How Do You Create a Vibrant Innovation Culture?

How Do You Create a Vibrant Innovation Culture?

The need for innovation in the water sector has never been greater

An interview with Angela MacOscar, Head of Innovation at Northumbrian Water Group by Mark Coates, International Director of Public Policy and Advocacy, Bentley Systems

In 2019, water companies worked to reduce customer bills by an average of 12.7% during AMP 7—a price reduction two and a half times greater than in 2014. At the same time, the water sector also needs to invest an additional GBP 6.5 million each day during AMP 7, over and above existing investment to maintain assets. This is a significant challenge for a sector with enough water pipes to stretch around the equator over eight times, as well as pipes with an estimated average age of 70 years.

It is impossible for the sector to deliver so much more with less money without significant innovation. Since the sector was privatised in 1989, it has been striving to create a more competitive economy that raises standards, improves investment in infrastructure, and offers a better product to the consumer at a fair price. However, pressure alone is not enough to create an innovative workforce. At Northumbrian Water, we believe that we need to engage and empower people to develop an innovative mindset. It is inspiring to see how England’s water companies are taking different approaches to embedding innovation. Some of them have large teams, for example, with hundreds of staff working to pioneer solutions in bioresources and leakage detection.

We need different approaches, for people to approach innovation in a way that best suits their company, and for the water sector to continue its evolution. At Northumbrian Water, we do not have an innovation department. With more than 3,000 staff, we believe that it is important for everyone to contribute to finding new solutions, ensuring that everyone’s voice can be heard and that we continue to develop and nurture our staff—during AMP 7 and beyond. When we started our innovation culture drive, we had 14 innovation ambassadors who were mostly senior managers. Now, we have more than 70 ambassadors representing all levels and departments across the business. Northumbrian Water strives to make innovation a natural part of our operations, as well as make everyone feel like they have a role to play in developing new ideas.

Our innovators pitch for dedicated funding each month to fund new projects and are encouraged to devise bold strategies without fear of failure. Together, we then democratically choose which projects to give seed funding to—if we believe in their idea.
Underpinning our approach to innovation are a couple of core beliefs:

• We believe that innovation is never complete. There are always improvements to be made.
• Innovation projects can fail, but our people do not fail if a project does not quite deliver.

Everyone can learn something new, regardless of their experience. To understand these beliefs is to understand that we can do things even better than we do today. Northumbrian Water cultivates people with that mindset, and we are proud to do so. Moving forward through AMP 7 and beyond, we must keep investing in the skills and training of our staff, which Northumbrian Water does with apprenticeships, research partnerships, and sponsored Ph.D. placements. These programs will be vital in attracting graduates and young professionals toward entering the sector, filling the estimated 35% of skilled roles that the sector currently lacks. Innovation must also come from a diverse range of voices—a challenge that the water sector must face up to with an 80% male workforce. We also need to address the 17% gender pay gap between men and women at Northumbrian Water and other companies across the sector.

To continue our work with young professionals, while also continuing to expand our reach, Northumbrian Water has committed to a Social Mobility Pledge, working closely with schools and universities to provide new routes for young people from all backgrounds to start and develop their career with us.

The Northumbrian Water Innovation Festival epitomises our innovation culture and our willingness to embrace change and engage far and wide with people to achieve that change.

At our last in-person event in 2019, over 1,800 local school children and 105 professors and representatives from nine universities attended. We also saw companies from outside the sector, including Microsoft, Aiimi, CK, Delta, Wood Group, and Google. At the festival, we run workshops, guest talks from global innovators, and demonstrations of next-generation technology. We also organize what we call “innovation sprints,” where people are given the opportunity to think freely and contribute new ideas. The diversity of these sprints often leads us to ingenious new ideas. In fact, our 2019 event led us to two exciting new projects: the underground measuring device “The Power of Z” and the rural IoT sensor “Dragonfly.”

With these initiatives, we hope to inspire the next generation to consider careers in the water sector. My inspiration to make Northumbrian Water a truly innovative and collaborative
organisation is best summed up by Derek Sivers, who says that, “If you really care about starting a movement, have the courage to follow and show others how to follow.” We hope that by trying to take a lead and setting an agenda for innovation in the sector, others will follow our lead to create new, better solutions in public utilities for AMP 7 and beyond. Now in its fifth year, we are very excited for this year ’s Northumbrian Water Innovation Festival on 18-22 October 2021, which is a hybrid event: online and at hubs around the U.K. and the world. This year ’s event will also include a supplier challenge event with British Water to build on our engagement with supply chain innovators. No matter who you are or who you work for, if you’re interested in innovation and engaging in debate about how to make things better, we would love for you to join us at the festival.

To register your interest in the festival, visit www.innovationfestival. org/register/.
The British Water supplier day at the Northumbrian Innovation Festival will be held on 21 October. To register your interest please visit www.britishwater.co.uk/page/events.