Infrastructure for Water Management, Hydro-Engineering and Environmental Protection

DATA ABOUT RESPONDENT

Full name
Mr Branko Vucijak
Name of your institution
Hydro Engineering Institute Sarajevo
Institutions’s country
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Institution’s address
Stjepana Tomica 1, 71 000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Are you responsible on behalf of the institution
Yes
Your position in the institution
  • Other: Executive Director
Your telephone number
+387 33 212 466
Your email address
heis@heis.com.ba
Institution's website address
http://heis.com.ba/

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE OR IMPORTANT RESEARCH EQUIPMENT

Research infrastrcture website
http://heis.com.ba/
Organisation / institution type of RI
  • National scientific organisation/institution

Main scientificdomain: Environmental – marine and earth sciences

Category: Other Environmental science RI

Other scientific and technological domains served by RI
  • Life Sciences
  • Environmental, Marine and Earth Sciences
RI type
  • Single-sited
Short description

Hydro Engineering Institute in Sarajevo has been operating in the field of environmental sciences, namely in the area of water management, hydro-engineering and environmental protection for more than 25 years. It is a research institution, supported mostly by private partnership, of, as stated, national importance. The Institutes scope of work includes scientific and research activities, education, planning, consulting services, as well as the revisions of technical-investment documentation from the domain of water management, hydro-engineering and environmental engineering.

OPERATION AND UPGRADE OF RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE AND OR IMPORTANT RESEARCH EQUIPMENT

Years in operation
  • More than 25 years
Comment on cooperation
Establishment of multinational project consortiums is mentioned as a main possible way of strengthening international cooperation. Also, need for additional assistance in establishing partnerships with both, potential regional and EU partners has been indicated. Currently, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia are identified as main cooperation partners, with willingness and openness to broaden the cooperation with all EU and other countries. Depending on the open calls for the projects, the institution is open to cooperation possibilities, especially within specific calls for environment and water management.

STAFF, INTERNAL USERS AND EXTERNAL USERS

Short description of access policy and procedures for users of this research infrastructure
Its research infrastructure is open towards external users, which is enabled through bilateral third party contracts and time lease agreements. There are no differences in access policy for different groups (e.g. researchers from EU Member states, researchers from other Western Balkan Countries, researchers from industrialized countries such as US, Canada, Japan and researchers from other countries). Also, there are no specific requirements or limitations for researchers from WBC and third countries when scientific collaboration (short and long term) is concerned. The infrastructure is open to international cooperation mainly through participation in EU and international programmes, consortiums for specific ToRs There is no clearly defined strategic approach or policy to attract researchers from EU member states or from other countries. Bilateral agreements of BiH and other countries on exchange of researchers, EC mobility funds are mentioned as existing funding possibilities to enable access to their infrastructure to researchers from third countries. The issue of specific requirements for researchers coming from WBC is tackled briefly from three different standpoints: if relating to employing them, legal conditions are set by BiH, if it considers access to project results, they are accessible with the client permission. Last, communication access has no constraints.

FINANCE

Main sources of funding for setting up RI or important equipment
  • National public funding
  • Multinational/international public funding
Main sources of funding for operational costs
  • National public funding
  • National public-private funding
  • Multinational/international public funding
  • Multinational/international public-private funding
  • Private funding

SCIENTIFIC IMPACT

Main international structured co-operation research projects. Please highlighting the recognition of this Research Infrastructure at international level (give up to 5 examples from the last 5 years)
International consulting companies with whom we worked in partnership to implement water and environment sector strengthening projects in B&H: Eptisa, Grontmij, Safege, BCEOM, Exergia, Enveco, Haskoning, Dorsch, ILF, CDM, etc.; international development banks: EBRD, World Bank, KfW; International development organization: USAID, SIDA, etc.; ministries of environment, water, industry, education at cantonal and entity level;
Please explain why you consider your research infrastructure or facility with research equipment significant for your scientific community or users
From the very beginning of its work, the Institute has intensively been engaged in complex research, that was partially programmed and financed by the economic operators. Most important of these activities was a series of macro-projects, with a short name „Karst“ („Krš“ in the local language), which were the following: "Water Resources and Hydrology of Karst, 1971 - 1978, Yugoslavian - American project, "Water Management Problems of Karst," 1977 - 1980; "Water as a Development Factor in Karst," 1980 - 1987; "Improvement of the Methods of Water Use and Protection in the Area of Mediterranean Karst", 1986 - 1988; "Hydrodynamics and Quantitative - Qualitative Regime of the Coastal Sea," 1990-1992; Even during the second half of the war 1992-1995, and especially right after the war, the Institute very dynamically participated in the tumultuous post-war restoration, reconstruction and efforts to join the European trends. The Institute was a partner of many international organizations and consulting companies in several multidisciplinary projects in the field of water, environment and hydraulic engineering.

RESEARCH SERVICES PROVIDED TO USERS AND RESEARCHERS

Research services provided to users and researchers
Our Laboratory is fully equipped to efficiently and precisely do the analysis of water and wastewater quality as well as solid waste and sludge in accordance with relevant regulation and standards. Out Team for detection and measurement of losses is equipped to detect losses in all types of water supply systems. In last 5 years our team detected and prevented loss of more than 40.000 m3/d of water, which corresponds to daily demand of a city with 200.000 inhabitants. Both Institute and its Laboratory are currently in process of certification in accordance with standard EN ISO 9001 and BAS EN ISO 17025, respectively.

Entry created by Elke Dall on February 17, 2010
Modified on October 16, 2012