Unlocking innovation: Our new knowledge sharing vision for the water sector

This is a guest blog written by Ofwat.

Across England and Wales water and wastewater services are integral to daily life and underpin the economy and society.

The sector faces many challenges that it must urgently solve, from achieving net zero emissions, to preventing leaks, ending the overuse of storm overflows, tackling pollution and adapting to the impact of climate change, all while ensuring customers are properly served.

Innovation is crucial to finding solutions.

Since the launch of the Ofwat Innovation Fund in 2020, 93 projects have been awarded funding to find new approaches and solutions to the challenges facing the sector. Knowledge sharing has been a key requirement to ensure lessons learnt can be effectively shared. It helps improve the chances of the projects – and the innovations they are developing – to be efficiently adopted across the sector. However, despite some progress, there is widespread agreement that information can be shared faster and more openly. As a result, we have stepped up our efforts to make knowledge sharing a priority.

Ofwat have partnered with Spring, the UK’s water innovation centre of excellence, to foster a culture of efficient knowledge-sharing across the industry so that lessons learnt in one part of the sector can be accessed by all to benefit customers, society and the environment.

Drawing from conversations and workshops with water company leaders and innovation managers throughout 2024, Spring and Ofwat have developed six key principles to guide companies in knowledge sharing:

1. Learn from existing information before starting new projects: Avoid reinventing the wheel by, instead, tapping into the wealth of knowledge that already exists.
2. Target insights at the right audiences: Ensure the right people receive the right information to drive meaningful change.
3. Share insights from day one through multiple channels: Disseminate knowledge early and through various platforms to reach a wider audience.
4. Share both successes and failures: Learning from mistakes is just as important as celebrating achievements.
5. Centralise and open up sector knowledge: Make information accessible across the sector to encourage collaboration.
6. Empower people to learn from external sources: Equip people working in the water sector with the tools and mindsets to adopt lessons from outside their own organisation.

These principles aim to ensure that innovation projects lead to actionable results, promoting transparency and reducing wasteful repetition.

By sharing both what works and what doesn’t, people across the industry can learn from one another and move more rapidly towards widespread adoption of new solutions.

Looking ahead

In March 2024, Ofwat kicked off a consultation about the future of the Innovation Fund for the 2025-30 period, further highlighting knowledge transfer as a key priority, and strengthening the criteria for knowledge sharing in future funding competitions. This reflects the urgent need to drive a culture change across the sector.

For this to become a reality, water companies must embrace knowledge sharing as a business-as-usual practice. While some sharing is already happening, the new guidance ensures a consistent approach as more innovation projects get underway.

Our collaboration with Spring and water companies is critical to achieving the sector’s ambitious innovation goals.

Our new vision for knowledge sharing is a vital step towards creating a more collaborative, efficient, and innovative water sector. By embedding these best practices into everyday operations, the industry can accelerate the adoption of new technologies, avoid unnecessary duplication, and ultimately deliver better outcomes for customers, society, and the environment.

As the sector moves forward, the focus on fostering a culture of knowledge-sharing will be key to unlocking its full potential.