The ENHANCE project has released a new short video introducing its mission to support sustainable and resilient coastal management across Europe.
The video highlights how ENHANCE combines AI-driven analytics, Copernicus satellite data, in-situ observations, and citizen science within a One Health framework that links environmental, human, and animal health. It also presents the project’s key innovations, including its data exchange platform, AI-powered One Health Toolkit, and stakeholder-driven Living Labs.
Featuring real-world case studies in Spain and Greece, the video demonstrates how ENHANCE is addressing pollution, climate-driven risks, and ecosystem degradation in coastal areas.
Funded by the European Union and running from 2024 to 2027, ENHANCE brings together seven partners from four countries to advance science-based, data-informed decision-making for Europe’s coasts.
▶️ Watch the video to learn how ENHANCE is transforming coastal monitoring and management.
As SingularLogic, coordinators of the ENHANCE project and leaders in the co-design of its One Health toolkit, we are proud to share that the project has achieved one of its first key milestones: the identification of the use cases that will guide the toolkit’s development.
This milestone was reached through a co-creation methodology, built on a phased, iterative approach that places stakeholders at the heart of digital tool development for coastal management.
Laying the Groundwork Through Iterative Stakeholder Co-Creation
Our co-creation process began with groundwork: together with our project partners and stakeholders we defined user personas, which represent the diverse groups affected by coastal ecosystem challenges. These personas were then used to generate user stories—concise scenarios that articulate real needs and goals. Through workshops and multiple feedback loops, we refined these stories into concrete user requirements, ensuring that every aspect of the platform reflects the realities of those who will use it.
This participatory design is reinforced by multiple rounds of workshops, where stakeholders validate and prioritize requirements, test early prototypes, and provide input on usability and accessibility. The iterative nature of the process means that each phase builds on the last: initial user flows and service descriptions are enhanced through stakeholder feedback, and demo versions of the toolkit are subjected to structured usability assessments.
This ensures that the final product is not only technically robust but also intuitive and accessible to a wide range of users, from municipal officers and aquaculture professionals to educators and citizen scientists.
Figure 2: Co-creation session of Case Study 2 (Pagasitikos Gulf, Volos, Greece)
From Insights to Action: Identifying Eight Use Cases
Thanks to this collaborative journey, we identified eight use cases representing key aspects of coastal management under the One Health framework. The first two use cases focus on visualization and monitoring: providing real-time water quality alerts and fostering citizen participation in environmental monitoring.
The next four address sustainable management and risk assessment, enabling stakeholders to visualize One Health indicators for urban beaches, support sustainable aquaculture, monitor protected areas, and generate dynamic coastal risk maps for policy regulation.
The final two use cases center on training and education, offering formal and non-formal learning tools that leverage real-world data and citizen science to build environmental literacy and support eco-tourism.
Building a Toolkit for the Future of Coastal Management
Together, these use cases illustrate the breadth and depth of the ENHANCE toolkit’s ambition. By weaving together stakeholder input, technical innovation, and a commitment to participatory design, the project is setting a new standard for digital solutions in coastal management.
The co-creation methodology ensures that every feature and function is shaped by those who will use it, resulting in a platform that is not only effective in addressing environmental and health challenges, but also inclusive, adaptable, and ready to evolve with the needs of its community.
Conclusion
Through an iterative, stakeholder-driven process, the ENHANCE project has built a solid foundation for its One Health digital toolkit. The eight identified use cases reflect real needs across monitoring, sustainable management, policy support, and education. By grounding every step in co-creation, ENHANCE is developing a toolkit that is practical, inclusive, and adaptable, and well-positioned to support the future of coastal management.
Author(s) Bio:
Antonia Vronti: R&D Project Manager, SingularLogic, bringing solid background in Social Sciences and experience managing a range of projects. She focuses on service co-design, organising and hosting workshops that bring stakeholders together for meaningful discussions on design, functionalities, and features. Her commitment to co-creation drives the development of user-centred solutions that meet stakeholder needs and deliver tangible outcomes.
Dr. Stamatia Rizou: R&D Manager, SingularLogic leading a multidisciplinary team in data technologies and AI applications. She holds an Electrical and Computer Engineering degree from NTUA and a PhD in distributed systems from the University of Stuttgart. With over 10 years of experience in EU-funded research, she has been a Marie-Curie fellow, co-supervised multiple PhD students, and currently coordinates and leads research in EU projects across various sectors. She has also served as an expert evaluator for the EU’s H2020 and Horizon Europe programmes.
As ENHANCE celebrates its first year, we look back at the foundations laid for the One Health Toolkit and the Open Exchange Data Platform, as well as progress in our Barcelona and Pagasitikos case studies.
Catch up on key moments from the past months — including our 2nd General Assembly, major events, new factsheets and recent scientific publications.
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We are pleased to share a new ENHANCE factsheet presenting the One Health Framework — a cornerstone of our work toward healthier, more resilient coastal environments.
Coastal zones are under growing pressure from climate change, pollution, and intense human activity. At the same time, they are essential for biodiversity, local economies, and community well-being. The One Health approach recognises these deep interconnections and provides a holistic way to understand and manage coastal challenges.
What the Framework Offers
The factsheet introduces a practical model that brings together:
Human well-being and socio-economic factors, such as water quality, safety, and community resilience.
Aquatic animal health, including tools to assess vulnerabilities and promote sustainable aquaculture.
Environmental and ecosystem quality, monitored through a mix of satellite data, IoT sensors, and citizen science.
By combining these three dimensions, the framework helps identify how pressures on coastal systems translate into impacts on people, wildlife, and ecosystems — and what responses are needed.
A Collaborative and Data-Driven Process
Developed with stakeholders in Barcelona & the Ebro Delta (Spain) and the Pagasitikos Gulf (Greece), the framework reflects real local needs. Workshops and interviews with scientists, policymakers, aquaculture producers, health experts, and community organisations shaped both the structure and the indicators that will feed into the future ENHANCE platform.
Turning Knowledge Into Action
The factsheet also highlights how the framework will support coastal managers by enabling:
Early warnings linked to environmental or health risks
Integrated analysis of pressures, impacts, and responses
Better decision-making through digital tools and visual dashboards
Stronger cooperation across sectors and communities
These elements form the backbone of a smarter, more sustainable approach to coastal management.
Read the Full Factsheet
The ENHANCE One Health Framework is an important step toward a new generation of tools for monitoring, understanding, and protecting Europe’s coasts.
👉 Download the factsheet to explore the full approach and methodology
“A Holistic One Health Assessment Framework for Coastal Areas” by Alexandra Ioannou, Evmorfia Bataka, Nikolaos Kokosis, Dimitris Kofinas, Charalambos Billinis and Chrysi Laspidou (University of Thessaly) proposes a new way to assess the health of coastal zones.
Coastal areas are under simultaneous pressure from pollution, biodiversity loss, climate change and zoonotic risks, with direct consequences for local communities and economies. The authors introduce a Coastal One Health (C-OH) framework that explicitly links human health, animal health and environmental ecosystem quality in a single structure.
Figure 1. Research Framework.
Building on and extending the well-known DPSIR (Drivers–Pressures–State–Impact–Response) model, the framework proposes three composite indicators:
Human Health Outcome Index (HHOI) – capturing links between environmental conditions, bathing water quality, seafood safety, disease outcomes and socio-economic well-being.
Aquatic Animal Health Risk Index (AAHRI) – reflecting disease risks, antimicrobial resistance and health status in farmed and wild aquatic animals.
Environmental Ecosystem Quality Index (EEQI) – integrating biodiversity, habitat condition, pollution load, water quality and climate-related stressors.
Figure 2. Integrated One Health: Connecting Human, Animal, and Ecosystem Well-Being.
These indicators are designed to be policy-ready and interoperable with existing monitoring and reporting under key EU directives (Water Framework Directive, Bathing Water Directive, Marine Strategy Framework Directive) and the UN SDGs (particularly SDG 3, 6 and 14). By combining environmental, health and socio-economic data, the C-OH framework aims to:
Support vulnerability assessment of coastal municipalities
Help compare and prioritise risks and interventions at local scale
Enable early warning and tracking of hazards such as harmful algal blooms, Vibrio outbreaks and AMR
This publication lays the conceptual and methodological foundations of the framework and provides the full indicator set. The next step will be to build and test the composite indices in practice, starting with a pilot application in Pagasitikos Gulf (Greece), with potential transfer to other coastal and even urban environments.
