The objectives of INECO are the:

• Widest possible dissemination and exchange of information on the application of institutional and economic instruments in the water sector with particular emphasis on the harmonisation procedures of the Water Framework Directive, and the practices adopted in arid and semi-arid regions.
• Consistent and comprehensive analysis  of the governance structures and water allocation mechanisms in the participating Mediterranean regions, through the formulation of an adaptable set of indicators and active stakeholder participation.
• Development of exemplary regionalised analyses on the efficiency and effectiveness of currently applied economic instruments, and the formulation of a proposal of alternative institutional and economic instruments that do not compromise societal objectives, and promote IWRM.
• Initiation of procedures, through the organisation of participatory workshops, for the application of alternative institutional arrangements that could promote efficient and transparent allocation of water and cost, and provide incentives for efficient water usage.
• Formulation of guidelines adapted to the particularities of the Mediterranean regional context regarding the application of alternative institutional and economic instruments that will be able to improve transparency, accountability and inclusiveness, reflexive management and resolution of conflict in water resource planning and decision making processes.

Towards this end, INECO will assess the institutional situation, capacity building and decision making processes in a number of participating countries around the Mediterranean, The current procedures, practices and allocation rules dominating water management will be extensively analysed, also through active stakeholder participation. The final output will constitute a policy proposal, in the form of adaptable guidelines, formalised as a Web Toolbox. The guidelines will aim at promoting sustainable water management and equitable, transparent allocation of resources at different levels: operational (water service level), strategic (province or authority decision making level) and the constitutional level.