Preparing your entry

Page Contents

How to enter
Eligibility Criteria
What we’re looking for
What you can win
Assessment criteria
Intellectual Property

How to enter?

The entry period closed on 8 April 2026 at 1pm (BST)

Eligibility Criteria

The Water Discovery Challenge aims to accelerate the discovery, development and adoption of promising innovations by the water sector. The Challenge welcomes entries from any sector and all types of organisations, domestic or international.

To be eligible to enter, organisations entering must:

Be a UK incorporated entity [1]
Hold a UK business bank account upon entry
Comply with the Challenge’s Terms and Conditions
Not be a regional water or wastewater company in England and Wales [2]

[1] “UK Incorporated Entity” includes any private limited company, limited liability partnership, incorporated charity and Community Interest Company which is incorporated in part of the United Kingdom. Sole traders and unincorporated partnerships are excluded. Potential entrants are encouraged to ask if in doubt. Subsidiaries of international organisations are welcome.

[2] In the context of the Water Discovery Challenge, reference to a ‘water company’ means a water and/or sewerage undertaker holding an appointment under Chapter 1, Part 2 of the Water Industry Act 1991. Small water and sewerage undertakers, sometimes referred to as New appointments and variations (NAVs) and water retailers will be eligible to enter.

What we’re looking for

We are seeking bold and ingenious innovation that can help solve the biggest challenges facing the water sector today and into the future.

We are looking for innovations that:

Have the potential to have a positive impact for water customers, society and the environment.
Innovation enablers and innovative solutions ready for concept proofing, testing, early feasibility studies, development and verification in the water sector.
Are delivered by teams that have the capacity, capability and commitment to deliver.
Have the ability to succeed, be sustainable and/or gain wide adoption across the water sector in England and Wales.

We particularly welcome entries that fit the following:

Innovation from outside the sector or solutions that have not yet been trialled or tested in the water sector.
Solutions that generally fall between TRL Levels 3-6 of maturity.

The competition will include a range of non-financial support to help innovators develop their solution and will facilitate direct engagement with the water sector. This includes but is not limited to:

Water company mentorship to help facilitate connections into the water sector.
Support from industry and technical experts when developing your solution.
Business and commercial skills development to help entrants formulate and pitch their business proposal.
Innovators must consider how and why they would benefit from this non-financial support to develop their solution.

What you can win

In the Water Discovery Challenge, you can win up to £650,000, split between the Finalist Award (up to £100,000) and the Winner’s Award (up to £550,000).

Finalists

20 Finalists with the most promising entries will be awarded up to £100,000 to develop their innovation, with a range of expert support and access to mentoring from water companies.

Successful finalists will receive support to strengthen and accelerate the development of their idea. This support will bring in experts from the water sector, as well as business development experts. It also includes access to our sector led mentoring programme and the allocation of a personal mentor from a regional water or wastewater company in England and Wales.

For more information on the finalists, and what you can win, please see the Discovery Innovator Handbook.
Winners

Up to 10 Winners will be selected in April 2027 and awarded up to £550,000 to further grow their innovation, receiving further support to further accelerate their progress.

Winners will continue to receive custom support to accelerate the development of their innovation and preparing it for wide adoption across the water sector. The continued support will include working closely with their dedicated mentor on, for instance, determining and producing trial requirements, or potentially socialising trials as well as supporting the winners’ teams to map out next steps to succeed in the water sector.

Assessment criteria

Assessment Criteria 1: Positive impact for water customers, communities, and the environment
Under this assessment category, we are looking to understand the benefits an innovation seeks to deliver for customers, communities, and the environment. We ask entrants to describe what kind of impact they envision their initiative could have and why that impact is important.

We will be looking to understand the following:
- What is your solution?
- Does the innovation address a relevant need for the water sector in England and Wales?
- Does the innovation have the potential to deliver positive benefit for customers, society and/or the environment?
A strong entry should be able to explain how their proposition addresses a need or opportunity within the water sector and what kind of impact it could have.
Assessment Criteria 2: Innovation enablers and innovative solutions
Under this assessment category, we will be looking to understand what is novel about the proposed innovation and how this differs from the ‘business as usual’ approach currently adopted by the water sector. Entrants are asked to explain what is innovative about their initiative both in terms of the innovation itself, but also any new or different ways of working (‘innovation enablers’). Entrants will also be asked to identify how it is different to and better than current alternatives.

We will be looking to understand the following:
- Is the innovation new for the water sector in England and Wales?
- Is the innovation better than current alternatives?
Entries should be able to explain how the initiative is new and innovative within the water sector. This could include experimentation with new solutions or approaches, adapting innovations and practices from other sectors or applying proven approaches that haven’t been tried at scale. Proposed solutions may draw inspiration and/or talent from other sectors.
Assessment criteria 3: Capacity, capability, and commitment to deliver
Under this assessment category, we will be looking to understand if the entry team is likely to be able to deliver what they outline in the entry. We ask entrants to describe their commitment and outline the team’s roles and responsibilities and clearly set out why their experience and expertise will support the successful delivery of the entry.

We will be looking to understand:
- The delivery team’s experience, skills and capabilities.
- The timeline and delivery plan envisioned by the team
- How the team will spend the funds awarded should they be successful
Entries should describe the roles and responsibilities of their team members and clearly set out why they believe that their experience and expertise will support the successful delivery of the entry. Entries should be able to describe how the £100,000 will be used, and what activities the funding will support, proposing a high-level timeline along with the spend.
Assessment criteria 4: Ability to succeed, to be sustainable and/or gain wide adoption across the water sector
️Under this assessment category, we will be looking to understand the innovation’s feasibility and viability within the water sector of England and Wales as well as the risks and challenges to the entry that are foreseen by the team. We ask entrants to describe their vision of how their innovation could be applied at scale across the water sector in the future.

We will be looking to understand the following:
- Is the innovation likely to be feasible and viable with the water sector?
- Is the innovation technically possible and does it have the potential to be financially sustainable?
- Does the innovation have the potential to be widely adopted across the water sector in England and Wales?
Entries should demonstrate that they have considered potential opportunities and challenges along with any anticipated risks, outlining mitigation measures, while also identifying areas of support required aligned with their scale-up ambitions and associated risks.

Intellectual Property

Neither Ofwat, Nesta, or any of its delivery partners will obtain ownership of any intellectual property rights in your entry to the Challenge.

Past Finalists and Winners

Turning Innovation into Implementation: Waterwhelm’s Journey Through the Water Discovery Challenge

Opinion

Water Discovery Challenge

Kiacrete – ‘Paving the way’ to reducing flooding and combined sewer overflows

Water Discovery Challenge

Preparing your entry

Page Contents

How to enter?

Eligibility Criteria

What we’re looking for

What you can win

Finalists

Winners

Assessment criteria

Assessment Criteria 1: Positive impact for water customers, communities, and the environment

Assessment Criteria 2: Innovation enablers and innovative solutions

Assessment criteria 3: Capacity, capability, and commitment to deliver

Assessment criteria 4: Ability to succeed, to be sustainable and/or gain wide adoption across the water sector

Intellectual Property

Past Finalists and Winners

Turning Innovation into Implementation: Waterwhelm’s Journey Through the Water Discovery Challenge

Kiacrete – ‘Paving the way’ to reducing flooding and combined sewer overflows

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