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UtILItY WeeK | 12th - 18th September 2014 | 23 Operations & Assets dropped into the reservoir using a helicopter. The stirrers will circulate the water in the reservoir, improving the quality of the raw water before it enters the works for full treatment. Gurney Environmental supplied and installed the system. To be featured in this slot, please send your pictures and details of the project to: paul.newton@fav-house.com Pipe up Denise Massey I t is always inspiring when a group of people with a shared purpose and ambition get together. History will remember the recent Commonwealth Games as a suc- cess, not only for the achievements of the sportsmen and women competing, but also for the efforts of the Glaswe- gian community – the volunteers, crowd and public. Likewise crowdfunding – the financing of projects and start-up businesses through small contributions from a large number of people via online platforms – is an amazing example of the impact a group of individu- als can have when they act collectively. According to innovation charity Nesta, £200 million was invested globally through crowdfunding in 2012. But bringing together people with shared interests and galvanising them around a particular cause is not without its challenges. At the Energy Innovation Centre, we've learnt this first hand. Much of our work depends on building communities of interest across industry, aca- demia, government and small businesses, who can collaborate to drive forward innovation. We recently had the oppor- tunity to test our collabora- tive model when we brought together 28 representatives from the gas industry, includ- ing Ofgem, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, four gas distribution networks, academia and the supply chain, at the Gas Innovation Summit in London – a feat that was achieved only by the four gas distribution network leaders joining forces and agreeing to support this initiative. The aim of the event was to identify challenges the industry could work on to deliver a better service for cus- tomers, while helping to future proof the gas networks. To date, discussion about innovation in the energy sector has been dominated by electricity; gas is seen as the poor relation. But while its future role is unclear, I believe gas will remain an essential part of the energy mix for a long time, hence the need for the summit. Discussion of potential collaborative projects centred on core themes: CNG in commercial vehicles; gas appli- ance ecosystems; social energy; renewables integration; and bio future. The summit produced a plethora of ideas on every theme, which were evaluated and presented to the chief executives of the gas distribution networks. The result is that the UK gas networks have agreed to a joint feasibility study into social energy, which I hope will give another opportunity to highlight how powerful it can be to unite people with a shared vision, belief and purpose. Denise Massey, managing director, Energy Innovation Centre "Bringing together people with shared interests and galvanising them around a particular cause is not easy." Innovation in the energy sector has been dominated by electricity; gas is seen as the poor relation