The Challenge
The Water Services Association of Australia is an industry group consisting of water utilities in Australia and New Zealand. For some years, the association had been running a Technology Acceleration Program, but it was running out of steam, with fewer members signing up each year. It was a largely Technology driven program that wasn’t tailored to utilities’ needs and did not cater for the differences between utilities (eg large vs small, urban vs regional).
As the peak industry body for water utilities in the region, WSAA recognised the need for a new dedicated program to raise awareness of innovative technologies and enable best practice decision-making now and for the future challenges over the next 10-15 years. This aligns well with the shared member objective of uplifting customer service and value.
Our Response
ThinkPlaceX applied its Systems Innovation Methodology to drive a innovation toward sustainable futures that began with the creation of a deep, shared vision for the future of the water sector. This vision was informed by a rich discovery process, involving in-depth interviews with senior leaders from member utilities. These conversations explored their evolving needs, strategic priorities, and aspirations for an innovation program—drawing lessons from past experiences and identifying future potential.
From this foundation, we architected a set of future-focused ‘innovation frames’—thematic domains designed to guide and focus innovation efforts. These frames were validated and refined through a 3-day Innovation Summit, which launched the multi-year program. The summit served as both an orientation and a co-creation forum, giving participants the opportunity to shape the direction of the initiative and align around the most promising areas for systemic innovation.
Each of the four innovation frames was then activated through targeted Launchpads, where participants further explored key challenges and generated actionable ideas. These activities resulted in a series of ‘briefs to market’, which were handed over to a partnering technical water consultancy for assessment and solution scoping.
Over the following 3 years of the program, a series of Showcases—six per year— demonstrated the progress and outcomes of these innovations, enabling broader adoption and learning across the utility network. A second Innovation Summit, planned at the two-year mark, provided a critical point for reflection, recalibration, and renewed strategic focus—ensuring the program remains adaptive, relevant, and impactful for its members
The Impact
We designed an entirely new, multi-year innovation program grounded in future-focused thinking, real utility needs, and tailored pathways—shifting away from a technology-first approach toward a system-led, user-driven model. The program launched with an Innovation Summit that brought together nearly 100 participants from 38 utilities, who collectively imagined future possibilities and co-created priority areas for innovation. Since its launch, 34 utilities have formally joined the new program, a significant increase from previous years. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with utilities expressing strong confidence that the program reflects their diverse contexts and needs.
Case studies
View all case studies
Reducing Violence Against Women Family Safety Innovation Hub
Read case study
Coalition Against Digital Scams
Read case study