Rob Hope is Professor of Water Policy at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford. He directed the REACH programme that has improved water security for over 10 million vulnerable people. He co-founded Uptime in 2018 which has issued results-based contracts to guarantee reliable drinking water for over 5 million rural people in 17 countries in 2024. He has published over 100 academic papers, served as an adviser to governments, UNICEF, UK FCDO, USAID, World Bank, and UK Research and Innovation. His research has featured in the Economist, the BBC, and global media.