Meet Jeff Camkin, a pioneer at the UPWATER project. With over 30 years of experience in water, fisheries, and agricultural policy, resource allocation, stakeholder engagement, research, education and advocacy, Jeff brings a wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective to UPWATER’s mission to protect and enhance water quality. His work as a Water Policy Specialist spans local, regional, and international levels, ensuring UPWATER’s research drives meaningful change and long-term impact.
Bridging research and policy-making
“UPWATER is an important opportunity to bridge research and policy-making,” Jeff explains. As part of his role at Terra, Ambiente e Recursos Hídricos (TARH), a Portuguese project partner of UPWATER – Jeff prepares policy briefs at local, regional, and EU levels to present UPWATER’s research findings to policy-makers and stakeholders.Additionally, as an adjunct professor at the University of Western Australia (UWA), an associated partner of UPWATER, Jeff fosters collaboration and engagement. Representing UWA on UPWATER’s management board, he bridges hemispheres by encouraging Australian involvement in the project.
Enhancing policy impact to protect water quality
Jeff’s contributions focus on making research impactful: “Much of my career has been developing public policy for water, fisheries and agriculture. From this and experiences in research institutions, universities, NGOs and the private sector, I understand that research-policy-practice connectivity is critical but often weak. It is essential that research meets the needs of policymakers and results are easily assimilated into decision-making,” he says.
By distilling technical results into actionable policy recommendations, Jeff ensures that the outcomes of UPWATER are relevant and accessible to policymakers. “Water quality will continue to be a key policy issue globally, and UPWATER is in a strong position to influence future developments,” he emphasizes.
One of Jeff’s highlights has been UPWATER’s participation in the ZeroPollution4Water (ZP4W) Cluster, which unites seven Horizon Europe projects working on groundwater and drinking water protection. “It is exciting to see projects sharing challenges, ideas, and results,” Jeff notes. “Through joint efforts, including joint policy briefs and recommendations, the ZP4W Cluster maximizes the collective value of their research, offering clear pathways for policy impact.”
Insights and lessons learnt
As an Australian now living in Europe, Jeff’s role in UPWATER has provided both the necessity and opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the European water policy and policy-making environment. “Engaging with UPWATER researchers, collaborating with other ZP4W project teams, connecting with policy advisors in the European Commission, and participating in a brief training course on the European water policy framework have all added valuable new insights into how policy-making works in Europe and where UPWATER’s efforts fit in,” he explains.
However, stepping into the research techniques and technical language of UPWATER and its sister projects in the ZP4W Cluster has been a challenge too. “While I have been involved in most areas of water management, I wouldn’t consider myself an expert on water quality,” he admits. Yet, his proactive approach – listening, reading, and not being afraid to ask questions – has proven essential in building his understanding. This fresh perspective can also benefit researchers: to effectively disseminate and exploit UPWATER’s results, we must speak multiple ‘languages,’ including that of policy-makers.
Looking ahead: a journey to collective wisdom
For Jeff, collaboration is the cornerstone of achieving a Water Smart Society. “Our collaborative efforts will help ensure research leads to meaningful change,” he explains. “Each of us can make an important contribution – whether through research, data, education, advocacy, policy-making, or implementing change. But these are just steps. Our goal should be to develop collective wisdom, because it is collective wisdom that can best help us not only cope with but thrive in an increasingly complex and uncertain world.”
