In the RETOUCH Nexus project, a case study is interpreted as a micro-level WEFE Nexus representation that offers the appropriate context of a stylized water economy, where integrated and climate-resilient water governance schemes and innovative engagement mechanisms can be appraised.

The six RETOUCH Nexus case studies have been carefully selected according to the following criteria:

• • • Governance schemes and practices: WEFE nexus, watershed management, circular economy applied to water/ water circular economy approaches;
    • Sectors addressed: water, energy, food, ecosystems;
    • Dimensions considered: social, economic, environmental;
    • Policies appraised: water, food, land use, agriculture, urban planning;
    • Stakeholders engaged: e.g., water utilities, regulators, water users, solution providers, civil society (women and youth);
    • Measures and solutions covered: a combination of technological, economic, political, social solutions;
    • Water problems tackled: e.g., water quantity, water quality, pollution, biodiversity, competing demands;
    • Climate change risks covered: e.g., drought, flood, extreme events;
    • Water basins considered: trans-boundary, local, regional, island.

• The case study sites of the RETOUCH Nexus cover different levels of application that enable analysing the direct and indirect impacts of water governance schemes and policy interventions on sectors of the economy.

• The application context of the RETOUCH Nexus case studies ranges from the business park and local to regional and national levels. RETOUCH Nexus focuses on the “macro-micro linkage”framework that facilitates the assessment of various water practices and policies and their impacts within individual water-using sectors and the entire economy at any geographical level.

• The case studies will play a key role in the second work package (WP) on stakeholder engagement, WP3 (economic, financial and business models), WP4 (water governance schemes and institutional settings) and WP5 (dissemination and upscaling) represented by the case study leaders and their associated partners.

• All together, they represent the diversity of water challenges faced in Europe – facilitating the development of a product that can be easily replicable in other basins in Europe – but also beyond Europe (as other regions do face similar challenges).