big Data.

A new coastal early warning system CEWS called iCoast for the NW Mediterranean Sea is under development. It is composed of three numerical modules: meteorological, hydrodynamic and morphodynamic. The CEWS is designed for use on open sandy beaches, pocket beaches, secondary harbours as well as areas of coastal defences. A set of hotspots, prone to erosion or flooding, along the Catalan coast are being identified through a coastal hazard and risk mapping. Special attention is given to a set of intervention and emergency protocols based on the forecast outputs and the application of Quick Defence Measures (QDM) to diminish the risk. This paper presents the initial architecture and highlights the next step for QDM under the iCoast project.

Globally, coastal areas are subject to an increase in competing activities. Coastal fisheries and aquaculture are highly dependent on availability and accessibility of appropriate sites. Aquaculture production is increasing, whereas fisheries are at best stagnant. Coastal activities also include activities such as recreation, tourism, facilities for renewable energy production, all of which are expected to increase in importance. There is also increasing focus on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Thus, competition for available sites will probably increase, emphasizing the need for Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and improved management tools supporting policies for space allocation along the entire European coastline. Successful MSP is not likely to be achieved without a certain level of conflict, and without iterative adaptations in management actions. MSP is viewed an essential part of advancing ecosystem‐based management as demanded by the Marine Strategy Directive. The biological interconnectedness of fisheries and aquaculture is strong, with factors such as competition for space, disease transmission, genetic impact from escapees, availability of food for cultured finfish, and organic and inorganic waste management. Furthermore, the public perception of aquaculture in Europe and North America may be characterized by the view of aquaculture being a “new” and “unnatural” activity, whereas fisheries are viewed as “traditional” and “natural”. However, in an ecosystem‐based management context, both industries represent human activities strongly influencing, and influenced by, the environment. Management of aquaculture and fisheries, as well as other uses of the coastal zone, should be considered integral parts with local variations in their respective importance.

Transient Defence Measures (TDM) are defined as actions that can be taken in advance in the coastal zone in order to reduce the impacts of an specific forecasted storm event. The design of such transient works requires detailed information of the hydrodynamic conditions of forecast events and an assessment of the effect on subsequent beach evolution. In this work, we present an analysis through numerical modelling of the efficiency of transitional dunes and temporary low-crested breakwaters considering the Mediterranean hydrodynamic conditions. The outcomes will serve to design a set of alternatives for mitigation of the coastal risks caused by extreme waves and high sea water levels in European coastal areas.