In May, we brought together Stream’s Advisory Group 1 (Market & User Needs), co-chaired by Icebreaker One and Anglian Water, which comprises subject matter experts from 16 water companies and other industry stakeholders.

Since the Day 1 Launch of the Stream platform in April 2024, Advisory Group 1 will assist in the publishing of subsequent datasets on the platform.

May’s AG meeting aimed to:

  1. Recap on the state of play of Stream and feedback on the AG survey
  2. Update on the Trust Framework
  3. Facilitate breakout groups for discussions on use cases and prioritisation

Meeting Summary:

  • It was noted that:
    • AG survey feedback has been reviewed, with upcoming meetings taking a more active, strategic angle including input from users and external perspectives. 
    • The next steps for AG1 will be reviewing the use case backlog and identifying priority challenges or opportunities.
  • An update on the Water Sector Trust Framework (WSTF) was presented, it was noted that:
    • The WSTF allows for the publication of assured open data. Offering assurance verification will allow organisations to increase the quality of open data.
    • Workshops will be run to offer insight and resources on the sign up process.
    • Members can sign up to the WSTF here.
  • It was noted that the use case backlog was reviewed and prioritised by members who examined the value for customers, society and the environment.
  • The ‘Customer’ group identified the end user as their focus and prioritised:
    • Leisure Site Data – as customers would be interested in how land can be used and this dataset was largely available from water companies.
    • Reducing Water Consumption – to support customers with data and information.
    • Support for Vulnerable Customers – offering both open and shared datasets.
  • The ‘Society’ group prioritised:
    • Support for Vulnerable Customers – offering value to society but also demonstrating Stream’s capabilities.
    • Improve Leak Detection – which would also contribute to reducing water consumption.
    • Citizen Science – focusing on utilising data for good, based on the CasSTCo initiative.
  • The ‘Environment’ group prioritised:
    • Energy Resilience – being proactive in supporting people who want to use datasets.
    • Catchment – important within the current media landscape and commitments made by water companies.
    • Improve Leak Detection – likely to become increasingly important.
  • It was discussed that the use case prioritisation would primarily focus on value, with questions around open vs shared data being addressed once value had been defined.
  • It was noted that the use cases will be built out in a standardised way that links back to value.

The next meeting will take place on June 27th 2024.