Who are the PCP WISE partners driving innovation in water management and climate resilience across Europe through Pre-Commercial Procurement? 

Our Partner Interview Series highlights the leading organisations in the PCP WISE consortium, showcasing their expertise, contributions, and key roles in the project. 

Each partner also shares its vision of how PCP WISE advances the European Green Deal’s objectives—whether by leveraging Environmental Observation (EO) data to tackle critical challenges or pioneering innovative governance and procurement approaches like PCP. 

🔍 Discover our latest interview to learn more about the Region of Central Macedonia and its impact! 

Briefly introduce your organisation

The Region of Central Macedonia (RCM) is one of Greece’s thirteen administrative regions, serving as a vital economic and environmental hub in Northern Greece. Established with its capital in Thessaloniki, the region encompasses approximately 1.2 million residents across diverse urban, agricultural, and coastal landscapes. 

The RCM brings experience in regional water governance through strategic partnerships. Our region manages complex water systems spanning urban centers, agricultural zones, and sensitive coastal environments, including participation in the Central Macedonia River Basin Management Plan (GR10) for integrated water resource management. 

Introduce the team working on PCP WISE within your organisation

Our team is composed by 4 people.

  • Mrs Kallitsa Pantazi, the Head of Department of European Programs and Synergies
  • Mrs Anthoula Nikopoulou, employee of the Department of European Programs and Synergies
  • Mrs Maria Karamitrou, Head of Directive of Civil Protection
  • Mr Stavros Matzanakis, the external expert engaged to the project. 

What is your organisation’s role in the project? What unique contribution does it bring to PCP WISE?

The Region of Central Macedonia (RCM) serves as a (key) public buyer within the PCP WISE consortium, representing Mediterranean water management challenges across urban, agricultural (mainly), and coastal environments.  

Our unique contribution includes extensive expertise in regional water governance through partnerships with EYATH SA (Thessaloniki Water Supply & Sewerage Company), which serves over 1.2 million citizens and operates critical water infrastructure.  

We bring proven climate adaptation leadership through our participation in the LIFE-IP AdaptInGR Project and established cross-border cooperation experience with North Macedonia in transboundary water management.  

The Regional Development Fund of Central Macedonia provides specialized EU project management capabilities, having successfully implemented multiple Horizon and Interreg programs, ensuring effective scaling of innovative EO-based water solutions across diverse European contexts. 

To what extent do you think PCP WISE will contribute to enhance Europe’s ability to adapt to and mitigate the effect of climate change?

The Region of Central Macedonia believes PCP WISE will significantly enhance European climate adaptation by developing scalable, interoperable water management solutions that address fragmented demand for innovative climate technologies.  

The project’s strength lies in creating an integrated water intelligence system using satellite-based Earth Observation data, enabling real-time monitoring and predictive capabilities essential for proactive water management across Mediterranean regions experiencing intensifying drought and flood risks.  

Through pre-commercial procurement methodology, PCP WISE ensures solutions are market-ready and commercially viable, facilitating rapid scaling across European regions. Our participation as a public buyer representing both urban water systems (Greater Thessaloniki area) and agricultural water challenges helps ensure developed solutions address the full spectrum of European climate adaptation needs. 

To what extent do you think Environmental Observation (EO) and Innovation Procurement (IP) can help develop innovative solutions for water management and climate resilience across Europe?

The Region of Central Macedonia recognizes Environmental Observation (EO) and Innovation Procurement (IP) as transformative tools for European water management and climate resilience.  

EO provides the comprehensive, real-time data foundation essential for evidence-based water governance, enabling accurate soil-water balance insights for long-term forecasting and crisis management responses to floods, fires, and infrastructure impacts. Innovation Procurement creates the collaborative market conditions necessary to translate EO capabilities into operational solutions, allowing public authorities to co-design region-specific technologies while maintaining European interoperability standards. By combining EO and IP through PCP methodology, Europe can develop integrated water intelligence systems that enhance cross-basin coordination, improve extreme weather response capabilities, and support sustainable water resource management across transboundary regions like our Mediterranean context with complex urban-rural-coastal water dynamics.