Climate change is already impacting upon Victoria’s water security and amplifying the risks our water sector is facing from more likely, more intense, more frequent, and overlapping emergency events.
The Water Minister’s Climate Innovation Challenge aims to facilitate investment in climate innovation to generate sector-wide transformational outcomes and inspire further climate actions.
The annual competition is a collaboration between the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), the Intelligent Water Networks (IWN) and the Minister for Water.
By funding innovations that bring about real climate action and sharing the approaches, outcomes and key learnings, the whole sector and the communities we serve will benefit from the Challenge. This enables the water sector to collectively accelerate climate action opportunities.
It is expected that climate change will continue to impact the sector in the future, and that the impacts are likely to become more severe over time.
The Hon. Harriet Shing MP, Minister for Water introduced her Water Minister’s Climate Innovation Challenge in 2023
The Challenge aims to:
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Promote and recognise innovation within the water sector.
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Increase the resilience of the water cycle by supporting the sector to harness new opportunities that may arise through effective climate action while delivering essential water services to the environment and the Victorian community.
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Reduce barriers for the Victorian water sector to explore and implement innovative solutions to climate change challenges.
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Support collaboration and capacity building within the sector.
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Share key learnings and generate sector-wide transformational outcomes while inspiring climate action within the Victorian water sector and beyond.
The Challenge will encourage commitment and support for the water sector to harness new opportunities that may arise through effective climate action.
Challenge Rules in brief
The Challenge will deliver a Ministerial Innovation Award to the Victorian water sector and promote and recognise innovation. It will operate over three rounds over the next three years, commencing in July 2023.
The prize pool for the Challenge Round Two (2024) is $255,000. This money will be awarded to one or multiple submissions at the discretion of the judging panel.
The Challenge is open to all Victorian Water Corporations. Collaborative submissions are encouraged provided the submission is led by a Victorian Water Corporation.
Submissions must meet the competition brief and all areas of the submission must be addressed and must be endorsed by an Executive representative from within the submitting organisation.
A submission cannot be shortlisted unless all criteria is met.
Entries must be submitted via this website via the Awardforce competition software platform.
Winners of the Challenge are to provide progress reports every 6 months following the receipt of the prize money, including potential site inspections, completion/implementation reports, and benefits and impacts realisation report.
Assessment Criteria
Stage 1 – Eligibility Review
- All the required fields of submission have been completed by applicant
- The submission is led by a Victorian Water Corporation
- The submission was received before the closing time and date
- The submission has been endorsed by an Executive Team member from the submitting water corporation
- The submission is focussed on an initiative or project that aims to deliver a positive climate outcome
Stage 2 – Shortlisting Criteria and Weighting
- Climate Outcomes: The degree to which the project demonstrates achieving a real and measurable positive climate outcome consistent with the DEECA climate action objectives. (40%)
- Sustainability: The degree to which the project outcomes can be maintained or improved in the future and scaled across the water sector in Victoria. (30%)
- Capability to deliver the project: The degree to which the applicant can demonstrate their capacity and capability to successfully undertake and deliver the project/activity. (20%)
- Risk Identification and Control: The degree to which the applicant identifies potential risks and adequate actions to remove, reduce or manage those risks. (10%)
2024 Challenge Timeline
Judging Stage 1 – Eligibility Review
Submissions will be reviewed by the judging panel to determine eligibility for acceptance into the Challenge. The review will check that the submitting organisation is a Victorian Water Authority, that the submission form has been adequately completed and addresses the submission criteria.
Judging Stage 2 – Shortlisting
Eligible submissions will be assessed by the judging panel to determine the degree to which a submission satisfies the assessment criteria. Judges will use the weighted scoring system described in the assessment criteria section of this document to ensure all submissions are judged in a fair and equitable manner.
Judging Stage 3 – Final Judging Endorsement by Water Minister
The judging panel’s recommended winners will be submitted to the Victorian Water Minister for endorsement.
Submissions Open 29 July 2024 and Close 6 October 2024
WMCIC – “The Challenge”- Frequently Asked Questions
