March 05, 2018 - Erin Partlan, Ph.D., blogs about new environmental technology and trends horizon scan
At the 2017/2018 Mid-year Meeting WEF and BlueTech Research jointly hosted, for the first time, an environmental technology and trends horizon scan – a presentation with the goal of encouraging forward-looking discussion among thought leaders in the water industry. The event is the first product to come out of a formalized collaboration between WEF and BlueTech, with others to follow. The idea behind this event was to read the straws in the wind, so to speak, by listening to the opinions of those on the ground in utilities, technology providers, and consulting firms. To guide the discussion, we selected a few pressing topics for focus, including the growing trend of a circular economy, the budding technology around big data, and the role of the customer. I’m proud to say that the session was highly successful and prompted an engaged and thoughtful discussion.
I spent a few weeks in the WEF offices in Alexandria, VA, as part of a WEF/BlueTech visiting fellowship with the goal of preparing for the Midyear horizon scan. Our interactions were key because following on from the event, we will be working closely together to produce a joint report detailing our findings from the discussion. I think we will reveal some interesting results as we place these findings within the context of industry trends and patterns, which I have been working on in my role as a Senior Research Analyst with BlueTech.
The other purpose of the visit was to get a feel for WEF operations in order to identify how WEF and BlueTech can best work together in future. BlueTech and WEF have long-standing collaboration, which began in 2011 with the first Innovation Pavilion at WEFTEC and has developed further since then. My visiting fellowship is part of this continued relationship and I will be working jointly with WEF in the coming year to develop and create new and valuable products for both WEF and BlueTech members.
Already, I can see the benefit that a large and established organization such as WEF can provide to a lean and responsive company such as BlueTech, and vice versa. I look forward to continuing to be a liaison and working on projects that sit at the intersection of BlueTech’s and WEF’s interests.
Erin Partlan, Ph.D., is a Senior Water Technology Research Analyst with BlueTech Research. In her current role, Erin provides project support for custom research projects, prepares technology overviews for Insight Reports and BlueTech product offerings, and delivers water technology market intelligence to BlueTech Research clients. Erin is also active in researching innovative companies and technologies for inclusion into the BlueTech Innovation Tracker, a database that tracks cutting-edge technologies within the water technology space.