Strategische Agenda 2022-2025

Strategic Agenda - Focus on the Future, Fast Forward Now 25 To continue down that road, modern data-driven techno­ logies and cloud developments need to occupy a self- evident position in the wide range of Deltares knowledge facilities. There has not only been an enormous expansion in the questions that are being asked; the same applies to the corpus of knowledge from different domains: from atmosphere to subsurface and from energy to governance. Alliances and the combination of domains are reflected in, among other things, a number of large digital platforms that are under development. Two important examples are the European Destination Earth and Microsoft's Planetary Computer. Digital platforms are also being established on a smaller scale. A number of initiatives have also emerged at Deltares, including Blue Earth. Global Water Watch: worldwide water data available in almost real-time Unreliable water supplies represent a threat to societies and economies. Worldwide water information is essential for sustainable water use, sound management and timely action. To improve access to water information, Deltares has been nominated for financial support - together with our partners WRI and WWF - by Google.org for the development of an application that makes global water data available in high resolution, and in near real-time. With the information from the Global Water Watch, we can establish an understanding of how water is distributed around the world and we can better manage floods and droughts, which are more frequent because of climate change. The proposal is for Deltares to build the platform on the basis of AI algorithms that translate earth observation data into relevant water information. We also establish links with local measurements. Water data derived directly from satellite images, without proper interpretation, are inadequate for decision-makers. They want answers to questions like 'How much water can be stored in my reservoir?', or 'Have we enough water this year to irrigate crops?' The planned platform generates this water information. The aim is to establish greater transparency between riparian states, regardless of sector boundaries and for all groups in society, with greater equality as a result. This initiative is possible thanks to financial support from the 'Google.org Impact Challenge on Climate’. "We received an overwhelming number of applications, and we and the expert jury were convinced by the Deltares approach. We are delighted with how Deltares uses technology to tackle challenges such as climate change and how this can help to establish a greener and more resilient future." The proposed development of the Global Water Watch is one of the examples that will help us achieve the objectives relating to software and data. It complements the objectives for the development of the Blue Earth platform. It also ties in with our ambitions relating to open data and the implementation and practice of machine learning techniques and cloud computing environments.