Spring

Accelerating Water Sector Transformation

Welcome to Spring

We’re dedicated to accelerating UK water sector transformation through innovation and collaboration.

We connect, integrate and augment existing excellence within and outside the water sector, actively involving other companies and continuously injecting innovation into the industry through learnings and best practices.

Since July 2021, we’ve been working with a wide range of people to ensure Spring meets stakeholders’ needs, starts demystifying the sector and bridges barriers to innovation. It’s important to note that during 2022, we will be in our Minimum Viable Product (MVP), or Beta, phase. It’s essential we hear from you during this time so we can adapt, develop and iterate to ensure we deliver as much value as possible.

Where did the idea for Spring come from?

The idea for Spring came from the water sector’s innovation strategy – Water Innovation 2050.

Download the Water Innovation 2050 Strategy

This outlined where the biggest innovation challenges were across the sector – and found huge gains could be made by approaching these collaboratively. This is where the idea for a centre of excellence first emerged.

Spring is an enabler of this strategy and we’re focussed on addressing the challenges it sets out.

How are Spring and UKWIR working together?

UKWIR was crucial in helping to establish Spring – it helped secure additional funding from its members and offered expertise, support, advice and guidance as we set it up. Spring has been designed to complement UKWIR’s work. UKWIR’s focus is on developing and carrying out a research programme on behalf of its members.

Spring won’t focus on research, but will facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing which brings research to life.

Who will benefit?

Spring will redefine what the UK water industry is known for internationally. By bringing stakeholders together from across academia, the supply chain and water companies, we will deliver better outcomes for customers, society and the environment while enabling a more sustainable sector.

  • Customers

    By enabling the sector to better embrace collaboration and incubate innovation, customers will see their water and wastewater services deliver better value for money and the outcomes they expect.

  • Supply Chain

    Suppliers will have a direct route to companies and their challenges, streamlining the process of getting their innovations to market.

  • Water companies

    Water companies get gain a platform to work collaboratively and will have a streamlined route to suppliers.

  • Retailers

    Retailers will be able to feed their challenges into Spring and work alongside utilities and the supply chain to develop solutions.

  • Government and regulators

    Government and regulators will see water companies deliver better value for their customers, achieve improved environmental outcomes and deliver the game-changing innovation needed.

  • Academics

    The Research Community will have opportunities to leverage funding through collaborative projects and meet Research Council ambitions along with having the insight of utility challenges.

Stay in the know with these useful links

Please use these helpful links to view our most popular pages, giving you the latest insights and comprehensive database within the industry.

Man water landscape

UK 2050 Water Innovation Strategy

In 2020, all 19 UK water and wastewater companies published the UK 2050 Water Innovation Strategy. Read more about that here.

Bridge over river

The Spring Platform

Login or register to our platform here where you can follow themes, be alerted to challenges and build communities and networks.

 

River landscape

Communities of Knowledge

Communities of Knowledge bring water industry stakeholders together to share, discover and exchange sector enhancing ideas. Join them here.

Our partners

NWG Living Water
Schneider Electric
Ofwat
RSK
Mott MacDonald
Metasphere
Interreg
Isle Utilities
Jacobs
Future Water Association
Haigh Group
EIC
Cranfield
Code Untapped
British Water logo
Capgemini
CCW
Irish Water Logo