The UK water companies, together with UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR), have launched a wide-ranging and ambitious Water Innovation Strategy 2050 setting out a vision for transformational change across the water sector.
The UK’s first draft Water Innovation Strategy has been launched in anticipation of Ofwat’s £200 million innovation fund and the establishment of a Centre of Excellence that will act as a UK hub for global water innovation.
The draft strategy looks ahead to 2050 and provides a roadmap for the UK water sector to make the step-change in collaborative innovation required to meet the challenges for the future.
The launch starts a period of engagement within and outside the sector with the aim of galvanising interest and ideas from a broad range of organisations who could play a role in helping to shape and deliver a different future for water across the country.
UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) has facilitated the development of the Innovation Strategy alongside ARUP and the 19 UK water companies. The strategy is open for consultation over the next two months and will be finalised in September 2020.
Steve Kaye, CEO of UKWIR, said:
“For the first time we can see the full picture of the innovation landscape across the UK and beyond which shows a web of opportunity for the sector to collaborate with a range of global organisations to access the best intelligence, maximise opportunities across sectors and leverage more funding to drive the progress we need in a co-ordinated and collaborative way.
“The development of the strategy and the Centre of Excellence proposal has been a truly collaborative effort from all involved. Its launch marks the next step on our journey, and we are keen for organisations and individuals to participate, who think they have a part to play in its future”.
The strategy says:
“We have an ageing asset base and an urgent need to decarbonise our sector so we must make some big decisions in the next few years that will shape the future of water in the UK.”
“We have come together as water companies in the UK to develop this strategy on behalf of the water sector to drive transformational change in our sector through collaborative innovation. We know that we cannot deliver this change alone. This strategy is therefore a call to action for our partners across the supply chain, our regulators, our customers and more to work with us to transform the water sector.”
The strategy is based on four key principles which define how the utilities will work together and guide innovation activity:
- Opening access to collaboration -to create a joined up transparent approach for collaboration and make access to collaboration with the water sector more easily accessible.
- Making space for innovation culture - to provide the sector wide culture resources required to support innovation.
- Leveraging data and new ways of working - to open and share data, use new knowledge and technology to address barriers to innovation.
- Being led by environmental, social and economic purpose - to ensure the innovation provides the best public value.
The strategy also defines the ends - seven key themes describing environmental, social and economic ambitions.
For each of the following themes, the strategy sets out ambitions (rather than targets) that the sector will aspire to, and work towards, in the short (towards 2025), medium (towards 2035) and long term, to 2050.
- providing the services our customers and society expect and value
- providing clean water for all
- protecting and enhancing natural systems
- delivering resilient infrastructure systems
- achieving carbon neutrality
- taking a whole life approach to responsible consumption and production
- enabling diverse future-ready people and partnership working
The strategy says the water companies recognise that some enabling infrastructure will be required to deliver against the principles. It frames some of what is needed as a ‘Centre of Excellence’ which will support shared access to skills, resources, knowledge, data, and support the utilities in creating a collaborative innovation culture.
“With this in place, we aim to work at pace to scale up innovation, and achieve the maximum benefits for our customers and the environment,” the strategy says.
However, the water companies are also highlighting what the strategy is not intended to be:
- A detailed delivery plan with a list of solutions the water sector want to implement.
- Fixed. It will continue to be evolved and developed.
- Intended to replace existing innovation activity carried out by individual companies.
- A delivery plan for the Ofwat innovation fund.
- A delivery plan for a Centre of Excellence.
From strategy to implementation
In the short term, the water companies will accelerate innovation activity around the industry’s biggest challenges set out under each of the themes to deliver tangible benefits to society and the environment over the next five years. The strategy says that while the UK already has “most of the ingredients needed to do innovation”, it is “largely fragmented and not joined up.” The enabling infrastructure which will be put in place to implement the strategy will therefore focus on connecting, coordinating and leveraging what already exists.
Centre of Excellence needed to implement the strategy
A supporting document, Enabling Innovation, describes what the water companies think is required to implement the strategy, which is framed around the proposal for a Centre of Excellence - an evolution of the concept that has been referred to by Ofwat in recent publications.
After exploring various options, the water companies have determined that a “virtually integrated innovation centre” would best serve the needs of the sector.
The strategy document explains that the term “Centre of Excellence”, is not necessarily a single centre or entity, but rather the virtual integration of systems with the power to connect, integrate and enhance existing innovation activity and facilities across the sector. It would serve as a focal point for water innovation and, with no geographic boundaries, would provide open and equal access to all.
“In contrast to a physical centre, it is relatively cost-effective and aligns with our strategic needs for phased implementation ….It must be agile and quick to set up, but with the capacity to grow and develop over time,” the strategy paper says.
In the next phase of the process, the water companies wil work collaboratively with stakeholders to develop an Outline Business Case and define:
- Who will be involved in the governance, financing and delivery of the Centre of Excellence
- What aspects of the Centre of Excellence will need prioritisation and speedy delivery, and what the benefits of this will be
- When the Centre of Excellence will be set up, and the development of a programme for immediate delivery, as well as for the aspects that could be built in the medium and long term
- How the Centre of Excellence will be financed, governed and delivered, how the risks will be shared, and the success monitored
Following the incorporation of wider stakeholder consultation and feedback in the coming months, The water companies will publish the UK 2050 water innovation strategy in the early autumn. The strategy will then be reviewed annually and updated in 2022.
Click here access the Innovation Strategy website
Click here to download the draft Water Innovation Strategy 2050
Click here to register for the Launch Webinar on Thursday 16th July 2020 at 10.00am to 11.00am