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Nigel Watson, CIO at Group, is the man be successful Inno Written by Anna McMahon •
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Northumbrian Water ehind the company’s ovation Festival. Produced by Danielle Harris
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NOW IN ITS THIRD YEAR, NORTHUMBRIAN WATER GROUP’S INNOVATION FESTIVAL WAS HELD OVER FIVE DAYS LAST MONTH, AND ATTENDED BY MORE THAN 3,000 PEOPLE FROM AROUND 700 LEADING GLOBAL ORGANISATIONS.
aving gone from strength to strength since its launch in 2017, it has earned a reputation for attracting talented innovators in their droves. Reflecting on this year’s festival, Nigel said, “It has been our best year yet. It was a little bit bigger than previous years. We had 1,000 people the first year we did it, 2,000 last year, and 3,000 this year. We added in some new elements, which seemed to work well, as we’re always trying to innovate with the festival format itself. We added in a careers fair for kids, and an innovation 4
Watch Day One at NWG Innovation festival 2019
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"THE AIM OF THE FESTIVAL IS SIMPLE – IT’S ABOUT GENERATING NEW IDEAS TO IMPROVE OUR BUSINESS" Nigel Watson, CIO at Northumbrian Water Group
Nigel Watson
garage, where we were making prototypes and 3D-printed items, taking ideas out of the sprints. People seemed to enjoy it.” A truly unique event that takes social and environmental challenges and applies exciting problem-solving techniques, such as design sprints, data hacks and workshops, over the five action-packed days, it is attended by most of the major water companies (13 in total), as well as their supply chain partners. These include technology companies such as IBM, CGI, Ordnance Survey, Oracle and DXe, along with construction partners and universities. Nigel added, “Bridget Rosewell, who is the chair of Atom Bank, joined us, as well as River Tamoor Baig, 7
See the Innovation festival from the Sky
who is the founder of Hack Partners, who try to spur innovation in the rail industry. It’s a really exciting mix!” Industry professionals rub shoulders with engineers, local businesses, students, designers and members of the public to focus on key issues such as climate change, the impact of 5G and vehicles of the future. Nigel said, “The aim of the festival is simple – it’s about generating new ideas to improve our business. It also offers a fantastic networking opportunity, but more than anything else, it’s about bringing together our knowledge with the knowledge of other sectors using an inside thinking methodology, allowing new ideas to emerge.” Around 1,800 young people also flooded through the gates to learn about new skills that could help support their career, with the aim of 8
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inspiring them to consider a career in science, technology, engineering, art or mathematics (STEAM).
Dick Strawbridge
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And with ten design sprints, 10 daily dashes, three year’s work of work in a week and four data hacks running over the course of the festival, how could Nigel possibly choose a highlight? He answered, “It’s always fun seeing what happens when you bring a celebrity into the event, and I thought that Dick Strawbridge was great. His energy and knowledge of everything, from engineering through to the environment and GIS systems, was amazing. Going around the tents, he gave everyone a real lift. Some of the ideas that came out were incredible.
I loved Dragonfly – I’d probably pick that as my favourite. It stood out as a game-changing idea for society as a whole, not just for us as an industry.” For this particular challenge, 492 ideas came down to 32 sketches, six themes and two ideas: One small project:
Smart Reservoirs
• Pop-up reservoirs which are expandable and transportable • Allowing rural communities and businesses to collect rainwater and take it to where it is needed for use • Customers and communities save on water bills and improve their water efficiency
For IoT. For data. For water. For coding. For energy. For innovation. For partnership.
From Newcastle. For the world. 11
How thinking backwards can take your business forwards. In 1968, Dick Fosbury went backwards over the high jump bar, a move that revolutionised his sport and won him Olympic gold. That’s what we do for our clients. Innovating new ways to manage their data. Unlocking the potential to take them beyond what they believed possible. Moving forwards, by thinking backwards.
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One enormous idea:
Dragonfly
• Real-time water sensors
"I’VE STARTED THINKING ABOUT HOW WE COULD DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY. ONE EARLY THOUGHT IS TO RUN A PARALLEL SPRINT, POSING A CHALLENGE WE HAVE, AND ANOTHER INDUSTRY MAY HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM"
for our rivers provide data to support management of our assets, promote catchment management, and allow communities to engage with their local rivers • Solar powered and building on current and emerging sensor and deployment research and technology • Data analysed would be shared with stakeholders via digital applications, linking into existing data sources and platforms • Enabled by 5G, facilitated by fibre optic cables in our sewers, a network of Dragonflies would support a 5G mesh to bring highspeed connectivity into rural communities, with all the benefits for the rural economy and people’s lives that would bring
Nigel Watson, CIO at Northumbrian Water Group
Although it is difficult to single out a specific theme that showed prevalence, Nigel did acknowledge that the idea of social engagement cropped up consistently. He explained, “How do we engage with customers as a company and as part of our broader supply chain? How do we change the dialogue that we have with them? This came out of quite a few sprints, even though it does not have much to do with technology. I think it just reflects the change in mind-set.” 13
As for Innovation Festival 2020, Nigel and his team already have plans in the pipeline. He said, “We will make a few changes, so I’ve started thinking about how we could do things differently. One early thought is to run a parallel sprint, posing a challenge we have, and another industry may have the same problem. We might have the same question but edge towards different solutions. If we were to run a sprint like this, and keep bringing the two companies together to cross-pollenate, it could be really interesting. I can see us doing two or three parallel sprints next year.”
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And Nigel’s dream guest speaker is none other than comedian and television presenter, Dara O’Briain. He laughed, “I’d love to have Dara O’Briain. He’s a good mixture of humour and science, and he seems to have a warmth about him that would fit well with the festival.” Back to the office to make plans for Northumbrian Water Group’s next big event, Innovate East, Nigel added, “I’ve now got to put my brain and energy into Innovate East. We are doing a three-day festival in September with Anglian Water. Speaking of collaboration, it will be our first joint innovation event with another company.”
Find Out More
Seed Funding Winners £20K – Power of Z lead by Paddy Garret – Creation of a reliable model to predict pipe depth £15K – Pop-Up Reservoir – CGI Sprint led by Clare Deasy/ Liz Corbett – Automated deployment of expanding re-usable reservoirs £15K – Push, Pop, Swivel – Smart Box – Ford Sprint led by Kate Wilson – Design of a smart box which would become an ergonomic desk, storage for laptop, and only works when vehicle is stationary £5K – Little Acorns – IBM Sprint led by Elaine Erskine/Stef Chester – A digital educational package for schools to grow knowledge and interest in growing plants For further information on Innovation Festival, visit www.innovationfestival.org To register for Innovate East, go to www.innovateeast.org
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innovationfestival.org