Springing into action: what’s next for the water sector’s innovation centre of excellence?

The UK water sector has sometimes been seen as hard to navigate – particularly for innovators, academia or even organisations already engaged in the supply chain. However, this does not mean the water sector is not innovative, and momentum is building for the next wave of water sector innovation.

Last year, the sector published Water Innovation 2050, defining a shared vision for innovation in the water sector. The sector has also embraced the opportunity presented by Ofwat’s Water Innovation Fund, coming together to propose highly collaborative projects which can help meet the needs of customers, society and the environment now and into the future. These are embodied in the recently announced winners of the inaugural Water Breakthrough Challenge.

Nine projects will share £36 million to tackle pressing problems such as climate change, sewage pollution and vulnerable communities and consumers. The winning projects are some of the most collaborative that the Fund has seen to date; water companies are partnering with a wide range of public services, academic institutions, technology companies and environmental organisations to face these challenges head-on.

Spring, the UK water innovation centre of excellence, has been created to accelerate the water sector’s transformation through innovation and collaboration. The initiative will connect, integrate and augment existing excellence within and outside the water sector, making it easier for innovators, academia and the supply chain to navigate the industry. Actively involving other organisations and continuously injecting innovation into the sector through learnings and best practices will propel the industry forward. This will allow the water sector to continue to meet stakeholders’ needs and bridge barriers to innovation.

Spring was first proposed in the Water Innovation 2050 strategy and was awarded £250,000 through the first Innovation in Water Challenge. This funding  was matched by water companies (through UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR)), and in July 2021 a team was appointed to deliver the first iteration of a ‘centre of excellence’ for water innovation.

By its nature, the project has been incredibly collaborative, involving water utilities from across the UK and Ireland, as well as stakeholders from academia, the supply chain and other utility sectors to understand what the first version of Spring should look like. It’s also the only ongoing project funded through the Innovation Fund to involve creating a new organisation from scratch. It is both innovative in its approach and concept.

After unveiling its independent branding and website and confirming its status as a subsidiary of UKWIR in September 2021, Spring will launch its first range of functions and services in December 2021 through two parallel routes:

• The Ideation and Collaboration Incubator will bolster and streamline how ideas are formed and how different stakeholders can be brought together.
• The Innovation Adoption Incubator will foster collaboration within the sector, signposting innovators to funding and fast-tracking them through the process of having their idea adopted (sharing knowledge with the broader sector along the way).

Fundamental to both routes is Spring’s emphasis on addressing the skills gap the sector faces while creating innovation champions and supporting the sector’s open data ambitions. You can find out more about each of the incubators on our website.

Throughout 2022, Spring will evolve to meet its users’ needs, adapting to how users employ the services and the feedback they provide as well. This will be done in an agile way, continually evaluating, learning and adapting to ensure that the initiative delivers positive impact for:

• customers who will see their water and wastewater services deliver value for money and the outcomes they expect;
• the supply chain, including new suppliers, that will have a direct route to companies and their challenges, streamlining the process of getting their innovations to market;
• water companies that will have access to a platform to work collaboratively and will have a streamlined route to suppliers;
• water retailers who will be able to feed their challenges into Spring and work alongside utilities and the supply chain;
• government and regulators who will see water companies deliver better value for their customers and improved environmental outcomes and be a part of the game-changing innovation the sector needs; and
• academics and the research community who will have opportunities to leverage funding through collaborative projects and meet Research Council ambitions along with having the insight of utility challenges.

The water sector is facing increasingly complicated challenges, which can only be met with ambitious, highly collaborative innovation. By bringing stakeholders together from across academia, the supply chain and water companies, Spring will support a more sustainable sector, equipped to deliver better value for customers and better outcomes for society and the environment. Spring aims to change the narrative – transforming the UK water industry’s innovation landscape and redefining what the sector can bring to the international water sector.

Get the latest updates on Spring’s journey by following them on LinkedIn.

Want to play your part in tackling the toughest challenges facing the water sector? Approximately £39 million is available in Ofwat’s latest innovation competition, the second Water Breakthrough Challenge – get involved and enter today.