In August, we brought together Stream’s Advisory Group 1 (Market & User Needs) which comprises subject matter experts from 16 water companies and other industry stakeholders. Co-chaired by Icebreaker One and Stream, this group advises and supports the project partners as they commence work on Stream’s Implementation Phase. The aim of this meeting was for members to discuss and vote on both the upcoming shared use cases and open use cases.

Date: 13th August 2024 10:00-11:30 BST

Location: online

Summary:

  • It was noted that external stakeholder engagement can be encouraged by sharing work across professional networks and forming stakeholder engagement groups. Lessons learnt from citizen science projects and Stream’s journey so far will also be valuable.
  • It was noted that the Use Case Workshop with Stream Water Co members explored the value and feasibility of potential use cases, producing a top three. Members were requested to discuss the prioritised shared use cases:
    • EIR requests
      • There are other organisations that this use case could relate to.
      • This data can start as shared and further steps can be taken to make it more open.
    • Energy resilience
      • There is a risk that there has not been enough engagement with stakeholders for this use case, but it could be a future opportunity.
  • For the Open Use Case, Cleaning up the UK’s rivers and seas, external stakeholders (e.g. researchers, citizen scientists, innovators) have been interested in supporting the use case. This use case also aligns with the new government’s priorities and Stream’s objectives. It was discussed that:
    • River data will encompass lots of data types e.g. sources of data, lab samples, water quality samples.
    • Legal action taking place against some water companies may inhibit this data being shared.
    • Other projects may be able to use the data e.g. River Deep Mountain AI
  • A vote took place asking members for endorsement on taking forward the prioritised use cases. Quorum is yet to be reached and results will be confirmed on Tuesday 20th August 2024.
  • It was noted that governance discussions took place during the Hack Day. A working group will be focused on discussing and working through challenges in this area.

The next meeting will take place on 24th September 2024.

Co-chairs:

Elysia Moore, Stream Product Owner

Charlotte Hillenbrand, IB1

Secretariat support:

Icebreaker One

Formal records, including attendees, are maintained by the secretariat, and are confidential to the Steering Group members.