Judges Announcement: Discovery

Ofwat, Challenge Works, Arup and Isle Utilities are proud to announce an esteemed panel of judges for the inaugural Water Discovery Challenge. 

The Water Discovery Challenge (‘Discovery’) is a £4 million competition for bold, novel innovations that can help solve the biggest challenges facing the water sector today and in the future.  The combined expertise of the judging panel will inform the choice of finalists in the running to have their innovation funded.

Up to 10 Winners will be announced by February 2024. These 10 entries will enter the Winners Stage which runs from February to August 2024, with an award of up to £450,000 and a 7-month package of support.

The Water Discovery Challenge judging panel comprises expertise in a wide range of sectors and disciplines, from open data to sustainability. The challenge is designed to provide an opportunity for grassroots innovation teams from a multiplicity of backgrounds to roll out waves of innovation across the water sector, to deliver transformative solutions and benefits for customers, society and the environment.

The seven-member judging panel for the Water Discovery Challenge has a wealth of experience across industry, academia, policy development and research, consumer representation and engineering, bringing insights from both within and outside the water sector.

The judges are:

• Lisa Allen – Director of Data and Services, Open Data Institute 
• Professor Akin Babatunde –Associate Professor,  School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds
• Tania Flasck – Managing Director of Water Utilities, ExploreAI
• Bradley Jones – Senior Investment Manager, Earth Capital Limited 
• Martin Osborne – Water Industry Strategic Advisor, Asset. Planner and Drainage Expert, Hemdean Consulting
• Vanessa Speight – Professor of Integrated Water Systems – Department of Civil & Structural Engineering, University of Sheffield
• Suhayl Zulfiquar –  Chief Executive Officer at Datatecnics

Learn more about the Discovery judges

Led by the water regulator Ofwat, the Water Discovery Challenge is run in partnership with Challenge Works, Arup and Isle Utilities. The winners of this competition will be announced in August 2024.

Learn more about the Water Discovery Challenge

Additionally, the Ofwat Innovation Fund is concurrently running the fourth Water Breakthrough Challenge, which has also just announced its panel of judges. This challenge differs as it requires that participating teams work collaboratively with a water company (including NAVs) in England or Wales.