Water BOOST Enabling Innovation for Future Ready Cities 2025

Water-BOOST diagram for Singapore FIGURE 10 Source: World Economic Forum Multistakeholder collaboration (E5) is notably advanced. PUB regularly partners with private companies such as Keppel and Binnies for project delivery, while working with national academic institutions including the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), which also includes the Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute (NEWRI) and the Separation Technologies Applied Research and Translation (START) Centre. These academic public stakeholders contribute not only technical knowledge but also play roles in piloting, public engagement and skills development. In addition, the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), while classified as a stakeholder organization, often operates as an enabler by bridging different groups across sectors. A recent example is the Southeast Asia Partnership for Adaptation and Water (SEAPAW) coalition, developed in collaboration with the Forum, which illustrates SIF’s convening capacity and its contribution to strengthening multistakeholder collaboration and regional water resilience. The aquapreneurship layer demonstrates considerable strength, with start-ups such as Wateroam and multinationals like Xylem actively contributing to Singapore’s innovation ecosystem. However, this layer is tightly embedded within a governance triangle led by PUB, the ministry and national universities (NUS and NTU). Much of the investor and accelerator role is performed by PUB itself, through dedicated funding schemes and innovation testbeds. While this configuration ensures strong public-sector coordination, it also concentrates aquapreneurship within state-led structures. As a result, external investor presence and cross-level enablers (E3, E4) remain relatively limited, constraining the diversity of innovation pipelines. Supporting stakeholders such as the Singapore Water Association (SWA) and the World Toilet Organization play important roles in industry promotion, capacity-building and knowledge- sharing, helping connect innovators with broader networks and policy priorities. Singapore’s enabling environment is reinforced by PUB’s proactive role in public communication. Its national branding initiatives, such as the “Every Drop Counts” campaign, cultivate a strong societal understanding of water scarcity and the importance of innovation. This societal buy-in facilitates infrastructure projects and helps scale public– private solutions. Nevertheless, opportunities remain to further strengthen Singapore’s ecosystem. Expanding cross-level collaboration and deepening private- sector engagement could complement the strong public-led model. Enhancing market access for local start-ups beyond Singapore’s borders, promoting greater private-sector leadership in scaling, and building on government-driven innovation pipelines would help diversify and expand the ecosystem’s global impact.Disclaimer note: The stakeholder gr oups and organizations listed in this diagram r epresent a sample of those engaged in this r esear ch. Their inclusion does not imply exclusivity , nor does it suggest that other actors within these gr oups ar e less r elevant or less active. Categorization is indicative and should not be interpr eted as fixed.Public Utilities Boar d (PUB) G1 Ministry of Sustainability and Environment of Singapore (MSES) + Singapor e Food Agency (SFA) G2 Xylem + Wateroam A1 PUB + MSES + SFA + NUS + NTU A2 National University of Singapor e (NUS) + Nanyang Technological University (NTU)S1 Singapore Water Association (SWA) + World Toilet Organization (WTO) + Singapore International Foundation (SIF)S2G2SE2 E3 E2G1 E5 A2 A1 SE1S1 S2E1 SE3E4 Water-BOOST: Enabling Innovation for Future-Ready Cities 26