Expanding Horizons: APRIORA's Risk Assessment Framework on the International Stage

During the final year of the project APRIORA, the main focus is on knowledge transfer and outreach. We strive to introduce the developed risk assessment framework and QGIS plugin to the world outside our project consortium. In addition to project webinars and workshops, international conferences provide an excellent avenue for knowledge transfer. In fact, they allow us to reach audiences even beyond the Baltic Sea Region, increase scientific acceptance and to gain perspectives informed by a broader geographical context.

From Development to Dissemination

When the call for abstracts opened for the biannual Nordic conference on wastewater management NORDIWA, we jumped at it! It would give us an excellent way to reach water management experts and researchers from parallel institutions across the Nordics. Moreover, the strong focus of the event on the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) promised valuable insights into national implementation strategies and broader regulatory outlooks.

In September 2025, NORDIWA brought together 500 wastewater experts from 15 countries in Oslo, Norway. The conference featured multiple parallel sessions, often presenting participants with the dilemma of choosing between equally relevant topics, such as

1.  micropollutants vs. AMR research,
2. upcoming legislation vs. monitoring and modelling, and
3. PFAS and micropollutants vs. modelling and AI.

However, with the clear goal of presenting the APRIORA risk assessment framework on the final day of the conference, the protagonist of our story, project partner Lauri Äystö from Syke (FI) managed to navigate through the conference with only a modest degree of information overload. Luckily, the conference organizers and the city of Oslo treated the conference participants with remarkable hospitality, great weather and interesting excursions, creating opportunities for informal discussions and new acquaintances.

Reception of the APRIORA Framework

The APRIORA presentation was scheduled in a session focusing on upcoming legislation. Despite being scheduled at the very final session of the conference, several audience members took the time to stay afterwards and discuss Lauri’s APRIORA presentation on the framework.

Project partner Lauri Äystö (Syke) presenting at NORDIWA – APRIORA content focused on the Finnish piloting area

It was particularly rewarding to notice the interest in the APRIORA approach outside our project consortium. Although the APRIORA framework had previously been presented to identified target groups and selected expert networks, receiving positive feedback and interested questions from a broader international audience was both reassuring and encouraging.

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