Throughout the Fund, we deliver a number of events aimed at supporting the water sector to innovate – whether by informing the sector about the latest competition; brokering new collaborations and partnerships; or sharing insights into innovation more broadly.
Use the drop down menus below to learn about upcoming and past events, and to catch up via recordings.
Any upcoming events delivered by the Ofwat Innovation Fund will be added here.
The Fund exhibits at industry conferences and exhibitions throughout the year. See below for the events we attend where you can speak to members of the team.
Utility Week Live is the UK’s biggest pan-utility exhibition, aiming aimed to solve the biggest challenges facing utilities. The event is next taking place at the NEC in Birmingham between 20-21 May 2025.
Find out more about Utility Week Live.
At Northumbrian Water’s annual Innovation Festival, they take a selection of business challenges and issues currently facing the industry, as well as wider global issues like climate change and water poverty. The Festival brings together people from all over the globe with different skills and knowledge and we work together to produce solutions and viable outcomes – all in five days or less.
The 2024 Festival took place between 8-11 July 2024.
Find out more about the Innovation Festival.
The IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition is the global event for water professionals covering the full water cycle. The 2024 event took place in Toronto, Canada between 11-15 August 2024, under the theme “Shaping our Water Future”, where the Ofwat Innovation Fund will be exhibiting as part of the UK pavilion.
The IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition is next taking place in 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. Find out more about the event.
World Water Week is the leading conference on global water issues, championing cooperation across sectors and national boundaries, in Stockholm, Sweden. The 2024 event took place between 25-29 August, under the theme “Bridging Borders: Water for a Peaceful and Sustainable Future”.
The Ofwat Innovation Fund exhibited as part of the UK pavilion, and hosted a Live Studio Talkshow on the topic “Unlocking cultural change and collaboration: perspectives from the UK regulator“.
ESS comprises 5 events, showcasing the latest innovations and solutions in the fields of circular economy, net-zero emissions, sustainability, and biodiversity conservation. The event is next taking place at the NEC in Birmingham between 10-11 September 2025.
Innovation Fund projects are encouraged to share their learnings at conferences, events, or hold their own events to disseminate knowledge. See a list of upcoming events where Fund projects will be presenting, below. If you’re an Innovation Fund project and have an upcoming event to add to this list, email the delivery team at [email protected] with more details.
A number of Ofwat Innovation Fund projects are speaking at the Wastewater 2025 Conference, as follows:
Mumin Islam, Head of Innovation at South Staffs and Cambridge Water, is sharing the key learnings from the Water Efficiency in Faith and Diverse Communities project in this online webinar. Mumin will share insights into what worked well, the challenges encountered, and opportunities for further exploration in building meaningful connections with underrepresented groups.
Entries to Breakthrough 5 opened on 9 September 2024. Our dedicated webinar took place on 10 September at 11.30 am (BST) – exploring everything entrants needed to know to enter Breakthrough 5, and ask their questions live.
You can watch the recording on Vimeo. The transcript is available here (PDF, 134 KB) and the slides we used to present are here (PDF, 3 MB)
Entries to Breakthrough 4 opened on 5 September 2023. Our dedicated webinar took place on 6 September at 11 am (BST) – exploring everything entrants needed to know to enter Breakthrough 4, and ask their questions live.
As part of the Discovery webinar series, this session offered support to entrants who need steering in the entry process. We covered the key aspects of the application process, the innovator journey and support available. Watch the webinar recording on Vimeo. The transcript is available here (PDF, 147 KB) and the slides we used to present are here (PDF, 1 MB)
As part of the Discovery webinar series, this session shared insight into how innovators can maximise the chances of successfully scaling their solutions within the sector. We looked at the key barriers to widespread adoption and guidance as to how to best navigate them. Watch the webinar recording on Vimeo. The transcript is available here (PDF, 158 KB).
As part of the Discovery webinar series, this webinar provided an introduction to the importance of partnerships in the delivery of innovation initiatives and explore some of the key stakeholders across multi-partner delivery. Watch the webinar recording on Vimeo. The transcript is available here (PDF, 180KB).
As part of the Discovery webinar series, this session explored the importance of the ‘operational resilience’ and how it can be achieved, with a focus on the challenge faced and way they are being tackled. Watch the webinar recording on Vimeo. The transcript is available here (PDF, 186 KB).
As part of the Discovery webinar series, this session discussed how customers interact with water, how they impact its availability and quality and the challenges faced by water companies. Watch the webinar recording on Vimeo. The transcript is available here (PDF, 177 KB).
As part of the Discovery webinar series, this webinar discussed how water companies recover and reuse resources, shed light on the challenges faced and how the sector is working to overcome them.
Watch the webinar recording on Vimeo. The transcript is available here (PDF, 171 KB).
As part of the Discovery webinar series, this webinar explored how sewage is transported from the customer to the wastewater treatment works and shared insight of the challenges faced and how the sector is working to overcome them.
Watch the webinar recording on Vimeo. The transcript is available here (PDF, 158 KB).
As part of the Discovery webinar series, this webinar looked at water distribution from treatment works to end user. The expert panel also addressed some of the challenges being faced, and ways the sector is working to overcome them.
Watch the webinar recording on Vimeo. The transcript is available here (PDF, 246 KB).
As part of the Discovery webinar series, this webinar covered where our water is sourced from and how it is treated to meet drinking water standards. This included an introduction to the challenges being faced, and some of the ways the sector is working to overcome them.
Watch the webinar recording on Vimeo. The transcript is available here (PDF, 293 KB).
As part of the Discovery webinar series, this webinar covered some of the biggest opportunities for innovation within the water sector. This included an introduction to the challenges being faced, a look at desired solutions and real-world examples.
Watch the webinar recording on Vimeo. The transcript is available here (PDF, 181 KB), and slides we used to present are here (PDF, 5MB).
As part of the Discovery webinar series, this webinar provided an introduction to the structure of the water sector in the UK. It explored the key players and wider innovation ecosystem landscape and touched on innovation challenges and opportunities.
Watch the webinar recording on Vimeo. The transcript is available here (PDF, 226 KB) and slides we used to present are here (PDF, 5 MB).
In this webinar, the delivery team covered everything you need to know to enter the Water Discovery Challenge, including eligibility, the entry and assessment process, support available to entrants, and more. The audience also got a chance to ask their questions live.
You can watch the recording on Vimeo. The transcript is available here (PDF, 150 KB) and the slides we used to present are here (PDF, 4 MB)
Ofwat and the delivery partners hosted a webinar for potential entrants and partners to clarify their understanding of Breakthrough 3.
You can watch the recording on Vimeo. The transcript is available here (PDF, 401 KB) and the slides we used to present are here (PDF, 3 MB)
On 10 May 2022, we held a showcase of the winners of Water Breakthrough Challenge 2. Attendees heard from Ofwat, judges and the winners themselves, through a series of panel discussions exploring what’s next for water sector innovation.
You can watch the recording on Zoom, or download the transcript in English (DOCX, 279KB) or Welsh (DOCX, 256KB)
This On the Menu session explored the role of innovation in the climate crisis. Attendees heard from Mark Fletcher, Arup Fellow and Global Water Business Leader, about innovative approaches and solutions borne out of extreme situations including lessons learned from the City Water Resilience Approach including the Cape Town Day Zero crisis and Hull.
You can watch the recording on YouTube, or download the transcript (DOCX 52KB).
This On the Menu session explored a range of techniques for involving citizens, customers and other stakeholders in exploring and shaping possible futures – encouraging long-term thinking and ensuring our innovation efforts are effective and respond to emerging needs.
Led by Laurie Smith, Senior Foresight Lead at Nesta’s Discovery Hub, attendees explored how these methods can beyond traditional workshops and surveys to help the water sector tackle it’s most pressing challenges.
In case you missed it, you can watch the recording on Vimeo or download the transcript (DOCX, 49 KB)!
Led by the team at Science Practice, the Breakthrough 2 entrant support partner, this online workshop looked at the assessment criteria for the competition, and how best to demonstrate the innovativeness of your solution, and make a strong case in your entry.
You can watch the recording of this session on Vimeo, or download the slides (PDF, 6MB) and transcript (DOCX, 47KB).
A second online workshop to guide entrants invited to Stage 2 of the Transform stream was held in December, and the recording has been shared with entry leads.
Ofwat and the delivery partners hosted a webinar for potential entrants and partners to clarify their understanding of Breakthrough 2.
Watch the recording on Vimeo, or download the transcript (DOCX, 47KB).
This online event celebrated the nine winning initiatives sharing in £36 million from the first Water Breakthrough Challenge. These transformational projects were selected for their potential to bring tangible benefits to water customers, society and the environment.
Attendees joined a discussion with Breakthrough 1 judges Paul Connell and Niki Roach, hosted by Arup’s Arlene Goode; heard pitches from all nine winners, as well as discussion on the subjects of the importance of transformation in the face of climate change; the role customers can play in transformation; and the potential for digital technology to support transformation.
Missed it? You can watch the recording on Vimeo, or download the transcript (DOCX, 177KB).
This webinar, hosted by Ofwat, Challenge Works and Arup, provided an opportunity for potential entrants and partners to hear more about the second Water Breakthrough Challenge and how to get involved.
You can watch the recording on Vimeo, or download the transcript (DOCX, 23KB).
This online event showcased the winners of the Fund’s inaugural innovation competition, the Innovation in Water Challenge. After an opening statement from John Russell, Senior Director at Ofwat, attendees joined a panel discussion with a number of the competition’s judges, chaired by Harry Armstrong, Director of Regulation at Ofwat. All eleven winning teams then presented their transformational initiatives.
The recording is available on YouTube, and you can also download the transcript (DOCX, 76KB).
This webinar, hosted by Ofwat, Challenge Works and Isle Utilities, provided an opportunity for potential entrants and partners to hear more about the Fund’s inaugural innovation competition, the Innovation in Water Challenge.
You can watch the recording on YouTube, or download the transcript (DOCX, 218KB).
Early in the delivery of the Fund, we announced an open call for organisations relatively new to the water sector who were looking to form partnerships for the Innovation in Water Challenge. 25 of these organisations then gave 4-minute pitches over the course of three online events, sharing their solutions to help address some of the water sectors biggest challenges.
You can find recordings and transcripts of these events on this page.
Want to discover more opportunities to partner with water companies and other innovators? Register your interest in our Water Innovation Directory.
To help support partnerships for the first Innovation in Water Challenge, we hosted this discussion with innovation leaders from a number of water companies in England & Wales who shared their perspectives on the priorities and challenges for the water sector.
You can watch the recording of this event on YouTube, or download the transcript (DOCX, 230KB).
