THE UK’s first draft Water Innovation Strategy has been launched setting out a vision for change across the water sector.
The plan has been published in anticipation of Ofwat’s £200m 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 many and varying challenges for the future.
Its 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 undertaken the development of the Innovation Strategy alongside ARUP and the 19 UK water companies.
Steve Kaye, CEO of UKWIR, commented: “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 is open for consultation through the summer and will be finalised in September 2020.
It will be launched in a webinar on 16 July.
The draft plan can be downloaded here
