ESRC Future Cities Catapult Partnership Mid-career Fellowship
Lead Research Organisation:
Newcastle University
Department Name: Sch of Architect, Planning & Landscape
Abstract
This fellowship will help to develop the Future Cities Catapult's work on market enablement for innovation in integrated urban systems. It will bring to bear relevant research in the social and economic disciplines to addressing the Future Cities Catapult's objectives of unlocking finance, developing investable propositions and breaking down market barriers for the uptake of integrated urban systems.
The fellowship will focus on the development of potential links and partnerships between the Catapult and the ESRC portfolio of activities in Urban Transformations and the Urban Living initiative that draws together the interest of the research councils and Innovate UK.
The fellowship will concentrate on developing innovative business and financing models which will then inform new investment theory and the development of business cases for major investment opportunities, with the objective of developing fresh insights and innovative approaches to the challenges facing urban infrastructure implementation.
To do this it will be necessary to evaluate and quantify the potential business case and impact of such innovative approaches and combine this with an understanding of the governance mechanisms supporting innovation in integrating urban infrastructure. Lastly any innovation involving urban infrastructure inevitably requires an understanding of citizen engagement in such urban development. Engaging citizens in this way will help foster greater urban resilience. Lastly the growing interconnectedness and connectivity of smart technologies will lead to opportunities to exploit newly available digital data that can better inform and engage citizens, academics and policy makers alike in the development of novel urban systems.
The fellowship seeks to engage and support other to engage in transformative thinking and the co-production of knowledge in the field of urban systems. To so this it will be necessary to develop and share knowledge both within the Future Cities Catapult and with stakeholders in the academic, public and private sectors, and in civil society.
The fellowship will focus on the development of potential links and partnerships between the Catapult and the ESRC portfolio of activities in Urban Transformations and the Urban Living initiative that draws together the interest of the research councils and Innovate UK.
The fellowship will concentrate on developing innovative business and financing models which will then inform new investment theory and the development of business cases for major investment opportunities, with the objective of developing fresh insights and innovative approaches to the challenges facing urban infrastructure implementation.
To do this it will be necessary to evaluate and quantify the potential business case and impact of such innovative approaches and combine this with an understanding of the governance mechanisms supporting innovation in integrating urban infrastructure. Lastly any innovation involving urban infrastructure inevitably requires an understanding of citizen engagement in such urban development. Engaging citizens in this way will help foster greater urban resilience. Lastly the growing interconnectedness and connectivity of smart technologies will lead to opportunities to exploit newly available digital data that can better inform and engage citizens, academics and policy makers alike in the development of novel urban systems.
The fellowship seeks to engage and support other to engage in transformative thinking and the co-production of knowledge in the field of urban systems. To so this it will be necessary to develop and share knowledge both within the Future Cities Catapult and with stakeholders in the academic, public and private sectors, and in civil society.
Planned Impact
The main beneficiaries from this fellowship will be:
Universities and Academics working on urban systems There will be direct benefits accruing from the fellowship in the form on new research programs which link the ESRC's Urban Transformation portfolio to ongoing and future research programs within academia. There will also be opportunities to collaborate on new academic papers and policy material. This will benefit the wider research environment as ideas and theories developed within the fellowship are shared more widely.
Business will also benefit from this fellowship as networks are developed which have as their focus the implementation of research into new business models for the next generation of urban infrastructure systems. This will involve linking academic research with city based innovation models. Business will benefit from the new markets, both in the UK and abroad, for these new models of infrastructure funding and delivery.
Universities and Academics working on urban systems There will be direct benefits accruing from the fellowship in the form on new research programs which link the ESRC's Urban Transformation portfolio to ongoing and future research programs within academia. There will also be opportunities to collaborate on new academic papers and policy material. This will benefit the wider research environment as ideas and theories developed within the fellowship are shared more widely.
Business will also benefit from this fellowship as networks are developed which have as their focus the implementation of research into new business models for the next generation of urban infrastructure systems. This will involve linking academic research with city based innovation models. Business will benefit from the new markets, both in the UK and abroad, for these new models of infrastructure funding and delivery.
Organisations
- Newcastle University (Collaboration, Lead Research Organisation)
- Great Exhibition of the North (Collaboration)
- Hello Lamp Post (Collaboration)
- Government of the UK (Collaboration)
- FUTURE CITIES CATAPULT LIMITED (Collaboration)
- Umbrellium Ltd (Collaboration)
- Trueform Ltd (Collaboration)
- Ouseburn Trust (Collaboration)
People |
ORCID iD |
| Paul Cowie (Principal Investigator) |
| Description | Working with Future Cities Catapult has been all about working collaboratively in a number of ways. The projects have involved multi-disciplinary teams of engineers, data scientists, social scientists and policy makers. This takes time and does not always result in the outcomes people expect. One of the biggest challenges during the Fellowship has been to engage academics in the process of innovation. The pace at which the Catapult is able to operate is far faster then that normally encountered in academia. Ideas go from the drawing board to prototype to deployment in a matter of weeks. |
| Exploitation Route | I'm in the process of writing up my findings as a paper which will hopefully highlight the work Future Cities Catapult does and the opportunities for academics to engage with them in this work. I have also written a number of internal policy papers for the senior management team at the Catapult to highlight how they can better engage with the academic community. I am hopeful these suggestions will be incorporated into the next iteration of the Catapults Strategic Plan. I am now in the process of developing a proposal for a National Innovation Centre fro Rural Enterprise that draws heavily on my experience working with the the Catapult. I was also asked to attend a workshop for UKRI Infrastructure Roadmap programme. During the workshop I was able to explain the relevance of intermediate institutions to future research initiatives and this has been reflected in the interim report. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Description | The findings from my fellowship and building on my previous research have helped to develop an smart city innovation toolkit. The aim of the toolkit is to help public sector organisations tackle social and public service innovation. So far the toolkit has been used by three public sector institutions on social innovations ranging from public health, aging, air pollution and mobility. The toolkit is at the prototype stage of development but over the next six months. The structure of the toolkit is based on a framework of innovation developed in collaboration with colleagues at Newcastle and the team at Future Cities Catapult. Over the past year I have been involved in the development of the Catapults Academic Engagement Strategy. This has involved speaking to academics across the UK to understand how they anticipate working with an organisation such as the such as the Catapult. This has also involved supervising a PhD project at the FIBE DTC at Cambridge University and the establishment of an Academic Advisory Panel for the Catapult. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Environment,Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Societal,Policy & public services |
| Description | Department for Transports Oversight Group for Research on Connected & Autonomous Vehicles |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| URL | https://sciencewise.org.uk/2018/10/what-do-the-public-think-about-connected-and-autonomous-vehicles/ |
| Description | UKRI Infrastructure Roadmap programme |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://www.ukri.org/research/infrastructure/ |
| Description | Future of Planning |
| Organisation | Future Cities Catapult Limited |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I have been able to advice the FCC on the legal and policy framework currently in place in relation to the English statutory planning system. I have also advised on research methodology, in particular the use of a Delphi Survey to collect expert opinion on the nature of the problems facing the future of planning. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The project is being sponsored by DCLG and forms part of their evidence base for the forthcoming Housing white paper. |
| Impact | No outputs as yet |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Future of Planning |
| Organisation | Government of the UK |
| Department | Department for Communities & Local Government (DCLG) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | I have been able to advice the FCC on the legal and policy framework currently in place in relation to the English statutory planning system. I have also advised on research methodology, in particular the use of a Delphi Survey to collect expert opinion on the nature of the problems facing the future of planning. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The project is being sponsored by DCLG and forms part of their evidence base for the forthcoming Housing white paper. |
| Impact | No outputs as yet |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Newcastle Tech Totems |
| Organisation | Great Exhibition of the North |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I have been part of the team at FCC that has developed the concept of the Tech Totem as a smart city engagement platform. Working with TrueForm, an SME, we have developed a prototype technology platform that allows cities and their citizens to understand their city and its environment better. The second iteration of the Tech Totems will be deployed in Newcastle as part of the Great Exhibition of the North |
| Collaborator Contribution | Newcastle Urban Observatory has provided the technical skills to develop a suit of sensors for the Tech Totem. TrueFowm Ltd have designed and built the physical totem and helped with the installation of them. Oyseburn Trust, along with Hello Lamp Post, are one of the hosts for the tech totem and have been involved in developing the citizen engagement side of the tech totems. |
| Impact | A new technology has been developed and tested. The project has also been testing non-proprietary models for the provision of smart city infrastructure. The first Tech Totems have now been deployed in Newcastle and are being tested by the Urban Observatory. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Newcastle Tech Totems |
| Organisation | Hello Lamp Post |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I have been part of the team at FCC that has developed the concept of the Tech Totem as a smart city engagement platform. Working with TrueForm, an SME, we have developed a prototype technology platform that allows cities and their citizens to understand their city and its environment better. The second iteration of the Tech Totems will be deployed in Newcastle as part of the Great Exhibition of the North |
| Collaborator Contribution | Newcastle Urban Observatory has provided the technical skills to develop a suit of sensors for the Tech Totem. TrueFowm Ltd have designed and built the physical totem and helped with the installation of them. Oyseburn Trust, along with Hello Lamp Post, are one of the hosts for the tech totem and have been involved in developing the citizen engagement side of the tech totems. |
| Impact | A new technology has been developed and tested. The project has also been testing non-proprietary models for the provision of smart city infrastructure. The first Tech Totems have now been deployed in Newcastle and are being tested by the Urban Observatory. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Newcastle Tech Totems |
| Organisation | Newcastle University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I have been part of the team at FCC that has developed the concept of the Tech Totem as a smart city engagement platform. Working with TrueForm, an SME, we have developed a prototype technology platform that allows cities and their citizens to understand their city and its environment better. The second iteration of the Tech Totems will be deployed in Newcastle as part of the Great Exhibition of the North |
| Collaborator Contribution | Newcastle Urban Observatory has provided the technical skills to develop a suit of sensors for the Tech Totem. TrueFowm Ltd have designed and built the physical totem and helped with the installation of them. Oyseburn Trust, along with Hello Lamp Post, are one of the hosts for the tech totem and have been involved in developing the citizen engagement side of the tech totems. |
| Impact | A new technology has been developed and tested. The project has also been testing non-proprietary models for the provision of smart city infrastructure. The first Tech Totems have now been deployed in Newcastle and are being tested by the Urban Observatory. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Newcastle Tech Totems |
| Organisation | Ouseburn Trust |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I have been part of the team at FCC that has developed the concept of the Tech Totem as a smart city engagement platform. Working with TrueForm, an SME, we have developed a prototype technology platform that allows cities and their citizens to understand their city and its environment better. The second iteration of the Tech Totems will be deployed in Newcastle as part of the Great Exhibition of the North |
| Collaborator Contribution | Newcastle Urban Observatory has provided the technical skills to develop a suit of sensors for the Tech Totem. TrueFowm Ltd have designed and built the physical totem and helped with the installation of them. Oyseburn Trust, along with Hello Lamp Post, are one of the hosts for the tech totem and have been involved in developing the citizen engagement side of the tech totems. |
| Impact | A new technology has been developed and tested. The project has also been testing non-proprietary models for the provision of smart city infrastructure. The first Tech Totems have now been deployed in Newcastle and are being tested by the Urban Observatory. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Newcastle Tech Totems |
| Organisation | Trueform Ltd |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | I have been part of the team at FCC that has developed the concept of the Tech Totem as a smart city engagement platform. Working with TrueForm, an SME, we have developed a prototype technology platform that allows cities and their citizens to understand their city and its environment better. The second iteration of the Tech Totems will be deployed in Newcastle as part of the Great Exhibition of the North |
| Collaborator Contribution | Newcastle Urban Observatory has provided the technical skills to develop a suit of sensors for the Tech Totem. TrueFowm Ltd have designed and built the physical totem and helped with the installation of them. Oyseburn Trust, along with Hello Lamp Post, are one of the hosts for the tech totem and have been involved in developing the citizen engagement side of the tech totems. |
| Impact | A new technology has been developed and tested. The project has also been testing non-proprietary models for the provision of smart city infrastructure. The first Tech Totems have now been deployed in Newcastle and are being tested by the Urban Observatory. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Plug & Play |
| Organisation | Future Cities Catapult Limited |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Using the research into public innovation carried out on behalf of the RTPI (http://bit.ly/2mLyxpF) I have been working with the Future Cities Catapult and an SME, Umbrellium, to create a toolkit for cities to develop innovative smart city strategies. The foundation of the toolkit is the framework for public innovation outlined in the RTPI report and subsequent academic paper. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The SME has undertaken user research and has prototyped the first iteration of the toolkit. It has now been tested in 3 cities across the UK and a second iteration of the toolkit is under development. |
| Impact | The main output of the collaboration is the production of the City Innovation Toolkit. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Plug & Play |
| Organisation | Umbrellium Ltd |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Using the research into public innovation carried out on behalf of the RTPI (http://bit.ly/2mLyxpF) I have been working with the Future Cities Catapult and an SME, Umbrellium, to create a toolkit for cities to develop innovative smart city strategies. The foundation of the toolkit is the framework for public innovation outlined in the RTPI report and subsequent academic paper. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The SME has undertaken user research and has prototyped the first iteration of the toolkit. It has now been tested in 3 cities across the UK and a second iteration of the toolkit is under development. |
| Impact | The main output of the collaboration is the production of the City Innovation Toolkit. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Research Fellowship |
| Organisation | Future Cities Catapult Limited |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Research support to the work of Future Cities Catapult |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Fellowship is supported by FCC through hosting the fellow. |
| Impact | The innovation toolkit and input into a number of projects being progressed by FCC |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Future of Cities Academic Network |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | In December 2017 Profs John Goddard, Mark Tewdwr-Jones and myself travelled to Sydney to conduct a series of meeting with policy makers, civil servants, academics and member of the business community on their smart city strategy for Greater Sydney. In two days of meetings we met over 50 individuals from across the city to discuss the long term planning for the city. We shared our experiences working with Newcastle City Futures and the Future Cities Catapult. The Greater Sydney Commission has just been established to drive forward the strategic plan for Greater Sydney and they were very keen to hear the experience of other cities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Future of Cities Workshop: Hong Kong |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | As part of the Future of Cities Academic Network I participated in a formal workshop hosted by the Planning Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Hong Kong University. The event was held in the Hong Kong gallery as was open to the public ad well as policy makers, practitioners and academics. Over 100 people attended the day. I presented a case study of the Future Cities Catapult which was well received. Following the workshop further enquiries were made by the Hong King SAR Planning Team about working with Future Cities Catapult in the future. A contact was then made between the Catapult's Far East Manager and the planning team as HK SAR. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Member of the Connected and Autonomous Vehicles Oversight Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | I was asked to be a member of the Oversight Group for Research into Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) as part of its Public Dialogue on the acceptability of CAVs. At the initial stages I hep design the Public Dialogue and frame the debates to be used in the workshops. During the Public Dialogue I acted as an Expert for the Workshop in Glasgow. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://sciencewise.org.uk/2018/10/what-do-the-public-think-about-connected-and-autonomous-vehicles/ |
| Description | Policy Workshop (Un)Plugging Data in Smart City Regions |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presenting a paper on The Social and cultural issues around new sources for Data Collection, Storage and Usage and particpation in a panel discussion with represetatives from Local Authorities, Policy Instututes and academics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.urbantransformations.ox.ac.uk/blog/2016/unplugging-data-in-smart-city-regions-bridging-eu... |