The judges for the Innovation in Water Challenge as part of Ofwat’s £200 million innovation fund have been named.
The eight judges were chosen from within the industry and related sectors. They are:
- Nicole Ballantyne – knowledge transfer manager (manufacturing), Knowledge Transfer Network
- Myrtle Dawes – solution centre director, OGTC
- Chris Newsome – director, UK Water Partnership
- Dragan Savic – chief executive, KWR Water Research Institute
- Adam Scorer – chief executive, National Energy Action
- Rachel Skinner – executive director (transport), WSP Global, and president, Institution of Civil Engineers
- Lila Thompson – chief executive, British Water
- Rhodri Williams – Wales chair, CCWater
The panel’s expertise and experience includes manufacturing and energy as well as consumer protection and collaboration.
The first part of the competition is a Dragons’ Den-style contest that encourages collaboration between the water companies and supply chain businesses including R&D groups.
The competition was launched to find solutions to common challenges in the water and wastewater sector including reaching net zero, tackling leakage, protecting the environment and delivering value for customers.
John Russell, senior director at Ofwat said: “We have a fantastic panel of judges working together with us on this Challenge – drawing expertise from a number of sectors and disciplines that, together, will bring invaluable insight to the judging and assessing process. We believe partnerships and collaboration are at the heart of meeting the challenges facing the water industry – and we are looking forward to receiving new and exciting ideas that will help change the sector for years to come.”
The contest aims to encourage innovative ideas that water companies would otherwise be unable to invest in or explore by working with partners inside and outside the sector. Each wining partnership will receive between £50,000 and £250,000 to support their initiative.
Chris Gorst, director of challenges at Nesta Challenges, which is coordinating the competition alongside Arup and Isle Utilities, added: “We anticipate receiving a high calibre of entries that will make the task of judging them exciting but challenging. However, we’re confident that we have the right insights and expertise from across the industry and beyond within our judging panel to help us assess the entries.”
The deadline for entries is 26 February and the first round of the main fund will begin in the spring.