I recently attended the SWAN 2024 Unconference on 13th November 2024 in London with the theme, “Empowering Human-Centred Digital Transformation“. The unconference format, if you’re not familiar, is where all attendees are active contributors to the event. That means bringing all your ideas and being ready to get stuck in with lots of post-it notes! The unconference brought a diverse group of professionals from the water sector to explore the challenges and opportunities around the set theme. The theme resonates with me as digital transformation can only be successful if it can be implemented and adopted.
The day began with a warm welcome and an inspiring keynote titled “Realising Transformation: Humans at the Centre,” delivered by Patrick James, EMEIA Head of Strategy & Transformation Field of Play at EY. This session set the tone for the ambition and conversations to be had over the day. A phrase that I took away from the day is that ‘failure is the first attempt at learning’. I love this as a concept as it highlights the importance of reframing failure as a positive as it then allows us to fail fast and learn quickly. Through adopting an iterative approach, the sector can effectively embrace digital transformation.
We began by proposing and voting on discussion topics. Suggestions ranged from ‘What is the role of a human in a data-driven organisation?’ to ‘How do we democratise transformation?’ We were the given the opportunity to ‘choose your adventure’ by selecting a breakout session to explore at greater depth. I chose the room where we started exploring ‘How do we attract the best minds into the water industry’?
We upgraded to a flip chart and marker pens to brainstorm this challenge. We shared our journeys into the water sector and quickly realised that many of us ‘fell’ into the water industry. This led to a discussion around how we can encourage others ‘dip their toe’ into the water industry and see what it has to offer.
A highlight of the day was the keynote presentation by Sharon Hamilton, Intelligent Control Centre Manager at Scottish Water, titled “From Reactive to Proactive: A Control Room Transformation Driving Organisational Change & Improved Decision-Making”. Sharon’s talk outlined how the opportunity for transformation lies in proactively responding to their asset data. This case study showcased how Scottish Water’s control room transformation led to significant improvements in decision-making processes, such as making up for 12,500 hours of free time lost. This provided a real-world example of the benefits of proactive digital transformation, which resonated with me in understanding how we can empower those working with data to get the most out of it and how it is a journey of change.
After a quick lunch and networking with some familiar faces of the SWAN Forum, we were back to our breakout rooms. We brainstormed solutions for how to attract the best minds to the sector and came up with different ideas. The small break out rooms enabled a dynamic and collaborative environment where everyone could contribute. They say that a picture paints a thousand words, but I think my drawing skills could do with some brushing up!
So let me explain what the diagram is trying to represent. Firstly, the diving boards show how there are many different entry points to the water sector and at different levels. We want people to want to ‘dive’ into the sector rather than ‘fall’ into it. We discussed how once you’re in the water sector, you realise the complexity of the ecosystem and how there’s many different opportunities to be involved. We then focused on the following four themes:
We presented our outputs in a rapid-fire recap and from other group summaries, it was clear that the unconference format had enabled meaningful discussions, innovative thinking and collaborative problem-solving. The day concluded with a drinks reception sponsored by Arqiva (and some incredible cheesecake bites), which allowed us to reflect on the day’s discussions. The atmosphere was one of camaraderie and shared purpose, which highlighted the importance of enabling humans to be central in driving the smart water sector forwards. I value any opportunity for face-to-face discussions and love how this promotes further conversations, which leads to positive discussions and ideas on the future change required in our sector. If you know a water superhero do get in touch as we would love to hear their story!
Arup is very excited to be hosting the next London Unconference in October 2025 and I can’t wait to continue contributing to developing the smart water sector.
You can view all the presentations and photos from the UnConference HERE.
