The Northumbrian Water Innovation Connect Challenge is back for 2024!
The event will be held at Newcastle Racecourse & Conference Centre, alongside our Innovation Festival, between 8-11 July 2024.
With Suppliers already enjoying the 100% success rate for funding applications for projects ranging between £20,000 and £20 million per annum in 2022, this year we want the challenge to be even bigger and better. We are on the hunt for your innovative proposals with a 3-year return on investment (ROI), irrespective of the area of the business or impact. It could relate to anything, from office supplies to large scale water supply network management. Innovation, speed and scale is the focus this year!
The event will see businesses pitching for funding in an exciting innovative challenge which takes inspiration from BBC’s hit show Dragon’s Den.
Although our judges are nowhere near as scary as a Dragon, they will be looking for ideas that will support innovations for Northumbrian Water as a business in all areas.
If you’d like to be a part of the Innovation Connect Challenge, all you need to do is submit a proposal to us. Your proposal should include the following:
- an overview of your business (No. of employees, Annual turnover, Geographical locations)
- details of the innovation you are proposing
- details of the funding you are requesting (we are looking for ROI within 3 years)
- if successful, details of people presenting your pitch
While we’d love to see you in person, you can also participate remotely- don't let distance stop you from sharing your great ideas!
Please note: We are looking for genuine innovation and are not seeking general sales pitches. The winner could receive funding directly from NWL for a small-scale proof of concept (PoC), working with NWL to achieve speed of delivery and, if successful, scale of application.
If you're preparing a proposal, please send a quick note to responsibleprocurement@nwl.co.uk to let us know you plan to submit.
Make sure to send your proposals to responsibleprocurement@nwl.co.uk and mark your submission in the email title as ‘Innovation Connect Challenge 2024’ followed by your company name.
The deadline for your submissions is Friday 7th June 2024
We look forward to hearing your ideas!