What becomes possible when we work with people we don't usually work with?

The future of water can't be shaped in silos. It needs artists and engineers, scientists and farmers, campaigners and policymakers, and sometimes even rivals, working towards a shared purpose: rivers that thrive.

The Impact Awards shine a light on collaborations that prove this works: partnerships that deliver real change for rivers as living ecosystems, not just resources to manage.

This is our first year. We'd love your project to be part of the story from the start.

Could this be your project?

We're particularly interested in collaborations that wouldn't normally happen.

Perhaps you're a farmer working with citizen scientists, a business collaborating with a community group, an artist working alongside ecologists, a university sharing expertise with local river guardians or even organisations that might normally compete choosing instead to work together.

It doesn't have to be a huge project. What matters is what became possible because you worked together.

Projects that are greater than the sum of their parts, working with rivers, not just for them. For example:

• Creative campaigns that inspire action and bring joy to advocacy

• Partnerships restoring river health and natural systems

• Community projects turning data into local action

• New thinking that recognises rivers as living things with value of their own

Need inspiration? Imagine a school, an angling club and a local artist helping a village see its river differently. Or two organisations that usually compete for funding deciding to do one thing together, better.

Short on time? This is for you.

We know the people doing the most for rivers are often small teams with little funding and no spare minutes. So we've kept it simple. The form doesn’t need to take long, and we'd much rather read your plain words than polished prose.

You don't need a national programme. Perhaps you brought two groups together who'd never spoken or perhaps a small project changed something you can measure, perhaps you shared data instead of guarding it. You may already be doing exactly what we're looking for.

How to Enter

What we are Looking for

• Download the Application Form

• Pay the £50 entry fee. It's free for Low Budget entries, and if the fee is a barrier, just get in touch.

• Email your form to claire@theriversummitandfestival.com