We’re really excited to confirm the launch of our new Innovation Challenges. We will be hosting a webinar on Monday 14th February (12pm – 1pm) to launch our first Innovation Challenge. Please sign up here to attend and find out more.

These challenges will address the sector’s most pressing needs and will be based around the innovation themes identified in the Water Innovation 2050 Strategy. Earlier this month we hosted a community poll to select the theme for our first challenge and we are excited to announce this theme will be – Achieving Net Zero Carbon.

For each theme selected we will be running two complementary challenges.

The first challenge, launching on 14 February, will be a specific challenge relating to a defined real-world problem. The challenge statement is being developed by Spring with input from our board and key stakeholders.

The second, following in April, is a broader open call for innovation around the same theme, attracting a much wider range of ideas to come forward.

Successful submissions for both challenges will be invited to pitch their solutions to key industry decision makers. From here, water companies will opt-in to collaborative efforts to accelerate the development and adoption of solutions that can really make an impact.

For our first round of challenges, we’ve partnered with Isle Utilities to learn from their global expertise in utility innovation and change.

Erin Zhang, Project Director for the challenge said:

“We are delighted to have joined forces with Spring to support the development and delivery of the first round of Spring Innovation Challenges.

Over the last decade, Isle has worked to accelerate the adoption of new solutions and ideas in the water sector. We have been at the centre of the ecosystem, scouting for technologies and forming collaborative projects that lead to their uptake – and we’re bringing this experience to Spring.

We believe in collaboration and supporting Spring is part of our ambition to continue to drive innovation in the UK to meet the challenges of the next decade.”

Carly Perry, Consultant Executive Lead at Spring said:

“We are uniquely placed at the centre of the sector, acting as a hub for new ideas, collaborations and the latest thinking to solve the biggest challenges the water sector faces through innovation and research.

Isle bring a wealth of experience and connections from across the water sector, the supply chain and – crucially – innovators with them. We’re thrilled to have them on board and know they’ll help ensure our first challenges are a huge success.

Innovation is an iterative process – and so are our challenges. We’ll capture our users’ and stakeholders’ feedback and use them to shape future challenges – making sure the process is effective and efficient.”

What happens next?

On 14 February, we’re holding a lunch and learn style webinar where we’ll debut our first challenge statement – giving innovators across the supply chain and academia the first chance to submit their ideas.

You can sign up for our webinar here. Don’t forget to sign up to our mailing list and follow us on LinkedIn for the latest updates.

Suppliers can register to our platform here to receive updates on the themes they’re most interested in. When a challenge goes live under each theme, they’ll be notified and encouraged to submit ideas and solutions to be reviewed by all the utilities who have opted into the challenge.

We’ll be engaging with our community throughout our challenge process through our forums – so it’s worth joining our all community group to have your say on future challenges.