The Awards
The IWA Water and Development Awards recognise excellence, leadership and innovation in the water sector, with a particular focus on encouraging contributions to the sustainable management of water in low- and middle-income countries. The awards are judged by a panel of experts and are awarded in recognition of outstanding contributions to research or practice that have led to demonstrable impact in low- and middle-income countries.
The awards are presented every two years at the IWA Water and Development Congress & Exhibition. The 2023 winners were announced at the IWA Water and Development Congress & Exhibition, 10-14 December, Kigali, Rwanda. The next round of the awards will be presented at the IWA Water and Development Congress & Exhibition that is due to take place in Bangkok, Thailand from 8-12 December 2025.
- 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.
Process of Nomination and Selection
The awarding process
What language can nominations be made in?
Unfortunately we are only able to consider nominations made in English. Please do not submit your nomination in another language as these nominations will not be considered.
