Back in December, Elisa and I visited the WIOA team in Shepperton to hatch a plan about how IWN and WIOA could collaborate on Operator led innovation in our member organisations. The idea we landed on was to set up a trial competition at the Victorian WIOA conference in Bendigo. By answering a couple of simple questions, Operators could pitch to IWN ideas for trials of innovations that they discover at the conference exhibition. And the prize was significant - $20,000 to run the trial. We had a great response, so much so we increased the funding and awarded 2 trials and 2 ideas for further scoping. We have already commenced the trial set up with the winners. Further details below.
Last month we shared our new operating model which included an introduction to the development of IWN Program Roadmaps. We have been working with our Program Managers this month to commence putting together these roadmaps. By the end of this month we will have commenced all the program roadmaps and aim to launch them all at our conference in July. This is an exciting time to join program working groups. Please contact us at enquiries@iwn.org.au for more info on how to join a program working group and shape the trials and innovations being brought to life through the programs.
Generative AI is taking the world by storm – everyone seems to be talking about it. Following a visit to Wannon Water this month, we have commenced scoping a potential trial with Wannon Water on a technology called Lily – a water industry operations and maintenance AI assistant. We are excited to be exploring leading edge technologies to enhance our business operations and employee experience. More info on Lily here: https://swan-forum.com/ecosystem/teamsolve/
Planning for our 2024 Member Conference on the theme of Collaborative Transformation is in full swing. We have some stunning speakers and case studies lined up and will launch all of the new Program Roadmaps. Please save 29 July for this not to be missed event. We will publish the schedule in our next newsletter.
Earlier this month we brought all of our Champions together for our first 2024 workshop, and for about half of the group, their first workshop as an IWN Champion – welcome! Our theme was on Intrapreneurship – how to lead and drive innovation within an organisation. The Champions are pivotal to IWN’s success and play a key role in connecting their organisations and IWN to identify and drive innovation. The insights they will gain through this program contributes to their sector leadership.
And our Data and Analytics Program are planning to run a Water Industry Hackathon in June hosted at Melbourne Water. We are particularly excited about the prospect of bringing teams together from across the sector, universities and other diverse groups of thinkers to apply their collective creative minds to improving our impact on the environment. We thank Peter Prevos from Coliban Water and Kerryn Hyde and Joe Curtis from Melbourne Water for shaping this up with us.
Take care and keep innovating
Cheers
JC
IWN members conference 2024
Monday 29 July, Storey Hall, RMIT University Melbourne
Following on from the success of last year’s conference on Positive Disruption, this year’s conference theme will be:
Collaborative transformation
Transformation of the Victorian water industry requires a unified approach. Success will come from diverse stakeholders actively collaborating and working together cohesively to drive significant positive disruption across the sector for the communities we serve.
Keep an eye out for more details to come.
If you are interested in sponsoring our conference. Contact us at enquiries@iwn.org.au for a copy of our sponsorship prospectus.
Our new program streams are flowing in the Circular Economy Program...and we're looking for someone to lead them...
Over the last month we unveiled our new program structure and program roadmap templates, propelling us towards greater innovation and impact.
Embracing a hub and spoke model, our transformed IWN Office (now known as IWN Central) will champion the creation and maintenance of enabling structures and tools. These vital frameworks will bolster program success and nurture strategic relationships crucial for fulfilling our purpose.
These innovative roadmaps will streamline processes and empower our members to influence the direction and activities of our programs like never before.
Lead the charge in revolutionising resource management as our Lead or Deputy Lead for the RENU (Recycled Water and Nutrient Recovery) Stream of our Circular Economy Program.
Join us in shaping a greener future and driving sustainability innovation forward! Your expertise will spearhead ground breaking projects, optimising resource utilisation and minimising environmental impact. Register your interest now at enquiries@iwn.org.au. Applications close Friday 3 May, 2024.
Are you passionate about driving impactful change and aiding the delivery of these new Roadmaps? Join our dynamic team in these innovative volunteer roles that are available. Contact us at enquiries@iwn.org.au if you would like more information.
We are looking for Program Managers and Deputy Program Managers to head up these two new programs and develop the roadmap for their success.
Safety innovation
Program Manager and
Deputy Program Manger
Contaminants of concern
Program Manager and
Deputy Program Manger
This month we meet Martin our TasWater Champion
Here’s the low down on Martin Ankor our very own TasWater Champion. Join Martin on a journey where science, design, and photography converge amidst the breath-taking landscapes of the outdoors. Discover his passion for hiking, intertwined with the thrill of solving spatial data challenges and the pursuit of building an integrated surveying system across Tasmania's rugged terrain.
Join the Australia-New Zealand (ANZ) Digital Innovation team from Amazon Web Services (AWS) to take us through the principles behind Amazon’s Culture of Innovation – their best practices on how Amazon and AWS have retained a long-term approach to innovation. Contact us at enquiries@iwn.org.au for more information
Webinar Series
Liquid Integrity Solutions (LIS) Water Storage Monitoring Trial outcome
Last month’s webinar recording is now available. As an IWN member, you can register for access to all IWN Webinar recordings via our IWN Knowledge Hub.
Please email us at enquiries@iwn.org.au if you have any ideas you'd like to see us include in our Webinar series.
WIOA Winners
IWN again had a strong presence at the WIOA Victorian Conference showcasing the innovations we are progressing with our members. This year, we introduced a competition for operators to pitch an innovation trial opportunity by answering a few simple questions. We received many tremendous entries.
The winner of the $20,000 trial was Ryleigh Coombes from South Gippsland Water who is partnering with ThermoFisher to trial the Algae Torch device. The device provides instant Blue Green Algae readings enabling trend analysis to potentially predict an algal bloom. We have already commenced scoping the trial with Ryleigh and the ThermoFisher team.
Innovation doesn’t need to be a complex technology. Damien Spiteri from Goulburn Valley Water identified a pipe saw from Cadia Group that would potentially decrease manual handling, improve safety and make the job easier. We loved the idea, so we awarded Damien $5,000 to buy a saw and conduct a trial on it.
WIOA have agreed to have Ryleigh and Damien present at next years conference on the trials and their outcomes. Congratulations to both Ryleigh and Damien for leading the way with innovation.
The winner of the $20,000 trial, Ryleigh Coombes from South Gippsland Water.
One Water Consortium - Monash University
Industry to practice for improved public health.
Not really a trial ... but an opportunity
The One Water Consortium will develop Australia’s first multidisciplinary, multi-partner framework for enabling waterborne CD surveillance and will work to address identified gaps in the current National Framework for CD Control. These have been prioritised as follows:
Priority 1 - Sampling Innovation; identifying limitations of current sampling approaches .
Priority 2 - Biorepository, to form Australia’s first One Water Biobank.
Priority 3 - Molecular and Genomic Technologies; to responsibly implement leading edge technology, developing and certifying assays for notifiable CD organisms .
Priority 4 - Data Futures & Security; to define a national minimum data set.
Priority 5 - Partnerships, Policy & Practice; to drive standardisation.
How to become involved
The One Water Consortium is looking for partnerships across Australia, from community to water and public health practitioners. One Water is focussed on understanding jurisdictional requirements, from microbe to policy and practice, in designing targeted strategies to address this significant area of public health need. To find out more, or become part of the community of practitioners please email the project co-ordinator Dr Rebekah Henry at rebekah.henry@monash.edu.
Opportunity to Pilot Net Zero Cloud with Salesforce & the Big Zero
Following on from the interest in our February Lunch & Learn we are offering an opportunity to pilot the Net Zero Cloud solution. Salesforce and The Big Zero, are offering IWN members an opportunity to pilot the data-driven decision-making solution to evaluate whether it might assist water authorities to achieve Net Zero emissions.
Want to know more?
If you missed the Lunch & Learn and want to see the recording or learn more about the pilot, please contact us at enquiries@iwn.org.au.
PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, is in constant pursuit of great ideas to transform into a Smart Utility of the Future. PUB Global Innovation Challenge seeks to accelerate our discovery and adoption of smart solutions and new technologies to improve operational excellence, meet water needs and strengthen resilience towards future challenges.
PUB invites companies, researchers, and innovators from around the world to propose solutions that can tackle our challenges. Winners of the PUB Global Innovation Challenge will have the opportunity to validate their ideas and find new product-market fit in the water industry.
How to Participate
We welcome applications from companies, researchers and innovators located anywhere in the world. Simply submit your proposal by 12 April 2024, 1600hrs (GMT+8) via the IMDA Open Innovation Platform.
We celebrated the day across IWN and continue to actively inspire inclusion as a pillar of our Diversity & Inclusion Plan.
This year our Champions came together at the VicWater office for their first workshop of 2024. We welcomed some new Champions into the group, and spent time discussing the positive impact diversity can have on innovative thinking.
Collectively, we support a more inclusive world for women.
Our IWN Champions March Workshop showing their support for International Women's Day 2024.
L - R Fran Courtney (Melbourne Water), Steve Kugele (Central Highlands Water), Kate Bardy (North East Water), Matthew Carabott (Coliban Water), Cameron Geddes (Program Lead, Geddes Group), Ben McCallum (Barwon Water), Liz Modrich (East Gippsland Water), Jason Cotton (IWN), Kynan Pell (Goulburn Valley Water), Jake Weir (Westernport Water), Julian Tully (South East Water), Ryan Davis (Gippsland Water), Martin Ankor (TasWater), Gerry Van Jaarsveldt (Wannon Water)
End the stereotypes...
21 March 2024
World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) , 21 March, is a global awareness day which has been officially observed by the United Nations since 2012.
The date for WDSD being the 21st day of the 3rd month, was selected to signify the uniqueness of the triplication (trisomy) of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome. This year's theme..End the stereotypes.
Trans Day of Visibility
31 March 2024
#Beseen
Trans Day of Visibility is an annual international celebration of trans pride and awareness, recognising trans and gender diverse experiences and achievements! On 31 March celebrate with gender diverse people all around Australia by sharing stories, starting conversations, and attending events.
Did you know we now have 12 different delivery programs?
You can head over to our website to see what's happening on our program pages.
Check out our operating structure....
VicWater, Level 2, 466 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Vic 3000, Australia
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