Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/1202034
In the frame for delivery: UKWIR CEO on Ofwat's innovation competition The Talk: interview " This is the biggest opportunity in innovation since I started in 1990." That's the view of Kaye, who has led UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) since 2018. The innovation competition was confirmed on 16 December in a document, which sets out the regulator's PR19 final price determinations (see page 4). The report states the regulator will make £200m available through an innova- tion competition to encourage "compa- nies to collaborate with each other and with other companies in their supply chains". "I'm delighted that Ofwat have sup- ported such a significant fund for the sector," commented Kaye. "Ofwat seem to be becoming a more strategic organisa- tion which I think is really encouraging. Rachel Fletcher (chief executive) and John Russell (senior director, strategy and planning) have brought some forward thinking and I find that refreshing. The fact that the board have supported it is a great sign." With Ofwat confirming plans for a £200 million innovation competition which will run between 2020 and 2025, UKWIR chief executive Steve Kaye speaks to WWT about what he'd like to see from the fund and how his organisation could play a part in delivering the strategy. 6 | FEBRUARY 2020 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk In July, Ofwat launched a consultation that could allow companies to raise up to £200m for innovation activities through customer bills. At the time, the regulator said it was looking at two potential options. One would involve a collectively funded an- nual innovation competition, in which companies would put forward propos- als for innovative projects to be funded through the mechanism. This option could be introduced in the first year of AMP7. "In order to be eligible for funding, companies entering the competition would need to contribute to project costs, and projects and allocation of funding from the ring-fenced pot would need to be assessed by an independent expert entity against our final key principles for financial support," Ofwat said. "Only companies which are successful in their bids would then be awarded funding." The second option was an end-of-pe- riod innovation roll-out reward, designed to help increase the adoption of innova- tions across the sector. This would involve pay-outs to those companies that have demonstrated the most successful roll-out of successful in- novation to the benefit of customers dur- ing AMP7 and have shared their findings with other organisations. UKWIR responded to Ofwat's consulta- tion (see box out) and the organisation has put itself in the frame to help deliver the innovation competition strategy. The organisation, which commis- sions research on behalf of all the UK's water and sewerage companies on 'one voice' issues, recently set out a dozen 'Big Questions' which it wants to help the water industry solve, and has launched a programme of events where individuals and companies from all parts of the water sector, and outside, can contribute to shaping its research programme. Kaye added: "We've developed a national strategy that all the companies have bought into which is based on aspi- rational goals – our 12 Big Questions. This