The strategy to achieve the objective has 3 spearheads.

Spearhead: Gather and disseminate knowledge

• Management and maintenance of a water quality monitoring network for the detection of (undesirable) quality changes, assessment of IAWR target values and the substantiation of wishes and requirements. The data come from member companies, governments and to a limited extent from their own additional research.
• Research (experimental or via desktop studies) into substances and / or organisms that are relevant to member companies (properties, presence, quantities, discharges, toxicity, etc.). This also concerns quantitative research (eg on the consequences of climate change and hydrological interventions in water management).
• In a separate consultation between RIWA, KWR, RIVM and RWS, measurement efforts and research are coordinated or bundled. Via the IAWR the plans are discussed in Germany and research is combined and coordinated.

Spearhead: Inform

• The activities of RIWA-Rijn and IAWR are based on the knowledge of the rivers, the substances and the dischargers. For Rijkswaterstaat and the committees (in particular for the ICPR), RIWA-Rijn and IAWR represent the waterworks and the point of contact for quality questions in the catchment area.
• The member companies also make frequent use of the knowledge and information that is available within the RIWA-Rijn organization.
• To relevant industries or their associations and agricultural organizations in the Rhine catchment area are presented with undesirable quality influences that are the result of point source or diffuse emissions.
• In addition, information is provided to various authorities (universities, research institutes and authorities) on research results and water quality data.

Spearhead: Lobby

There are regular consultation structures with governments at two levels:

• National government consultation (together with RIWA-Maas and Vewin) with representatives from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (I&W), the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK) and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).
• RIWA / RWS Rijn, with Rijkswaterstaat and regional directorates in the Dutch Rhine river basin.

As an NGO, the IAWR has access to the Plenary Meeting of the Interdepartmental Committee for Operational Management of the Central Government Agency (ICPR) and the Coordination Committee and has a seat in a number of working groups. This working group representation is provided on behalf of IAWR by RIWA-Rijn, and RIWA-Rijn maintains very good contacts with both the Dutch delegations and the ICPR.