OZWATER’17 Call for Papers & Workshops

Embracing Innovation and Disruption for a Smart Water Future

16-18 May 2017International Convention Centre, Sydney

Australia’s international water conference

& exhibition

Submissions close 7 SEPTEMBER

CALL FOR PAPERS & WORKSHOPS

Keep up date at www.ozwater.org or follow Ozwater on twitter @ozwater

OZWATER’17 Call for Papers & Workshops

MESSAGE FROM OZWATER’17 PROGRAM COMMITTEE CHAIR

How many times have you heard someone say, “Change is the one constant”? It may be an overused, throw-away line, but we can see it playing out all around us and the water sector is no different.

Embracing inevitable change and disruption and seeking opportunities to innovate are the keys to a resilient and a smart water future.

Ozwater’17 will provide the opportunity to explore what this exciting future looks like for the water sector through technical papers, case studies, interactive workshops and Q&A panels.

We want to hear from thought leaders and professionals in all industries with an interest in water including mining, agriculture and irrigation.

Whether it be about innovation, a recent success, learnings or the possibilities of the future, I encourage you to submit an abstract.

Thank you for your feedback on last year’s conference and this year we have outlined seven themes including the new theme of ‘Public Health’. Under each theme we have posed some key questions and we are seeking abstracts which explore these ideas.

On behalf of the Committee, we look forward to receiving a diverse range of abstracts and developing a high quality program for Ozwater’17.

PAUL PLOWMANOzwater’17 Program Committee Chair

IMPORTANT DATES

8 AUGUST 2016Abstract submissions open

7 SEPTEMBER 2016Abstract submissions close

OCTOBER 2016Notification of acceptance of abstracts

7 FEBRUARY 2017Full paper submission due Presenter conference registration due

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017Full papers peer-reviewed

MARCH 2017Reviewer comments sent to presenters

13 APRIL 2017Revised full papers due (if required) PowerPoint presentation due

16 – 18 MAY 2017Ozwater’17

Ozwater’17 promises to be one of the biggest ever, happening at the newly constructed International Convention Centre in Sydney.

The Ozwater’17 Committee is looking for a dynamic selection of presenters from people working across industries, within the community and academia, both internationally and locally, with diverse interests in water. Tell us how your work is contributing to a smart water future in Australia and abroad. If water matters to you, your business or your sector, we want to hear from you.

Call for papers and workshops now open!

OZWATER’17 Call for Papers & Workshops

THEME 1: WATERS CONTRIBUTION TO COMMUNITIES OF THE FUTURE

1. How is the water sector supporting and creating liveable and modern cities?

2. Where are the case studies that show how some communities have successfully become more liveable and sustainable?

3. What developments have been made in managing the water-energy-food nexus?

4. How will waste to energy and the water energy nexus impact our industry?

5. Where are the examples of successful partnerships in supporting other sustainable industries? What improvements can be realised from working together more effectively?

6. How are we progressing in finding the optimal balance between energy minimisation and the pursuit of energy recovery?

7. How can we best balance societies and the environments needs into the future?

8. What’s the big water issue of the future?

9. What can the water sector do to become more resilient to changes in climatic conditions and extreme weather events? How can the water sector coordinate its responses/strategies with other essential services and infrastructure providers (e.g. transport, electricity, government).

10. How is climate change driving decisions for communities of the future?

11. What are the latest advances in resource recovery in the water sector and beneficial use of Biosolids?

12. What are the future technologies for water recycling that will enable resilient communities?

13. What case studies demonstrate innovation in alternative water supplies and water efficiency?

14. What can we learn from the uptake of decentralised networks in the energy sector?

THEME 2: INNOVATION IN OPERATIONS AND ASSET MANAGEMENT

1. What examples do we have of technical or commercial innovation and embracing change in operations and asset management?

2. How are we implementing best practice across all aspects of treatment and management within the water cycle?

3. How are we maximising the value of information and analytics for improved business performance?

4. Where will our next operational efficiency gains come from?

5. How are utilities maximising the benefits of remote control and automation?

6. What are the benefits and challenges of moving towards ISO55000?

7. How is the industry responding to new challenges in municipal, industrial or resource sector water treatment or finding new efficiencies in existing treatment processes?

8. What are the examples of leadership in sewerage network risk management ie odour and corrosion control, sewer spill avoidance and management, trade waste and effluent quality?

9. How is adapting to climate change affecting your operational strategies?

10. Is there any such thing as too much data? - high quality data vs high quantity of data

11. How do we turn data into information, information into insights and insights into innovation?

THEME 3: CHANGES IN GOVERNANCE, POLICY, REGULATION AND STRUCTURE

1. How can governance, policy and regulation disrupt the water sector?

2. How can we prioritise spending across multiple government sectors/agencies to get the best outcomes for the community, economy and environment?

OZWATER’17 ‘CALL FOR PAPERS’ THEMES & QUESTIONS

The questions below are framed to help ensure submissions respond to key industry challenges and opportunities, although submissions do not need to directly respond to these questions.

OZWATER’17 Call for Papers & Workshops

3. How can we best facilitate efficient competition in the water sector (eg, legislative frameworks, regulatory models, pricing decisions)?

4. What role is the private sector playing and how can this be optimised in partnership with utilities and government sector?

5. What can we do to incentivise innovation in the industry?

6. What are the opportunities for outcomes based public health regulation in our water industry?

7. Does the current governance structure for urban water management meet today’s needs? Is it impeding needed water reform?

8. Do water utilities/engineers work together well with policy makers and scientists, including social scientists? What are best practice examples? Is there room for improvement?

9. What have we learnt from the Murray Darling Basin reforms and irrigation upgrades?

10. What are the real challenges in implementing water resource management and water sharing policies and practices?

11. What is the best governance structure to coordinate water service related outcomes; e.g. water security, water quality, general health and amenity, environmental, flood protection, recreational?

12. How do we work within the balance of regulatory requirements and customers’ expectations relating to affordability?

13. Is it time to re-think postage stamp pricing?

14. How will the concept of value capture impact our industry?

THEME 4: CUSTOMERS AND COMMUNITY1. What are the social trends that will impact the

water industry?

2. Where are the best practice examples of customer and community engagement and using these insights to drive business strategies, decisions and deliver outcomes?

3. How are customer expectations of a water utility changing and how will these further change in the future – the impact of disruption in other sectors?

4. How do we move water from a ‘low engagement’ product and build a stronger water utility brand-best practice approach?

5. Customer perceptions of water quality – what drives perceptions of quality and best practice management?

6. What is the latest thinking on education – schools, community and industry?

7. How are we maximising information, analytics and big data for customer and community outcomes?

8. How can digital technology and ‘big data’ be used to benefit customers?

9. Do we have the right skills in our sector to meet customer expectations and how are we managing the competition for resources with the competitive retail sector?

10. What are current and emerging innovations in metering, billing and customer service and the customer and business benefits?

11. What case studies are there of the integration of asset management, operations and the customer interface to provide a stronger customer experience during service disruption?

THEME 5: MANAGING CHANGE, PEOPLE AND ORGANISATIONS IN THE WATER SECTOR

1. What are the ‘mega trend’ challenges facing water sector businesses today and how are we responding?

2. What is the best way to operate in a world where customers increasingly expect instant information, anytime and anywhere?

3. How can organisational culture improve our businesses capability to tackle future challenges?

4. What skills do we need to take advantage of new digital technologies? Do we have them?

5. What are successful methods for managing an aging workforce and the associated generational change?

6. What examples do we have of successful organisational change management?

7. How are our human resource management practices and organisational structures adapting to our changing environment?

8. How can organisations manage the transition from asset focus to customer service?

THEME 6: WATER FOR RURAL, REMOTE AND REGIONAL AREAS

1. Where are the challenges and opportunities for rural, remote and regional communities?

2. How are we embracing indigenous water management and knowledge?

3. What is the latest in remote monitoring and operations?

OZWATER’17 Call for Papers & Workshops

4. How are we improving the liveability of small communities through innovative technologies?

5. What role can water system decentralisation play?

6. What are the synergies between agriculture, water services and food production?

7. What role can water system decentralisation play?

8. Are environmental flows achieving the intended outcomes?

9. What has been the impact of environmental flows?

10. What are the challenges of providing water supply and sewerage service in regional and remote areas? How can/do regional water utilities achieve safe, secure and best practice services?

11. What case studies are there of small utilities providing customers with the digital solutions provided by the large urban utilities?

THEME 7: PUBLIC HEALTH1. How will recent revisions to national water quality

guidelines impact public safety?

2. What are the potential future changes in the national water quality guideline and how disruptive will they be for utilities?

3. How do we ensure future water security for all?

4. What are the ongoing challenges for protecting public health?

5. How can we share our knowledge effectively with our international neighbours?

6. What are the different drinking water quality risks in metropolitan and regional and remote areas?

7. How are we managing emerging contaminants and communicating risk to consumers?

8. How are we optimising distribution system management to improve water quality?

9. What are the latest developments here and overseas for safe drinking water management?

10. Could crises such as recent elevated lead exposure in Michigan, USA be repeated here?

11. What are the most effective public health protection strategies for potable reuse?

12. How is performance validation emerging as a key focus for water recycling?

13. How are Australians contributing to global water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) improvements?

14. How can water quality impacts from extreme weather events be managed?

15. What strategies can be implemented to manage risks from toxic algae and cyanobacteria?

PRESENTATION TYPES

TECHNICAL PAPERSAbstracts will be considered for oral presentation and poster presentations.

Oral presentations will be scheduled at 20 minutes each (including speaker introduction) plus five minutes question time.

Audio visual support will be in PowerPoint format.

Technical peer review for publishing full papers in the water e-journal will be available.

You must apply using the extended abstract template.

CASE STUDIES

Case studies will be considered for oral presentation and poster presentations as per technical papers above.

Case studies are suited to organisations or individuals who are able to describe a real life water issue, have been able to analyse the issue, implement a solution and evaluate the results of the project.

You must apply using the case study template provided.

POSTERSPosters will be printed A1 size and displayed within a high traffic area of the Ozwater’17 exhibition hall as well as a digital copy available for all delegates to download.

In addition, authors will have the opportunity to present their paper in a dynamic pitch session as part of the main conference.

This fast-paced 5 minute pitch is a teaser of your work that occurs at the start or the end during one of the main programmed sessions.

Posters can be either based on a technical paper or case study.

You must apply using the correct template provided.

WORKSHOPSWorkshops are an integral and important part of Ozwater. They offer unique, concentrated education that will provide career-enhancing benefits.

Ideally, workshops are interactive and participatory in format to enable participants to contribute via group discussions.

You must provide all the required information in the workshop template provided.

PANEL SESSIONSNew to the Ozwater’17 program is the inclusion of a 90 minute panel sessions.

Panel sessions provide an opportunity for expert panel members to present their views on a specific topic and then to discuss these views among themselves and with the audience.

You must provide all the required information in the panel session template provided.

OZWATER’17 Call for Papers & Workshops

SELECTION PROCESS

The selection of presentations at Ozwater’17 will be determined by a peer-review process guided by the Ozwater’17 Program Committee. Scoring will be based on:

•Relationship and significance to the themes of the conference

•Originality

•Status of the project

•Technical content

• Interest and significance to the Ozwater audience

•Quality (spelling, layout, etc.)

Presentations must be based on outcomes, not future projects.

Ozwater is the leading water sector conference in Australia and as such, the quality of presentation delivery should be of the highest standard.

Any presentations of a commercial or marketing nature will not be accepted.

Refer to www.ozwater.org (Call for Papers section) for detailed selection criteria.

CONDITIONS OF PRESENTING

Refer to www.ozwater.org (Conditions of presenting section) for detailed conditions and key dates.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:Ozwater’17 Secretariat

Australian Water Association

PO BOX 222, St Leonards NSW 1590

Ph: +61 2 9436 0055

F: +61 2 9436 0155

E: ozwater@awa.asn.au

ABN: 78 096 035 77

www.ozwater.org