Water 2100

Water 2100 brings people from across the water⁠–⁠land system together to work on long-term, systemic challenges.

[*] Vision

To support the transition to a regenerative, resilient, shared and fair water–land system for England.

Operating principles

  1. [1]

    Systemic approach

    Explore systematically, tackle a systemic challenge. Look at the whole water–land system before choosing where to act, and keep the whole in view while working on one part of it.

  2. [2]

    Long term thinking

    Avoid near-term, “solve it tomorrow” solutions. The horizon is 2100: what is necessary, not only what feels possible now.

  3. [3]

    Open collaboration

    Work collaboratively across boundaries. Sectors, disciplines and organisations that do not usually work together do so here, and the work is shared openly.

  4. [4]

    Evidence-based

    Building on and generating new evidence. Research, data, operational experience and lived experience all count. Where evidence is missing, the gap is named.

  5. [5]

    Insights and innovation

    Aim to create genuinely novel, radical outputs: thinking that is not already in wide application.

The process

Two diamonds: open the system up and narrow to one challenge, then open up responses and narrow to action. Four foundations run the whole way round. Click any part of it.

Orientation and vision settingConnections and relationshipsLeadership and storytellingContinuing the journeyExploreReframeCreateCatalyse
Phase

Adapted from the Design Council's systemic design framework, as set out in the Water 2100 Framework Operating Manual (Design Council for the Environment Agency, 2026, CC BY 4.0).

Reports and session summaries

The written record of each session. They open in Google Docs.