Judges Announcement: Water Breakthrough Challenge 5

Ofwat is pleased to announce an esteemed independent panel of judges for the Water Breakthrough Challenge 5. Their combined expertise will help to inform Ofwat’s decision on which entries should receive funding.

The fifth instalment of the Water Breakthrough Challenge (‘Breakthrough 5’) will award up to £40 million to accelerate development and scale implementation of the most promising innovations. The teams competing in this competition consist of bright minds who must be developing their project as part of or in collaboration with a water company (including NAVs) in England or Wales.

In Breakthrough 5, Ofwat seeks even bigger and bolder ideas, with a focus on generating and sharing knowledge, and accelerated rolling out of successful innovations. Designed to unleash further waves of innovation across the water sector, the challenge aims to deliver further transformative benefits for customers, society and the environment through tackling challenging issues faced by the water sector of England and Wales.

The independent judging panel is comprised of nine experts from a wide range of sectors and disciplines, from open data to the environment. They have a wealth of experience across industry, academia, policy development and research, consumer representation and engineering, bringing insights from both within and outside the sector.

The Water Breakthrough 5 Judging Panel:

• Lisa Allen – Director of Data Services, The Pensions Regulator (Chair)
• Akintunde Babatunde – Associate Professor, University of Leeds
• Alison Austin – Director, Environment and Business
• Andrew Roach – Director, Blue & Green Consulting
• Anna Bogush – Associate Professor, Coventry University
• Dave Elliott – Water Systems Policy Expert, Ferns Natural Capital Strategy
• Gail Davies-Walsh – CEO, Afonydd Cymru
• Suresh Nar – Director – Digital Advisory, Resilience (Energy & Utilities), Arcadis
• Vanessa Speight – Professor, University of Sheffield

Learn more about the judges.

Led by the water regulator Ofwat, the Water Breakthrough Challenge 5 is being run in partnership with Challenge Works, Arup and Isle Utilities. The successful teams from the Catalyst and Transform streams will be announced in May 2025.