Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
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www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | DECEMBER 2019 | 11 ward for a successful roll-out of innovative solutions, which only got approval from one in 25 of respondents; or the combination of both options, which over three quarters favoured. Trevor Bishop, a former director of Ofwat, and now director of Water Resources in the South East (WRSE), has submitted a discussion paper to Ofwat in the consulta- tion process which, amongst other points, argued that "the fund would have to have some independence from regulators if it was to be effective." Questioned on what other initiatives would enable innovation, open data was the respondents' top suggestion, followed by cross-sector strategy/goal setting, better coordination between regulators to identify cross-cutting challenges, a sector-wide portal for innovation challenges, acces- sible innovation tool kits/methodologies for sector-wide adoption and a Centre for Innovation Excellence in Water. A proposal for a Centre for Excellence across the sector has been drawn up by Bishop to implement innovation to tackle the pressure water companies face at scale. Commenting, Bishop said: "The PR19 performance commitments set by Ofwat will require companies to deliver performance beyond which is supported by evidence – they will therefore require innovation if these 'stretching' targets are to be met." And he concurred on the survey's call for collaboration, adding: "Targets for leakage and per capita consumption are Almost 8 in 10 believe in Ofwat's proposed innovation fund Q: Would the water sector benefit from a ring-fenced innovation fund, such as that proposed by Ofwat? Which of the options, proposed by Ofwat, do you favour? A combination of both options A collectively-funded innovation competition A reward for the successful roll-out of innovative solutions 76% 78.1% 21.9% 20% 4% two key areas which will require significant innovation. Virtually all companies will find these targets challenging and collaboration on innovation may be the key to efficient and effective delivery. Innovation activities could/should be better coordinated across companies and between companies and supply chain/academia. This is an impor- tant gap which is holding back progress." His views were backed by Professor Tony Conway, a former executive director of United Utilities, who said: "Tackling the challenges facing the water sector and tak- ing advantage of the opportunities demands innovation. Whilst there are examples of outstanding innovation making a real difference for customers, there is also a lot more which can be done to transform our industry. Collaboration is key to moving forward, particularly on matters of common cause, with the opportunity to share risks and benefits and accelerate innovation." Steve Kaye, chief executive of UKWIR agreed: "The survey findings reveal there is an appetite for innovation which is great. There is a real opportunity to collaborate more for the greater good of the sector." Turning to the level of investment companies make available for innovation each year, nearly half of respondents knew nothing about what their companies spent. From the information reported by those who were aware, the average level of invest- ment in innovation is 1.5 per cent of annual turnover. This figure was slightly higher for water-only companies (1.89 per cent), com- pared to 1.33 per cent for water & sewerage companies. Seven out of 10 respondents (70 per cent) say that their organisation pursues incremental innovation, as opposed to 'disruptive' innovation. Water companies characterised their approach as being along incremental, day-by-day lines - 78 per cent of respondents as opposed to 22 per cent for disruption. Commenting on findings that 70 per cent of respondents characterised innova- tion activity in their companies as being incremental as opposed to disruptive Kaye said: "Innovation needs to happen for the short, medium and long term so in terms of activity it needs a balance of approaches." The respondents worked at Yorkshire Water, South West Water, Bristol Water, United Utilities, South Staffordshire Water, Anglian Water, Severn Trent, Southern Water, Affinity Water, Thames Water, Cam- bridge Water, Northumbrian Water and Dwr Cymru Welsh Water. Ofwat says that it will reach a final deci- sion on a package of innovation interven- tions for the period in December 2019 at the latest. It says: "Following our final decision, we will clarify details around implementa- tion, in consultation with stakeholders as required. These may include details of the framework for additional financial support and a timetable for implementation." To download a report that highlights the full findings visit www.wwtonline.co.uk