Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | APRIL 2022 | 41 From a water industry perspective, the chief executive of non-domestic water retailer Ever ow, Josh Gill, says open col- laboration and innovation across the sec- tor's retail market has been facilitated and encouraged by the industry regulator. "One of the things that Ofwat is very good at is actively promoting retailers and whole- salers to collaborate with each other to come up with solutions for the market and its cus- tomers rather than preventing those through unnecessary red tape," he explains. Looking to the future While the appetite for collaborative innova- tion is clear, multiple barriers to innovation in action remain. There are structural and legal issues which make it hard for organisa- tions to collaborate – particularly when the organisations are of di€ erent scales. The intellectual property (IP) rights for publicly funded innovation projects are a particular hot potato. "I'm still speaking with people saying that IP ownership and the rules around it are unacceptable," says WRc associate and British Water ambassador Steve Webber. "It o€ ers no protection, allows companies in e€ ect to grab innovation roy- alty free, modify it, move it on and hand over to others to develop. I think we should look at the overall roadmap for the supply chain, from sharing innovation through to adoption." NGN's Hynes Cooper adds that while his Ž rm has witnessed "fantastic innovation", it needs to be opened up to network challenges and opportunities by using established knowledge, practical skills and procedures in areas such as IP. "Those innovations funded by customer money present the challenge we have around IP," he says. Utility Week Live launches biggest ever content programme More than 100 speakers across ve theatres are on the slate for Utility Week Live 2022. Utility Week Live, which takes place on 17 and 18 May at Birming- ham's NEC, includes a pan-utility challenge programme featuring practical case studies and seminars tackling a range of frontline industry issues, along with a keynote stage exploring the headline themes of col- laborative innovation and the race to achieve net-zero carbon targets. Utility Week Live portfolio director Ellen Bennett says: "We can't wait to reunite the industry at Birmingham's NEC, and, with ve theatres and more than 100 speakers, we're con dent this is our most exciting, diverse and useful content programme yet. "Our programme takes speci c industry issues such as tackling oper- ational eˆ ciency; creating flexible and smart infrastructure that is t for purpose; and delivering best-in-class customer service; and showcases best practice and innovation to help solve these challenges. The sessions are designed speci cally to arm visi- tors with insights and solutions they can take back to the front line." Speakers on the keynote pro- gramme include: • Susan Davy, chief executive, Pen- non • Basil Scarsella, chief executive, UK Power Networks • Duncan Burt, chief sustainability oˆ cer, National Grid • Andi Karaboutis, group chief information & digital oˆ cer, National Grid • John Russell, director of strategy planning, Ofwat • Jourdan Edwards, interim deputy director – onshore networks, Ofgem • Alison Japp, customer care direc- tor, Ovo • Rachel Fletcher, director of eco- nomics and regulation, Octopus Utility Week Live 2022, the exhibi- tion and all the theatres and keynotes are free to attend for utilities and contractors. To view the programme and register for your free place, visit: utilityweeklive.co.uk He says data and "digital health" solu- tions also pose a follow-on challenge when working with new innovators and SMEs. "We've got some fantastic opportuni- ties with really small, agile, operations – so rather than it being a cruise liner, we've got small businesses that can pivot and change with our ever-changing demands. But we've also got companies that are six people in size that don't have ISO 27001 accreditation – so when it comes to doing cyber-security and data and digital, and our data protection protocols, it's a challenge." It is clear that while the appetite for deep and genuine collaborative innovation is shared across utilities, the structures are not yet fully in place to deliver it. The Energy Innovation Centre's chief executive, Den- ise Massey, looks forward to a future where partnership run deeper than they do today. "There is a next step which is how would they become joint ventures as opposed to collaborations? How do we end up with collaboration, one team, managed by one person from a network, where everybody's accountable to that person?" she says. Stuart Stone, editor, Utility Week Innovate In the run-up to Utility Week Live, Utility Week Innovate has published a six-part "Unlocking Collaborative Innovation" content series online celebrating best practice, sharing inspiration and examining di• erent pressing pan-utility challenge areas. Utility Week Innovate and experts from the UW Innovate Advisory Board li• the lid on why collaboration is so important to innovation, which factors are driving it, and what the sector needs to do di• erently to foster a more collaborative culture. To read the series, visit: utilityweek.co.uk/uw-innovate addressed and worked through so that eve- rybody is on a level playing Ž eld," she says. "Otherwise that can lead to slow progress when trying to get that shared vision." However, Tony Conway emphasises the shared onus on enabling collaborative inno- vation and a need for clearer communica- tion and articulation from both SMEs and utilities. "It's a case of each party looking at things from the other's perspective – wear- ing the other person's shoes – to have that value-adding dialogue." Spanning sectors According to Northumbrian Water's head of innovation, Angela MacOscar, earning her "innovation stripes" in fast moving con- sumer goods – "a very, very di€ erent sector, and, as it says on the tin, a lot faster" – has been essential in thinking creatively around innovation in water. "Bringing in some of the contacts that I have from my past life, and some of the dif- ferent cultural aspects, has been a brilliant opportunity," she explains. "Where I see the richest beds for innovation for our sec- tor are not in our sector or supply chain, but actually in other sectors that perhaps have more research and development spend. "I want to be looking at medicine, defence, other sectors that are a lot more lucrative, and perhaps running a bit faster. We can import this stu€ into our sector probably a few years down the line."

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