Deadline: 18-Jun-23

Entries are now open for the IWA Water and Development Awards to recognise excellence, leadership and innovation in the water sector, and aim to encourage the continued contribution to the sustainable management of water in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).

The IWA Water and Development Awards are granted by a panel of experts, and recognise outstanding contributions to research or practice that have led to demonstrable impact in LMIC.

The awards are open to individuals (IWA member or non-member) or organisations active in the water sector. Eligible individuals/organisations can be drawn from practice, academia/science, consultancy, equipment manufacturers, NGOs and civil society, international organizations or government.

The 2023 winners will be announced and receive their awards at the IWA Water and Development Congress & Exhibition, 10-14 December, Kigali, Rwanda.

Categories

• There are two categories of the awards, covering practice and research:
  • The IWA Water and Development Award for Practice celebrates outstanding accomplishments in the practice of forward-thinking applications and solutions to advance clean and safe water and sanitation in low and middle-income countries. These solutions can range from specific technologies and infrastructure to innovative approaches that improve performance, efficiency and sustainability in operations and maintenance. The award also recognises social innovation, social enterprise and social entrepreneurship.
  • The IWA Water and Development Award for Research recognises and promotes high-quality, impactful research. Research is the powerhouse of disruptive and breakthrough innovation. This award celebrates research that is challenging existing methods and approaches to create new opportunities in the area of sustainable water and sanitation in low- and middle-income countries. It is also open to early-stage business projects that are not yet market ready.

Eligibility Criteria

• The awards are open to individuals (IWA member or non-member) or organisations active in the sector. Eligible individuals/organisations can be drawn from practice, academia/science, consultancy, equipment manufacturers, NGOs and civil society, international organizations or government.
• Qualified Nominators
  • The right to submit a nomination for the Water and Development Award is granted to Members of the International Water Association (IWA). The only exception is for previous Water and Development awardees (whether IWA members or not).
  • Important: self-nominations will not be accepted.
• Award Criteria
  • The IWA Water and Development Award is in recognition of an outstanding innovation or contribution to science or practice which has led to demonstrable uptake/impact/influence at national, regional or international levels in low- and middle-income countries.
  • The nomination should therefore meet the following criteria:
    • Innovative: The nomination should be creative and show that it brings unique or new solutions in the water and sanitation sector. It should feature new ideas that introduce change or improvement in existing practices.
    • Impactful: The nomination should have demonstrable uptake, and show powerful effect and/or influence in the water and sanitation sector.
    • LMIC-Focused: The nomination should be focused explicitly on, or have clear relevance for communities in low- and middle income countries.
    • Topical: The nomination should relates to one or more of the following sub-topics: water supply and treatment (drinking water, wastewater), (on-site) sanitation, hygiene and health interventions, water resource management, financing, community engagement, community education, planning, capacity building, regulation/standards, institutional development operation & maintenance, management etc.

For more information, visit IWA.