The role of the judging panel is to consider the entries against the assessment criteria and recommend a balanced portfolio of entries to receive a share of the £40 million funds available through this round of the Water Breakthrough Challenge. Ofwat will then make the final decision based on the panel’s recommendations.
The eight judges forming the Water Breakthrough Challenge panel have been selected for the wide range of perspectives they bring, with a balance of water sector and non-water sector voices. The judges also bring a range of expertise and experience in relation to each of the strategic innovation themes for the Water Breakthrough Challenge.
We thank the judging panel for providing their time and expertise in support of the Water Breakthrough Challenge.
The process to appoint judges to the Water Breakthrough Challenge panel was as follows:
1. We identified a series of criteria aligned to the five strategic innovation themes that would provide a balance of knowledge, experience and technical expertise to ensure the most suitable coverage for panel membership.
2. We opened to nominations of judges for the Water Breakthrough Challenge to the public in Spring 2021.
3. Ofwat, Arup and Nesta Challenges reviewed the nomination list alongside other potential candidates. Then, they created a long list based on:
4. We reached out to candidates to invite them to join the panel.
Please note we are aware that some of these judges may have existing relationships with organisations eligible to enter the Challenge, and the organisations they are affiliated with may have entries in the Water Breakthrough Challenge. We have asked judges to confirm that they, and the organisations they work for, are not involved as major entrants or taking a key strategic role in any entries into the current round of the Water Breakthrough Challenge. In entries where they, or organisations they are affiliated with, are partners in entries, there is a robust conflict of interest process in place, with judges abstaining from assessment of entries where conflicts exist.
This is a voluntary role, however judges have been offered an honorarium of £2,000 to support their participation in this round of the Challenge.
