Cairo, Egypt – Universität der Bundeswehr München (UniBwM), FrontAg Nexus project Coordinator, participated in the PRIMA WEFE Nexus Workshop, titled “Translating Research into Action: Institutionalizing WEFE Nexus Solutions across the Mediterranean, Europe, and Africa”, held on November 2, 2025, in Cairo.

Organized by DIONYSUS, in cooperation with the PRIMA Foundation, CIHEAM-IAMM, and Egypt’s Institute of National Planning, the workshop brought together researchers, international organizations, PRIMA project representatives, and practitioners to explore how Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus research can be translated into coordinated, actionable policies across the region.

What was discussed

• The policy discussions focused on identifying and overcoming the key obstacles that prevent successful WEFE pilots and research findings from effectively influencing mainstream policymaking:

  • Sectoral & Project Fragmentation: Persistent gaps between WEFE projects, public institutions, and policy sectors.
  • Institutional Coordination Gaps: Insufficient collaboration among researchers, policymakers, and implementing bodies.
  • Data & Evidence Exchange: Limited sharing of standardized, comparable data, methodologies, and pilot evidence.
  • Socio-Economic & Gender Dimensions: Inadequate incorporation of social, gender, and economic considerations in WEFE assessments.
  • Science-to-Policy Mechanisms: Weak processes for translating scientific outputs into actionable policy briefs and legislative tools.
  • Local Stakeholder Engagement: The need for broader participation, particularly from local communities, farmers, and field practitioners.
  • Financial Integration: Limited involvement of development banks and financial institutions needed for scaling, replication, and investment.
  • Sustainability of Initiatives: Absence of a permanent regional structure to maintain cooperation once individual project lifecycles end.

Participants emphasized moving beyond purely technological solutions to build the necessary institutional governance and infrastructure connecting evidence, decision-makers, financial actors, and local stakeholders.

Key Outcomes and Institutional Conclusions

The workshop delivered concrete institutional outputs and strategic outcomes:

1. Establishment of the Regional WEFE Nexus Think Tank: Participants co-designed the framework for the DIONYSUS Think Tank as a permanent platform connecting research, policy, and practice to support Mediterranean science-policy dialogue and evidence-based governance.
2. Unified Data and Policy Platform: Agreement on creating a common digital space for projects to share methodologies, pilot data, tools, and policy recommendations, reducing duplication and increasing policy relevance.
3. Structured Policy Development Cycle: Proposal of a multi-step policy cycle covering draft recommendations, stakeholder consultation, validation, communication with decision-makers, implementation, and impact evaluation.
4. Inclusive Governance Framework: Commitment to expanding WEFE governance beyond academia and government to include civil society, development banks, women’s and youth organizations, as well as incubators and accelerators.
5. Enhanced Regional Coordination: Strong support for a central coordination function linking cross-regional projects, knowledge hubs, and funding mechanisms across Europe, the Mediterranean, and Africa.
6. 2026–2028 Implementation Roadmap: Definition of key steps including formalizing the Think Tank charter, expanding membership, launching the shared knowledge platform, organizing annual policy forums, and securing long-term funding.