Ofwat’s Innovation Fund has changed how the water sector collaborates, tests new ideas and tackles difficult problems. Projects are more ambitious, more joined‑up and more focused on outcomes than ever before. Yet one question still determines whether these initiatives truly succeed: what happens next?
A Forward Delivery Plan is the bridge between innovation and legacy. It turns a successful pilot into something that can endure, scale and continue to deliver value long after funding ends. Without this step, even the strongest innovation risks becoming a standalone success rather than a driver of lasting change.
For Ofwat Innovation Fund projects, Forward Delivery Plans should not be treated as a final reporting requirement. They are essential for demonstrating value for money, giving partners confidence, and ensuring benefits extend beyond the life of the funded project. Done well, they show how innovation becomes part of the sector’s long‑term toolkit rather than a moment in time.
Bringing Forward Delivery Plans to life: The Water Literacy Programme
The Water Literacy Programme was developed through Ofwat’s Water Breakthrough Challenge to address the clear and growing challenge of improving understanding of water as a finite resource and supporting lasting behavioural change across organisations and communities.
Delivered as a one‑day learning experience, the programme equips participants with the knowledge, motivation and practical tools to influence water use in their professional and personal lives. Since launching in 2025, more than 2,560 professionals across England and Wales have taken part, many becoming accredited as Water Literate. The result is a growing network of informed advocates for water stewardship across the sector and beyond.
Funded through Round 3 of the Innovation Fund, the programme was led by Northumbrian Water with Waterwise and Groundwork East as core delivery partners. From the outset, one of its defining objectives was to set out a credible pathway for continuation beyond the funded phase, ensuring its impact did not end with the final report.
Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, as an in‑kind partner, led this work and commissioned Artesia to develop an independent, structured Forward Delivery Plan that could stand up to scrutiny from stakeholders, regulators and future delivery partners.
A structured, evidence‑led approach
Our role was not simply to write a plan. It was to design and facilitate a clear decision‑making process that could objectively identify the most viable future delivery model for the programme.
We began by reviewing delivery to date, drawing on insight from project partners, steering group members and comparable initiatives such as the Carbon Literacy Project. This helped establish what had worked well, where risks sat, and what would be required to support scale and longevity.
From there, we explored a wide range of future delivery models, including water company ownership, charitable and academic structures, and open‑resource approaches. Each option was assessed using a multi‑criteria decision analysis, considering governance, independence, scalability, financial sustainability and alignment with sector priorities.
Analysis alone is rarely enough. We therefore complemented this work with sector‑wide stakeholder engagement, designing and delivering a consultation to test emerging recommendations and gather challenge and insight. This ensured the preferred approach was grounded in real‑world perspectives and had broad support.
We also embedded learning from the programme’s evaluation activities. Learner feedback, trainer insight and pilot initiatives – including the Water Literate Organisation concept – were synthesised to ensure future recommendations were shaped by delivery experience, not theory alone.
This combination of structure, evidence and engagement meant the final recommendations were robust, practical and credible.
From recommendation to legacy
The Forward Delivery Plan recommends that Waterwise assumes long‑term ownership and delivery of the Water Literacy Programme, supported by a short, transitional funding period from water companies to enable a move from free participation to a sustainable paid model.
This option emerged as the strongest pathway for protecting the programme’s independence, credibility and national impact. It also provides continuity beyond the end of the funded phase, avoiding a loss of momentum as the sector moves into AMP8.
Crucially, the plan does more than identify who should deliver the programme. It sets out how the programme could evolve, drawing on established literacy frameworks to outline opportunities for certified trainers, organisational accreditation, modular learning pathways and sector‑specific delivery.
The result is a clear and defensible legacy: one that allows the programme to grow, adapt and continue supporting demand reduction and resilience objectives for years to come.
Supporting others to build their legacy
The Water Literacy Programme is not unique. Many Ofwat Innovation Fund projects reach the end of their funded phase with strong outcomes, but uncertainty around ownership, funding, governance and scale.
Artesia’s approach to Forward Delivery Planning is designed to bring clarity at this critical transition point. Our structured methodology can be applied across innovation themes – from digital tools and data platforms to behavioural change and community engagement – helping project teams:
- Clarify options, through transparent appraisal and evidence‑led recommendations
- Build credibility, through independent analysis and stakeholder endorsement
- Maintain continuity, by identifying practical pathways beyond funded periods
- Demonstrate value, ensuring innovation investment delivers lasting impact
By embedding legacy thinking early and applying rigorous decision‑making frameworks, innovation projects can move beyond pilot success and become enduring parts of the sector’s toolkit.
If you are leading or supporting an Ofwat Innovation Fund project and want to ensure your work delivers impact well beyond the funding window, we would welcome a conversation about how Artesia can help turn ambition into legacy.
