Date: 20th January 2025 11:30-13:00 BST

Location: online

Co-Chairs: Wes Thomas (Anglian Water); Lucy Chambers (IB1); Sophie Sherriff (Wessex Water)

Secretariat: IB1

January’s meeting was aimed at:

1. Providing a review for any missing details in Tech pillar work
2. Providing awareness and looking for feedback around the Cleaning Up UK’s Rivers and Sea use case
3. Surfacing ideas for the citizen science element of the CUURS use case

Summary:

• It was noted that:
  • Achievement state updates were given for the Operations and Technical pillars
    • Operations pillar update: Two new Working Groups will be kicking off in the next few weeks.
      • Legal: to streamline legal decision-making processes
      • Governance: to build governance processes to enable efficient decision-making and explore self-sufficiency.
    • Technical pillar update: The AG will be focusing on the “technology will make full use of the ESRI platform features, incorporate citizen science infrastructure, and move towards automated data flows” achievement state later in the meeting (item 5 and 6)
  • 2024 Q4 Objective and Key Results (OKRs) update:
    • Achieved 2 key results in every pillar. Some tasks had to be deprioritised due to the amount of BAU resource needed for NSOH work. Including testing data sharing via an API connection and publishing two new use case pages to the platform.
  • 2025 Q1 OKR Technology update:
• Focussed on putting future proof foundations in place, supporting the discovery and research into citizen science and info sessions, and refining backlog to align with achievement states
• 2025 Q1 OKR Operations update:
• Streamlining and putting solid foundations in place now that we know what works and how it works
• Clean up UK’s Rivers Lakes and Seas use case has three product outcomes
  • Increased understanding in need and value of water-relation datasets. 
  • Working towards increased Citizen Science engagement 
  • Working at the end of the quarter will be looking at the feedback from Open Data Day and data publishing for refinement

• It was agreed that:
  • For automation tooling, the team should use Esri’s recommended tool Make as it is free to use for under 1000 runs / month, and does not require custom coding. Online polling (12-0) indicated AG2’s support for the BAU team’s recommended option. This tool will be used to send email notifications to the product team about things that happen on the platform.
  • With a note to look into if there is an option to hold/process data in the UK and to make use of UK GDPR contractual clauses
• It was discussed that:
  • The final recommendation from the Technology pillar champions from their capabilities assessment are to
    • Purchase Stream’s own Microsoft account
    • Move to GitHub to Stream ownership
    • Access CRM requirements
    • Access Event Management Technology
  • We should consider the potential user story for the Citizen science data collection tool: if there would be the possibility of accessing citizen science data by initiatives (rather than part of bulk upload).
    • It would be useful to hear more on the data being collected and how the tool could be shaped by that. 
  • The Data Standards update is considered approved as no objections were raised by 24 January 2025. 

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

Date: 16th January 2025 11:30-13:00 BST

Location: online

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

Secretariat: IB1

January’s meeting was aimed at: 

1. Reviewing and providing advice on the outreach map for Cleaning Up UK Rivers and Seas
2. Surfacing warm contacts for the Cleaning Up the UK’s Rivers and Seas ecosystem
3. Reviewing and advising on the plan for Open Data Day 

Summary:

• It was noted that:
  • This quarter’s OKRs for the Use Case and Dataset are all about improving processes to support continuous development and improvement of the value delivered and the quality of data.
    • Additionally, the Clean Up UK’s Rivers, Lakes and Seas will be the main focus for Stream for at least the first two quarters of 2025.
  • In terms of the Ecosystem pillar, the focus is on building brand presence and trust.
  • Any members are welcome to join RDMAI demo days to learn more about the project, the techniques and parameters.
  • The Clean Up UK’s Rivers, Lakes and Seas use case was scored 6/8 using the value framework, which was very high in comparison to other use cases in the backlog.
  • The Stream product team needs support from members to help build out the ecosystem for the Clean Up the UK’s Rivers, Lakes and Seas use case.
    • These actions are detailed above and a list of organisations has been sent to the members to share any relevant contacts with the team.
  • Open Data Day will take place from 1-7th March and this will be Stream’s first Hackathon event.
    • The incentive for university participants is the opportunity to speak to water companies and have their ideas taken forward after the hack
• It was agreed that:
  • The River Deep Mountain AI (RDMAI) team would provide the names of water company contacts supporting the RDMAI project.
• It was discussed that:
  • Water company data will be funnelled through Stream in partnership with RDMAI to help set standards everyone can meet for scalability.
  • Open Data Day will be targeting four nodes, with two already agreed:
    • North East University cluster
    • VKEMS
  • The Open Data Day Working Group is looking for further opportunities with other universities and water companies, with some suggestions put forward by members on the day, as well as judges to support during the week.
  • The Working Group also posed a series of questions to the group to ask for their contributions:
    • What might be needed to make such an event a success?  
    • What advice would AG1 provide to the working group planning and running the event?
    • Do you agree keeping it small and targeting is the right option for us this year?
    • Can you think of any other outcomes we should be targeting with this event?
    • Any views to shape the challenge statement (s)?
    • Any advice around communications about the event?

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

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.

Meeting Summary:

• A walkthrough of the go-live criteria was presented covering operating model; use cases & data procurement; technical platform; data standards; communications.
• Operating Model
  • The checklist for the platform to be operational has been defined and documented in the OM playbook, built in collaboration with IB1, Esri and the Product Owner.
  • The BAU team has been onboarded.
  • All roles and responsibilities for data publishers have been defined, documented and communicated.
• Use Cases & Data Procurement
  • The documentation for each of the Day 1 datasets has been prepared and approved.
  • Narratives on value have been captured and will be uploaded as Story Maps.
  • Amber: The number of datasets being published for Day 1 launch.
    • Four companies are in a position to share data for UC9 and UC21.
    • Two companies are in a position to share data for UC18.
• It was discussed that:
  • Despite two water companies being able to publish UC18, there is value in meeting the minimum criteria of three datasets and publishing as a collective.
  • The clash in timing of the go-live date and the publication of storm overflow maps presents the potential for negative communications impacts. This could be mitigated by the addition of a note to create a clear distinction between the activities. 
  • The limited availability of programme resourcing after Day 1 must be a consideration in decisions around delaying the publication of the datasets.
• Technical Platform
  • UAT has been completed and the documents are available to view.
  • The security assessment has been conducted and is complete.
  • The playbook for training data publishers is available on SharePoint and the Stream platform.
  • Admin roles are on track to be completed.
  • The team is experiencing a few issues with the domain provider and is planning to transition to an alternative provider which works with the Esri platform.
  • Elysia Moore, Product Owner, has functionally accepted the platform.
• The data standards are publicly available on Github.
• A revised communications approach has been proposed with agreement from other members and their communications parties. This approach will entail a soft launch of the platform through conversational pieces on Linkedin, explaining the transition from MVP to the Esri platform.
• It was agreed that anyone can publish their data as and when it is ready, however, Stream will only go live with the communications regarding the datasets for each use case, once the criteria of three datasets is achieved.

The next meeting will take place on May 16th 2024.

Since the MVP launch in December 2023, the Stream partners are working towards a key milestone of delivering a functional platform in April 2024.

March’s AG meeting aimed to:

1. Comment on the go-live criteria to be presented to the Steering Group.
2. Updating the data standards work and metadata standards and signing off on latest change requests.
3. Endorse the recommended metadata standard.
4. Update on Operating Model progress.
5. Demo on Day 1 Platform.
6. Presentation of Trust Framework roadmap.

Key Insights

• An update on the go-live status and criteria was presented, including the minimum requirements for go-live Day 1 and the post-Day 1 criteria, for each workstream.
• Elysia Moore was introduced as Stream’s product owner and AG1 co-chair.
• An update on the Data Standards workstream was presented, including governance and process review.
  • Data Standards are now publicly available on the GitHub repository.
  • Any data standards updates will be proposed by the working group to AG2, then presented to the SG for adoption, before being implemented.
  • The ‘working’ branch of the GitHub repository is where updates are being provided and reviewed.
  • It was discussed that other tools e.g. Gitbook can be reviewed and discussed, to increase accessibility.
• It was agreed that “INSPIRE Metadata Directive” has been chosen as the metadata standard. INSPIRE can be aligned with Dublin Core and used within Gemini 2.3 (UK).
• An update on the Operating Model was presented, including developing BAU processes and governance.
• A demo on the Day 1 platform was delivered.
• The Trust Framework and how to publish assured data in 3 steps (see IB1 webpage) was presented.

Since the MVP launch in December 2023, the Stream partners are working towards a key milestone of delivering a functional platform in April 2024.

March’s AG meeting aimed to:

1. Gain endorsement on Use Case 9 decision to recommend to the Steering Group.
2. Shape the governance and future of Advisory Group 1.
3. Start to shape the post-Day 1 use case prioritisation process.

Key Insights

• Elysia Moore, Stream Product Owner, was introduced as the new co-chair for AG1.
• It was discussed that trust and transparency in water companies can be rebuilt through Stream by:
  • Increasing engagement through positive, constructive conversations on challenges around the data.
  • Making data accessible and contextualised through storytelling which acknowledges previous issues, mistakes and mitigations, in order to demonstrate greater transparency with the public; also seek to involve other organisations and customers.
  • Offering in-person opportunities to engage with water companies.
• It was noted that lessons learnt from UC9 Domestic Consumption were presented.
• An update on the go-live status and criteria was presented, including the minimum requirements for go-live Day 1 and the post-Day 1 criteria for each workstream.
• It was noted that communications outputs delivered include: stakeholder maps; narrative analysis and framework; core narrative, elevator pitch and content themes; and key messages and proof points.
• The Strategic Change Plan for March and April includes:
  • Building a long-term communications strategy, supporting external communications activity and aligning with the Centres of Expertise.
  • Aligning on personas, onboarding people/organisations to new ways of working and supporting communications and engagement.

Key Resources:

• Data spectrum: https://ib1.org/open-shared-closed/