Project INSPIRI brings innovative approaches to ocean and river restoration

The three-year consortium project INSPIRI (Imaginative Narratives and Scenarios for Inspiring Restoration and Innovation for European Seas and Water System) contributes to the EU Mission: Restore Our Ocean and Waters. The project is funded by the Horizon Europe research and innovation program (GA 101213933).

The European Green Deal, the Mission “Restore Our Ocean and Waters,” and related EU policy goals set ambitious objectives. Yet their achievement is hindered by numerous challenges, such as mistrust among decision-makers, lack of public support, and limited concrete action. INSPIRI addresses these obstacles by co-creating desired visions of the future with diverse stakeholders in four EU regions (Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Baltic Sea, as well as the Danube Delta). These visions will then be used for backcasting, scenario modeling, and regional experimental policy laboratories – all with the goal of advancing progress in ocean and river restoration.

Researchers will carry out the project in close collaboration with stakeholders, who will shape visions of the future of European water systems using the Nature Futures Framework tool. These visions will serve as the foundation for backcasting, modeling regional future scenarios, and their visual communication, including the production of artistic works. In transformative laboratories (T-labs), focused on future policies, decision-makers, scientists, and civil society will work together.

The project introduces numerous innovations in scientific methodologies, knowledge integration (including contributions to the European Digital Twin of the Ocean), and the design of knowledge that is directly usable for decision-makers.

INSPIRI’s aim is to create feasible pathways for a sustainable future for Europe’s waters and oceans, while strengthening trust in this goal and cooperation between science, policy, and society.

The project, worth 3 million euros, is led by the Science and Research Centre Koper (ZRS Koper), Mediterranean Institute for Environmental Studies (MIOS). The project leader is Dr. Jerneja Penca, head of the institute. “Kick-off meeting took place in Koper from September 9 to 11, 2025.

Consortium partners include:

– Stockholms universitet,

– Universidade de Santiago de Compostela,

– International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis,

– Institut de Recherche pour le Développement,

– Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche,

– Planethon AB,

– Centre national de la recherche scientifique,

– Asociatia WWF Romania.

More information about the project: https://www.zrs-kp.si/en/projects/international-projects/inspiri-2/