In April, 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, Northumbrian Water and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, this group advises and supports the project partners as they commence work on Stream’s Implementation Phase. 

Date: 3rd April 2025 11:30-13:00 BST

Location: online

Co-Chairs: Melissa Tallack (NWL); Charlotte Hillenbrand (IB1); Justin Doran (Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water)

Secretariat: IB1

Summary:

  • An update on engagement with the University of Hertfordshire was provided alongside an overview of initial marketing ideas. It was noted that: 
    • Post-graduate students developed a communications and marketing strategy for Stream 
    • Ideas included: 
      • The creation of an ambassador group called Stream guardians to work specifically with universities 
      • Launching a sustainability campaign within the universities 
      • Making the Stream logo feel less corporate to connect further with universities 
      • Extending Stream’s storytelling through the use of posters for public transport and across social media platforms
  • It was noted that the next step is to co-work with the product team to understand which marketing ideas best serve Stream’s ecosystem strategy and are most feasible with the available resources, before bringing this back to the AGs 
  • It was noted that the agreed OKRs for the ecosystem and use cases pillars were confirmed 
    • The use cases pillar is focusing on working with a partner and exploring the process for dataset progress and tracking 
    • The ecosystem pillar is looking at ensuring that the comms and marketing strategy is effective in showing the benefits seen from releasing data on the platform 
  • Playbacks from the working groups were given to members:
    • The Open Data Day working group noted successes, with amazing feedback on the hacks 
      • The V-KEMS event brought out in depth questions for additional research 
      • The DreamCode Hackathon showed interesting approaches for engaging with younger people and citizen scientists 
    • It was noted that the Governance working group created a decision tree to understand how each item should go through Stream and to help build interesting agendas. Additionally, the groups were discussed, with a focus on the type of people needed to get the correct advice during sessions. 
    • It was noted that the Core Processes working group looked at how to onboard people and engage with the consortium, alongside aligning processes with the Governance working group 
  • The upcoming use cases were discussed 
    • It was noted that there is a desire to make the EDM RDMAI data open
    • It was noted that there were repeated mentions of flooding, with a view to holding a workshop on sewer flooding 
    • It was noted that three use case templates were given to members: carbon emissions from wastewater, collaborating on lead pipes and business clean water consumption 
  • It was noted that a Costing working group will be set up, with an open call for engagement from those with expertise – productteam@streamwaterdata.co.uk 
    • It was discussed that the group will aim to set up a mechanism for costing that is simple and repeatable 

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