AQUACROSS brought together experts on 1 March 2016 at Ecologic Institute in Berlin, Germany to discuss policy, data and assessment frameworks. The workshop gathered external participants as well as project partners to identify and discuss challenges as well as opportunities for the achievement of policy objectives for aquatic ecosystems within the context of supporting the EU Biodiversity Strategy. The workshop was divided into three parallel breakout groups on: 1) policy orientation, 2) policy data integration and 3) assessment frameworks. The outcomes of this workshop successfully informed the progress of ongoing project work, as well as validated and increased the policy relevance of existing work and project outcomes.