[JPI Urban Europe ENSUF] SMART URBAN INTERMEDIARIES - TRANS-EUROPEAN RESEARCH, LEARNING, AND ACTION
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: Sch of Social and Political Science
Abstract
European cities face complex challenges that demand smart solutions. This project puts urban intermediaries, those people who can bring people and resources together in innovative ways, at the heart of smart urban development and sets out to understand how they create social innovation. We will carry out fieldwork in four European cities (Birmingham, Copenhagen, Glasgow and Amsterdam) where we will develop collaborative working groups, or 'living labs', which will be sources of data as well as sites for learning across projects, fields of practice, cities and countries. In sum, we will advance knowledge of how intermediaries innovate and generate smart urban development, by creating opportunities for collaborative research, dialogue and learning across Europe.
Planned Impact
This project brings impact and value to potential user communities through its commitment to co-creation and its research design. Our diverse co-operation partners (18 organisations and institutions, 10 in the UK) and local and transnational living labs will ensure that the project is anchored in, and relevant to, user communities beyond academia. Our research questions and approach to understanding the role of intermediaries in social innovation and smart urban development are inherently collaborative and set out to be of value to potential user communities.
In particular, the project will seek to generate impact and value for two broad user communities, supporting each in understanding, contributing to and advancing smart urban development and social innovation:
* Urban governance: those institutions, organisations and individuals involved in determining the allocation and use of public resources within the urban environment, including local, city and regional governments, partnership bodies and policy interventions and initiatives, elected representatives, policy makers and practitioners.
* Civil society: those involved in fostering local, urban and transnational action and activity within and between communities, including, community and voluntary organisations, social movements and active citizens.
Reflecting the substantive focus of this project, a crucial impact will be on fostering new connections, collaboration and co-creation between, as well as within, user communities. Living labs provide a means for doing this site-specifically, within urban neighbourhoods and cities, and beyond, providing a platform for trans-disciplinary and trans-national European learning. An impact legacy for these user communities will be secured through the activities of the European Insights programme and a range of accessible, relevant tools for user communities and wider publication and dissemination.
The project anticipates three forms of impact:
* Strategic impact: The project will offer insight into the work, interactions and embedding of urban intermediaries, including enablers and barriers, thus providing new thinking for the design of urban governance supportive of intermediaries and conducive to social innovation and problem-solving;
* Applied impact: The project will redefine and enrich the roles of intermediaries in urban development by enabling participants to develop, test and learn from new approaches, providing evidence to action. Capacity building and skill development will be crucial, and the project will entail training of post-doctoral researchers and practitioner researchers in the living labs in action research and reflexive practice;
* Innovation impact: Creative collaboration between researchers, intermediaries and co-operation partners via living labs (L3+TL2) will foster policy and practice innovation in smart urban development.
Impact and the potential market for the project results are anticipated at three spatial scales:
* Local: Our research and each living lab are anchored in urban neighbourhoods within each case study city, ensuring that our research is embedded, connected and able to generate impact at the local level;
* Urban: Our research focuses on the links and collaborations fostered by intermediaries between different people, communities and institutions of urban governance, ensuring that our research is situated and relevant and able to generate impact at the urban level;
* Transnational: Our research brings together a delegation of co-operation partners, local living labs for each city and intermediaries themselves, providing a platform for trans-national European dialogue, learning, and impact.
Please see further information in the Pathway to Impact document (attached).
In particular, the project will seek to generate impact and value for two broad user communities, supporting each in understanding, contributing to and advancing smart urban development and social innovation:
* Urban governance: those institutions, organisations and individuals involved in determining the allocation and use of public resources within the urban environment, including local, city and regional governments, partnership bodies and policy interventions and initiatives, elected representatives, policy makers and practitioners.
* Civil society: those involved in fostering local, urban and transnational action and activity within and between communities, including, community and voluntary organisations, social movements and active citizens.
Reflecting the substantive focus of this project, a crucial impact will be on fostering new connections, collaboration and co-creation between, as well as within, user communities. Living labs provide a means for doing this site-specifically, within urban neighbourhoods and cities, and beyond, providing a platform for trans-disciplinary and trans-national European learning. An impact legacy for these user communities will be secured through the activities of the European Insights programme and a range of accessible, relevant tools for user communities and wider publication and dissemination.
The project anticipates three forms of impact:
* Strategic impact: The project will offer insight into the work, interactions and embedding of urban intermediaries, including enablers and barriers, thus providing new thinking for the design of urban governance supportive of intermediaries and conducive to social innovation and problem-solving;
* Applied impact: The project will redefine and enrich the roles of intermediaries in urban development by enabling participants to develop, test and learn from new approaches, providing evidence to action. Capacity building and skill development will be crucial, and the project will entail training of post-doctoral researchers and practitioner researchers in the living labs in action research and reflexive practice;
* Innovation impact: Creative collaboration between researchers, intermediaries and co-operation partners via living labs (L3+TL2) will foster policy and practice innovation in smart urban development.
Impact and the potential market for the project results are anticipated at three spatial scales:
* Local: Our research and each living lab are anchored in urban neighbourhoods within each case study city, ensuring that our research is embedded, connected and able to generate impact at the local level;
* Urban: Our research focuses on the links and collaborations fostered by intermediaries between different people, communities and institutions of urban governance, ensuring that our research is situated and relevant and able to generate impact at the urban level;
* Transnational: Our research brings together a delegation of co-operation partners, local living labs for each city and intermediaries themselves, providing a platform for trans-national European dialogue, learning, and impact.
Please see further information in the Pathway to Impact document (attached).
Organisations
- University of Edinburgh (Lead Research Organisation)
- Arts and Humanities Research Council (Co-funder)
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Co-funder)
- University of Coimbra (Collaboration)
- Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum (Collaboration)
- Citizens UK (Collaboration)
- Inspiring Scotland (Collaboration)
- National Institute for Health Research (Collaboration)
- Foundation Bureau of Social Initiative (Collaboration)
- Scottish Community Development Centre (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW (Collaboration)
- Birmingham City Council (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- National Association for Neighbourhood Management (Collaboration)
- Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector (Collaboration)
- GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL (Collaboration)
- Natl Assoc for Neighbourhood Management (Project Partner)
- Tilburg University (Project Partner)
- Roskilde University (Project Partner)
- Scotland's Regeneration Forum (SURF) (Project Partner)
- Glasgow City Council (Project Partner)
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (Project Partner)
- The Danish Town Planning Institute (Project Partner)
Publications
Durose C
(2017)
Transnational learning and communities of practice
Van Ostaijen, M.
(2017)
Urban and network governance
Mocca, E
(2017)
Comparative methodology for the study of urban intermediaries
Gilchrist A
(2017)
Photovoice and reflective writing
Van Ostaijen, M.
(2017)
Options for identifying, selecting and recruiting urban intermediaries
Van Ostaijen, M.
(2017)
Social Network Analysis
Agger, A.
(2017)
Resilience, liability and public value
Durose C
(2017)
Smart Urban Development and Social Innovation
Escobar, Oliver
(2017)
Collaborative Action Research in Living Labs
Van Hulst, M.
(2017)
Fieldwork: approach, strategy and methods
Gilchrist, A.
(2018)
Discovering Sparkbrook and Balsall Heath
Gilchrist, A.
(2018)
'IN IT TOGETHER' - Reflections from Birmingham's Second Local Lab (blog post)
Van Ostaijen, M.
(2018)
Fieldwork is hard-work. Amsterdam Nieuw-West is the best!
Qureshi, M.
(2018)
A Day in the Lifeof a Community Organiser (blog post)
Mocca, E.
(2018)
Govan: A site of urban innovation (blog post)
Van Ostaijen M
(2018)
Amsterdam meets Copenhagen (blog post)
Van Geel, H.
(2018)
Lessons-learned at the Transnational Lab in Glasgow (blog post)
Van Hulst M
(2018)
'What is worth the effort?' Local Lab II in Amsterdam (blog post)
Hermansen, Finn Dyrby
(2018)
Who are the Smart Urban Intermediaries - and what do they do? (blog posts)
Escobar, O.
(2018)
Labs handbook: Toolkit to develop local labs
Durose C
(2018)
Photovoice - "A picture is worth a thousand words" (blog post)
Van Ostaijen M
(2018)
"We never sit together as a group like this'' Local Living Lab in Amsterdam (blog post)
Magowan, A.
(2018)
What makes a smart urban intermediary effective? (blog post)
| Description | European cities face complex challenges that demand smart solutions. This project puts 'urban intermediaries' (those practitioners who can bring people and resources together in innovative ways) at the heart of smart urban development and sets out to understand how they create social innovation. Our research took place in four European cities: Birmingham, Copenhagen, Glasgow and Amsterdam. We worked in collaboration with a range of partners in the public, third and community sectors, brought together in local and transnational 'labs' (collaborative workshops). The purpose was to advance knowledge of how intermediaries innovate and generate smart urban development, creating opportunities for dialogue and learning between social innovators across Europe. Who are Smart Urban Intermediaries (SUIs)? We found that these practitioners may be: unpaid community leaders, activists, active citizens or residents; employees working for a public authority, non-governmental organisation (NGO), community group or social enterprise; elected politicians or campaigners; social entrepreneurs, traders or business developers. Often they live or work in the neighbourhood and usually have strong connections with it. They are recognised by others as making a difference in specific neighbourhoods by being actively involved in addressing cross-cutting, challenging or shared problems, using their local knowledge and contacts to bring people and resources together in creative, interesting or socially innovative ways. SUIs are aware of the challenges facing communities and often have a good understanding of how they can use their strengths to develop practical, cost-effective solutions that fit local needs and circumstances. Society must understand, indeed celebrate, the SUI role in order to sustain and expand this cohort of dedicated activists and leaders.The motivations and practices of SUIs demonstrate how these people contribute to urgent policy agendas relating to health, housing, education, social cohesion and community safety. Our research complements the prevailing emphasis on technology and information within the current 'smart cities' model. As a project partner commented: "it is people, not technology, that fundamentally make cities work". We explored how smart urban intermediation promotes the kinds of innovation and transformation that improve people's lives and keeps good things going at local level. Our partners and SUIs recognise that urban communities experience multiple issues: some arising from ingrained poverty and inequalities, while others are exacerbated by austerity-driven funding cuts. In the UK, for example, there has been a gradual 'rolling-back' of state responsibilities and reduced funding for community-led programmes. This has placed added pressure and expectations on communities, SUIs and local agencies to deal with rising hardship and social fragmentation. Urban populations are increasingly diverse and transient, but nonetheless usually have a place-based sense of identity. Therefore neighbourhood-level action remains essential for collective organising and the delivery of policy outcomes. Smart urban intermediation can have only a limited impact in these circumstances, and this is often localised and temporary. However, by resourcing measures that enable community-led interventions, long-term strategies for transformation are possible, which have the potential for greater and more sustainable effect. A shift is needed to balance community engagement with practical action and experimentation so that new solutions are found for the enduring and entrenched social, economic and physical problems endemic to our cities. SUIs are 'experts by experience'. Their knowledge and skills should be better valued. Understanding what they do - their different roles and positions - should make it easier to support their practice and enable new SUIs to come forward from the next generation and under-represented communities. Doing so is not just about mapping competences or providing training and toolkits, but also ensuring that SUIs have access to advice, encouragement and, crucially, influence. Usually SUIs work 'behind the scenes', combining several roles so their competence might go unacknowledged and they can become over-burdened with expectations, risking 'burn out'. They adopt a range of leadership styles: mainly collective, inclusive and generative, using their role to build the capacity and confidence of others, including community volunteers, colleagues and family members. So, in order to cultivate the next generation of SUIs, policies for 'smart cities' must reach out beyond the 'usual actors' and ensure that current SUIs are able to sustain their own practice and nurture their successors. Their role in working with communities to mobilise assets and forge boundary-spanning connections is crucial but often overlooked by policymakers and those working in formal institutions. SUIs are generally solution-oriented, preferring action and empowerment by discovering ways to challenge procedures and overcome bureaucratic barriers that can block social progress. Effective experimentation means embracing diverse perspectives and priorities. So testing new ways of working tackles inertia and delivers innovative models of service or leadership. SUIs are different - they operate in different ways, with their own identities and narratives so, as another SUI commented: "power has got to listen to lots of different truths if they really want change." Statutory institutions, such as local councils and health authorities, must embrace a solutions focused approach, accepting risk and allowing for uncertainty rather than imposing rigid targets and procedures. All parties can learn from apparent 'failures'. Organisations should evolve a culture that is enabling rather than controlling, so as to be more responsive to community or external initiatives. Open, face-to-face interactions are important so opportunities to meet in person, build relationships and exchange views are essential. Community members may need signposting to expert professional advice to help them adapt and realise their plans, and if these can be linked to official policies, so much the better. Neighbourhood-level social infrastructure, offering places and occasions to gather and interact, is crucial for enabling SUIs and other 'players' to make connections and learn about local issues and aspirations, either first hand or through conversations with residents and community workers. Area-based forums provide platforms for different voices to be heard and solutions hammered out. Non-commercial venues, such as community hubs and clubs, alongside accessible public spaces (parks, libraries, etc.) are places where people can tell their stories, express local pride and develop cultural traditions. Here they develop useful relationships and, sometimes serendipitously, find potential allies who can work together to develop shared visions, assemble assets and bring about change. Opportunities for active citizens to link with professionals with the right skills and attitudes provide them with welcome encouragement and advice. More dialogue is needed, more genuine engagement and a degree of power sharing. SUIs act as legitimate 'boundary spanners' and advocates for interests that tend to be under-represented. Local experiences matter, informing strategic efforts to tackle problems at city-level, by mobilising people-power and technologies. SUIs offer new channels for asserting accountability and reinvigorating participative democracy. Smart urban intermediation flourishes when bureaucracy is kept to a minimum so as to encourage initiative and enthusiasm. SUIs need freedom to manoeuvre and value the chance to collaborate through ad hoc and temporary alliances, as well as being involved in longer term multi-level, cross-sectoral partnerships, for example to deliver commissioned services through formal contracts. SUIs working within institutions have also have important roles to play in facilitating crosscutting exchanges and opening up communication channels. These create opportunities for collaboration between formal politics and community action. Problems can arise at the interface between institutions, organisations and communities, creating friction through the misalignment of government aims and neighbourhood priorities. Co-operation is easily jeopardised without trust and mutual understanding, so mechanisms and relationships are needed that improve communication, deepen connections and promote transparent and participative democratic processes -this is often a key component missing in the 'smart city' model. Suitable forms of participation evolve over time and reflect local circumstances and cultures. Diversity should be respected as enriching but sometimes difficult, rather than a tick-box exercise that neglects significant aspects of people's lives, such as commitments to faith and family. Smart urban intermediation is a crucial ingredient of inclusive and empowering community engagement strategies. Creative co-production involves partnership working across sectors in ways that are transparent and experimental. It is not just about short-term projects that appear novel or that fit a particular 'niche'. The work of SUI needs a long-term perspective that is sustainable because it nurtures growth and allows adaptation to changing conditions. Both 'seed corn' and core funding are important for stability and for trialling new ways of working. Innovation sometimes requires financial assistance for small or experimental projects, which is easy to access and not subject to competitive bidding. Commissioning procedures could be more flexible, encouraging collaboration by enabling community groups to work together to devise and deliver services. Current procurement systems tend to foster rivalry rather than co-operation, generating a pseudo-novelty while allowing existing, well-functioning, projects to falter or fail. Smart cities have yet to tap into the power of smart urban intermediaries and would do well to make the funds currently allocated to technological advances more available to neighbourhood-level communities and social entrepreneurs. In addition to a range of funding streams, support-in-kind is also needed. Larger and better resourced organisations can use their position and assets to support smart urban intermediation by 'opening doors' for people to approach decision-makers or potential funders, lending spaces for meetings, sharing equipment, servicing networking initiatives and convening forums that bring together SUIs and partners for networking and learning at local and city-wide levels. SUIs are highly skilled and motivated, but they are under pressure and need both support and recognition. Increasing the influence and capacity of SUIs will move communities into a better position to overcome problems and build a better, more just and sustainable future for themselves. This determination to change how things are done will sometimes be exercised in partnership with others; sometimes through campaigning and self-organised collective action. SUIs are change-makers. Our research demonstrates that 'socially smart' working makes effective use of assets, opportunities and people by aligning shared aims and identifying potential synergies for social good. Smart urban intermediation involves innovation and enterprise. It can therefore be contentious for policymakers and politicians, especially when confronting bureaucratic inertia and paternalism. Maintaining a balance between sustaining and innovating is crucial - a bias towards innovation may undermine the sustainability of what's already working well. Smart urban intermediation acts as a catalyst for transformative change, challenging public institutions to be more flexible and accessible, embracing risk, experimentation and co-operation. A strategic approach should aim for long-term, systemic change, so must be proactive rather than a series of disjointed responses to particular issues. SUIs are often pioneers. They certainly apply new thinking and discover new ways of combining assets and actors to solve intractable problems. While innovation is to be valued, funders and public authorities should continue to support and consolidate 'what works' and 'what is needed/wanted' by residents and other stakeholders. The small, bottom-up contributions to larger transformations in neighbourhoods are founded on lived experience and lead to the kinds of approaches that allow successful projects to emerge. The challenges facing communities are complicated and should not be underestimated. They give rise to conflicts and tensions that need to be addressed, especially in relation to the allocation of limited resources. Ultimately smart urban intermediation comes down to commitment, trust and connections: bringing people together to challenge injustices, exclusion and inequalities through co-operation for positive social change and public good. While smart urban intermediation undoubtedly relies on highly effective social skills that build relationships and facilitate interaction, nonetheless information and communication technologies (ICT) have a part to play in collating locally-generated evidence, mobilising 'big data' for social benefit, improving governance and sharing information through different creative and social media. Smart cities will need to harness and democratise ICT for genuine community well-being. The collection and analysis of 'big data' at neighbourhood level could gather feedback on local services, inform public deliberation and generate ideas for change. Bridging the efforts of tech entrepreneurs and social innovators has the potential to create effective solutions to urban challenges. Until that connection is made, smart city strategies will have a people-shaped void at their centre. Smart Urban Intermediaries are found within all levels and sectors - inside and outside the formal institutions. They play a useful boundary-spanning role and frequently broker across power differentials between authorities and communities. The goal of the Smart Urban Intermediaries research project was to investigate the different ways in which certain individuals use their skills, energy and contacts to make a difference for neighbourhoods. We have revealed important aspects of their practice but now it is up to policy makers and funders to respond by building on these findings to create the conditions that enable intermediaries to become even more effective and resilient. The vision of a socially smart city creates the opportunity to develop, amplify and deepen their impact long into the future. For more information, including publications, blog posts and short films made in this project, please see: http://www.smart-urban-intermediaries.com |
| Exploitation Route | Our research findings contribute to emerging alternative narratives to the mainstream, technologically-focussed model of 'smart cities' that is proliferating globally. Our publications and resources support the work of researchers and practitioners who are working to demonstrate how to develop SOCIALLY smart cities. The Collaborative Action Research methodologies used in our local and transnational labs can also be adapted to enable participatory research and action in other contexts. A central aim of our project was to develop a transnational learning network of/for practitioners / Smart Urban Intermediaries. We reflect on this, including numbers, in our final report 'Socially Smart Cities' (see http://www.smart-urban-intermediaries.com/publications/). The urban practitioners who took part in the local and transnational labs are currently looking to sustain this network beyond the timeline of the project, and they are convening their own network gathering in Amsterdam in April 2010. Finally, our research findings speak directly to policymakers who are currently developing smart city strategies and governance frameworks -our policy briefings and policy events include direct recommendations to inform policy development that can enable socially smart urban action. See: http://www.smart-urban-intermediaries.com/publications/ |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Construction,Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Energy,Environment,Healthcare,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Retail,Transport |
| URL | http://www.smart-urban-intermediaries.com |
| Description | [re-written for March 2021] There is indication that our final open access publications have had some early impact derived from our research and knowledge exchange activities. We offer some examples below. IN POLICY: Glasgow City Council officials have noted that they will use our findings to inform their Smart City Strategy and we have been invited to speak to a senior public servants governance forum to further elaborate on our recommendations. At the Scottish Government, our contribution to their Evidence into Policy Fortnight (November 2019) is being followed up by contributing to inform the next stage of the ongoing Local Governance Review, co-led by the Convention of Scottish Local Authority Areas and the Scottish Government. This has also led to an invitation to be part of the Covid-19 Public Engagement Specialist Group at the Scottish Government, to which we contributed as advisors throughout 2020. In 2021, we have been invited as advisors to the development of the Innovation District in Glasgow, building on the work from our project and continuing our collaboration with local partners across sectors (many of them were partners in our project). The Innovation District is a public multi-million investment in Govan, one of our anchor communities, and our research will inform the stakeholder and community engagement phase of the development. Our project has also received a follow-up in the Surf pop-up program in Netherlands, 'Het adaptieve vermogen van stedelijke intermediairs', implemented by Tilburg University, and co-sponsored and supported by the ministry of BZK, LSA Bewoners, and the municipalities of Utrecht, Amsterdam and Leeuwarden. IN PRACTICE: Our findings have been picked up and widely disseminated by civil society networks such as the Scottish Community Alliance / Local People Leading and the Scottish Urban Regeneration Network (through their newsletter as well as invitation to speak to their Board). The findings are also being used to inform the pandemic recovery work of Govan's Arts & Heritage Forum within the Thriving Places programme co-led by partners across the public, private and third sector in Glasgow. Many of the practitioners in the SUI network continue to be connected and some of them are collaborating on follow-up projects that build on our collaborative action research. We will be able to report more tangibly about this in the next RF return. In addition, in terms of practitioner connections at transnational level, a gathering of SUIs across the 4 cities was scheduled by SUIs themselves to meet in Amsterdam on April 2020. Due to the pandemic, the initiators cancelled it. This may be revisited as our partners are keen to reconnect. We have been cautious about overburdening them with digital meetings because the pandemic is putting financial and time pressures precisely on the types of frontline practitioners and organisations involved in our project. Albeit not an indication of impact, the user statistics from our website do offer a proxy for broader exposure of the project, blog posts, resources and publications: 74,138 visits to the website by 38,365 visitors (since 2018), including 2,300 visits to the publications page. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2019 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | Advisory Board Citizens' Economic Council |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://citizensecon.org.uk/ |
| Description | Advisory Board to the Climate Citizens' Assembly of Catalonia |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://canviclimatic.gencat.cat/ca/actualitat/noticies/Noticia/Creacio-de-lAssemblea-Ciutadana-pel-... |
| Description | Advisory Session with Senior Civil servants of the Catalan Government, Barcelona, 26 March 2019 |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Appointment to Research Advisory Group of the Local Governance Review co-led by the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authority Areas (2018-2020) |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Description | Appointment to the Commitment 4 [Improving the Accountability of Public Services] Collaborative Working Group of the Open Government Partnership in Scotland |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Description | Appointment to the Community Empowerment Advisory Group, Audit Scotland (2018-2019) |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Description | Co-delivering training day for Local Councillors on Community Empowerment and the Local Governance Review, in collaboration with The Convention of Scottish Local Authority Areas and The Improvement Service |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Joined Improvement Service Working Group for Elected Members Development |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Impact | This new Working Group will develop a training programme for elected members across Scotland, drawing on learning from our research portfolios. We will also contribute to the delivery of the training sessions, which will help local politicians to grapple with key challenges in local governance. |
| Description | Joined the Glasgow City Council Participatory Budgeting Working Group |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Impact | This Group provides ongoing advice for the development of Participatory Budgeting in Glasgow. In 2018, £1 million pounds of council money was allocated to priorities within four council wards in Glasgow. The council wards and the themes for the projects include: Calton for Child poverty Canal in North Glasgow for Income and employment deprivation Pollokshields for Black and Minority Ethnic Greeter Pollok for Young People The practice of Participatory Budgeting is now being mainstreamed at Glasgow City Council level and will bring an investment of an estimated £21 million in the next two years. |
| URL | https://pbscotland.scot/blog/2018/6/6/next-pb-step-for-glasgow-city-council |
| Description | Joined the Technical Reference Group of The Public Square |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Impact | Public Square is running a two-year programme of research and action to push forwards participation in local government across the UK. We will be working with councils, communities and citizens across the country to learn what's needed to take participation further. We'll be prototyping openly available tools, techniques and approaches to fill these needs - building on what already exists as far as possible. |
| URL | https://www.thepublicsquare.org.uk/front/what-is-public-square/advisors/ |
| Description | O Escobar joined the Working Group: Institutionalising Participatory and Deliberative Democracy, Scottish Government's Open Government Partnership |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://www.gov.scot/publications/report-institutionalising-participatory-deliberative-democracy-wor... |
| Description | O Escobar joins National Expert Group on Digital Ethics |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://www.gov.scot/groups/national-expert-group-on-digital-ethics/ |
| Description | Senior Academic Advisor on Participatory Methods, Scottish Government Social Research |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Session 'Smart Cities Reimagined' for Civil Servants as part of the Scottish Government's 'Evidence into Policy Fortnight' |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Standing Committee on Pandemic Preparedness |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | ESRC Local Acceleration Fund (LAF) 2021 Call |
| Amount | £70,227 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ES/W011719/1 |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2022 |
| End | 08/2022 |
| Description | Edinburgh Futures Institute - 0.2 FTE as Academic Lead on Democratic Innovation |
| Amount | £33,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2019 |
| End | 08/2023 |
| Description | INLOGOV Research Fund |
| Amount | £1,170 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Birmingham |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2018 |
| End | 01/2018 |
| Description | NWO Dutch Research Council |
| Amount | € 50,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | Strand building on SUI project: How intermediaries make their work sustainable in five Dutch cities |
| Organisation | Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Start | 03/2020 |
| End | 03/2021 |
| Description | NWO SURF pop-up - On the longterm significance of smart urban intermediaries |
| Amount | € 0 (EUR) |
| Organisation | Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Start | 09/2019 |
| End | 04/2021 |
| Description | Co-operation Partner |
| Organisation | Birmingham City Council |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Existing research base, expertise and methodology |
| Collaborator Contribution | Help to identify an anchor neighbourhood for the research Use networks and knowledge to identify intermediaries with a connection to that neighbourhood Use networks and knowledge to identify other stakeholders in the city to contribute to the local labs Participate in four local labs over the course of the research (each lab is a half-day workshop) Option to attend one or more transnational labs (Southern, Central-Eastern Europe) Contribute to interpret and disseminate the research Help to identify opportunities to share the research |
| Impact | Identification of anchor neighbourhood for research, suggestions for potential research participants, sharing of networks and expertise |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Co-operation Partner |
| Organisation | Citizens UK |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Existing research base, expertise and methodology |
| Collaborator Contribution | Help to identify an anchor neighbourhood for the research Use networks and knowledge to identify intermediaries with a connection to that neighbourhood Use networks and knowledge to identify other stakeholders in the city to contribute to the local labs Participate in four local labs over the course of the research (each lab is a half-day workshop) Option to attend one or more transnational labs (Southern, Central-Eastern Europe) Contribute to interpret and disseminate the research Help to identify opportunities to share the research |
| Impact | Identification of anchor neighbourhood for research, suggestions for potential research participants, sharing of networks and expertise |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Co-operation Partner |
| Organisation | National Association for Neighbourhood Management |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Existing research base, expertise and methodology |
| Collaborator Contribution | Help to identify an anchor neighbourhood for the research Use networks and knowledge to identify intermediaries with a connection to that neighbourhood Use networks and knowledge to identify other stakeholders in the city to contribute to the local labs Participate in four local labs over the course of the research (each lab is a half-day workshop) Option to attend one or more transnational labs (Southern, Central-Eastern Europe) Contribute to interpret and disseminate the research Help to identify opportunities to share the research |
| Impact | Identification of anchor neighbourhood for research, suggestions for potential research participants, sharing of networks and expertise |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Co-operation Partner |
| Organisation | National Institute for Health Research |
| Department | INVOLVE |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Existing research base, expertise and methodology |
| Collaborator Contribution | Help to identify an anchor neighbourhood for the research Use networks and knowledge to identify intermediaries with a connection to that neighbourhood Use networks and knowledge to identify other stakeholders in the city to contribute to the local labs Participate in four local labs over the course of the research (each lab is a half-day workshop) Option to attend one or more transnational labs (Southern, Central-Eastern Europe) Contribute to interpret and disseminate the research Help to identify opportunities to share the research |
| Impact | Identification of anchor neighbourhood for research, suggestions for potential research participants, sharing of networks and expertise |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Co-operation Partners in Scotland |
| Organisation | Glasgow City Council |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Existing research base, expertise, methodology and facilitation. Option to attend transnational labs (Southern, Central-Eastern Europe). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Help to identify an anchor neighbourhood for the research. Use networks and knowledge to identify intermediaries with a connection to that neighbourhood. Use networks and knowledge to identify other stakeholders in the city to contribute to the local labs. Participate in four local labs over the course of the research (each lab is a half-day workshop). Option to attend one or more transnational labs (Southern, Central-Eastern Europe). Contribute to interpret and disseminate the research. Help to identify opportunities to share the research. |
| Impact | Identification of anchor neighbourhood for research, suggestions for potential research participants, sharing of networks and expertise, generation of data and insights for local labs |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Co-operation Partners in Scotland |
| Organisation | Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Existing research base, expertise, methodology and facilitation. Option to attend transnational labs (Southern, Central-Eastern Europe). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Help to identify an anchor neighbourhood for the research. Use networks and knowledge to identify intermediaries with a connection to that neighbourhood. Use networks and knowledge to identify other stakeholders in the city to contribute to the local labs. Participate in four local labs over the course of the research (each lab is a half-day workshop). Option to attend one or more transnational labs (Southern, Central-Eastern Europe). Contribute to interpret and disseminate the research. Help to identify opportunities to share the research. |
| Impact | Identification of anchor neighbourhood for research, suggestions for potential research participants, sharing of networks and expertise, generation of data and insights for local labs |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Co-operation Partners in Scotland |
| Organisation | Inspiring Scotland |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Existing research base, expertise, methodology and facilitation. Option to attend transnational labs (Southern, Central-Eastern Europe). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Help to identify an anchor neighbourhood for the research. Use networks and knowledge to identify intermediaries with a connection to that neighbourhood. Use networks and knowledge to identify other stakeholders in the city to contribute to the local labs. Participate in four local labs over the course of the research (each lab is a half-day workshop). Option to attend one or more transnational labs (Southern, Central-Eastern Europe). Contribute to interpret and disseminate the research. Help to identify opportunities to share the research. |
| Impact | Identification of anchor neighbourhood for research, suggestions for potential research participants, sharing of networks and expertise, generation of data and insights for local labs |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Co-operation Partners in Scotland |
| Organisation | National Institute for Health Research |
| Department | INVOLVE |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Existing research base, expertise, methodology and facilitation. Option to attend transnational labs (Southern, Central-Eastern Europe). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Help to identify an anchor neighbourhood for the research. Use networks and knowledge to identify intermediaries with a connection to that neighbourhood. Use networks and knowledge to identify other stakeholders in the city to contribute to the local labs. Participate in four local labs over the course of the research (each lab is a half-day workshop). Option to attend one or more transnational labs (Southern, Central-Eastern Europe). Contribute to interpret and disseminate the research. Help to identify opportunities to share the research. |
| Impact | Identification of anchor neighbourhood for research, suggestions for potential research participants, sharing of networks and expertise, generation of data and insights for local labs |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Co-operation Partners in Scotland |
| Organisation | Scottish Community Development Centre |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Existing research base, expertise, methodology and facilitation. Option to attend transnational labs (Southern, Central-Eastern Europe). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Help to identify an anchor neighbourhood for the research. Use networks and knowledge to identify intermediaries with a connection to that neighbourhood. Use networks and knowledge to identify other stakeholders in the city to contribute to the local labs. Participate in four local labs over the course of the research (each lab is a half-day workshop). Option to attend one or more transnational labs (Southern, Central-Eastern Europe). Contribute to interpret and disseminate the research. Help to identify opportunities to share the research. |
| Impact | Identification of anchor neighbourhood for research, suggestions for potential research participants, sharing of networks and expertise, generation of data and insights for local labs |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Co-operation Partners in Scotland |
| Organisation | Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Existing research base, expertise, methodology and facilitation. Option to attend transnational labs (Southern, Central-Eastern Europe). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Help to identify an anchor neighbourhood for the research. Use networks and knowledge to identify intermediaries with a connection to that neighbourhood. Use networks and knowledge to identify other stakeholders in the city to contribute to the local labs. Participate in four local labs over the course of the research (each lab is a half-day workshop). Option to attend one or more transnational labs (Southern, Central-Eastern Europe). Contribute to interpret and disseminate the research. Help to identify opportunities to share the research. |
| Impact | Identification of anchor neighbourhood for research, suggestions for potential research participants, sharing of networks and expertise, generation of data and insights for local labs |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Development of the Riverside Innovation District in Glasgow |
| Organisation | University of Glasgow |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | In 2021, we have been invited as advisors to the development of the Innovation District in Glasgow, building on the work from our project and continuing our collaboration with local partners across sectors (many of them SUI partners). The Innovation District is a public multi-million investment in Govan, one of our anchor communities, and our research will inform the stakeholder and community engagement phase of the development. |
| Collaborator Contribution | They are leading the groundwork stages of the stakeholder and community engagement process to develop the Innovation District. |
| Impact | Difficult to determine to what extent our contributions have informed decision-making. We haven't received further communications from Glasgow University staff coordinating the public engagement side of the project. But this may be due to some delays in the development due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We will update this record again if this changes. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | International cooperation partners in Poland |
| Organisation | Foundation Bureau of Social Initiative |
| Country | Poland |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Co-design and delivery of a study visit for our 3rd Transnational Lab, which took place in Krakow in June 2019 |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co-design and delivery of a study visit for our 3rd Transnational Lab, which took place in Krakow in June 2019 |
| Impact | Short film produced + blog post + feeding into final research reports |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | International cooperation partners in Portugal |
| Organisation | University of Coimbra |
| Country | Portugal |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Co-design and delivery of a study visit for our 2nd Transnational Lab, which took place in Lisbon in January 2019 |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co-design and delivery of a study visit for our 2nd Transnational Lab, which took place in Lisbon in January 2019 |
| Impact | Multi-disciplinary peer-learning exchange between practitioners, researchers and policy-makers from the 4 core project countries (Scotland, England, Denmark, Netherlands) and our partners in Portugal (coordinated by the University of Coimbra) |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | 1st Local Lab Amsterdam |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was the 1st session of the Amsterdam Local Lab, bringing together local practitioners and national cooperation partners from the public, third and community sectors. They joined the first lab session as an ongoing group that will meet 4 times over the course of the project and will also join study visits to Glasgow, Lisbon, Krakow and Copenhagen. Participants engaged with our ongoing research, shaping the next steps of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.smart-urban-intermediaries.com/we-never-sit-together-as-a-group-like-this-local-living-la... |
| Description | 1st Local Lab in Birmingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was the 1st session of the Birmingham Local Lab, bringing together local practitioners and national cooperation partners from the public, third and community sectors. They joined the first lab session as an ongoing group that will meet 4 times over the course of the project and will also join study visits to Glasgow, Lisbon, Krakow and Copenhagen. Participants engaged with our ongoing research, shaping the next steps of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.smart-urban-intermediaries.com/what-a-brilliant-place-i-live-in-blog-post-from-the-first-... |
| Description | 1st Local Lab in Copenhagen |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was the 1st session of the Copenhagen Local Lab, bringing together local practitioners and national cooperation partners from the public, third and community sectors. They joined the first lab session as an ongoing group that will meet 4 times over the course of the project and will also join study visits to Glasgow, Lisbon and Krakow. Participants engaged with our ongoing research, shaping the next steps of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.smart-urban-intermediaries.com/we-want-to-make-people-proud-of-their-neighbourhood-first-... |
| Description | 1st Local Lab in Glasgow |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 16 local practitioners and national cooperation partners from the public, third and community sectors joined the first lab session as an ongoing group that will meet 4 times over the course of the project and will also join study visits to Lisbon, Krakow and Copenhagen. Participants engaged with our ongoing research, shaping the next steps of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.smart-urban-intermediaries.com/govan-a-hub-of-activism-building-the-first-govan-lab/ |
| Description | 2nd Local Lab Copenhagen |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was the 2nd session of the Copenhagen Local Lab, bringing together local practitioners and national cooperation partners from the public, third and community sectors. The lab will meet 4 times over the course of the project and will also join study visits to Glasgow, Lisbon and Krakow. Participants engaged with our ongoing research, shaping the next steps of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | 2nd Local Lab in Amsterdam |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was the 2nd session of the Amsterdam Local Lab, bringing together local practitioners and national cooperation partners from the public, third and community sectors. The lab will meet 4 times over the course of the project and will also join study visits to Glasgow, Lisbon, Krakow and Copenhagen. Participants engaged with our ongoing research, shaping the next steps of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.smart-urban-intermediaries.com/what-is-worth-the-effort-local-lab-ii-in-amsterdam/ |
| Description | 2nd Local Lab in Birmingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was the 2nd session of the Birmingham Local Lab, bringing together local practitioners and national cooperation partners from the public, third and community sectors. The lab will meet 4 times over the course of the project and will also join study visits to Glasgow, Lisbon, Krakow and Copenhagen. Participants engaged with our ongoing research, shaping the next steps of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.smart-urban-intermediaries.com/in-it-together-reflections-from-birminghams-second-local-l... |
| Description | 2nd Local Lab in Glasgow |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 13 local practitioners from the public, third and community sectors joined the first lab session as an ongoing group that will meet 4 times over the course of the project and will also join study visits to Lisbon, Krakow and Copenhagen. Participants engaged with our ongoing research, shaping the next steps of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | 3rd Local Lab in Amsterdam |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was the 3rd session of the Amsterdam Local Lab, bringing together local practitioners and national cooperation partners from the public, third and community sectors. The lab will meet 4 times over the course of the project and will also join study visits to Glasgow (completed), Lisbon (completed), Krakow and Copenhagen. Participants engaged with our ongoing research, shaping the next steps of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | 3rd Local Lab in Birmingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was the 3rd session of the Birmingham Local Lab, bringing together local practitioners and national cooperation partners from the public, third and community sectors. The lab will meet 4 times over the course of the project and will also join study visits to Glasgow (completed), Lisbon (completed), Krakow and Copenhagen. Participants engaged with our ongoing research, shaping the next steps of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | 3rd Local Lab in Copenhagen |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was the 3rd session of the Copenhagen Local Lab, bringing together local practitioners and national cooperation partners from the public, third and community sectors. The lab will meet 4 times over the course of the project and will also join study visits to Glasgow (completed), Lisbon (completed), and Krakow; concluding by hosting the final conference in Copenhagen. Participants engaged with our ongoing research, shaping the next steps of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | 3rd Local Lab in Glasgow |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 16 local practitioners from the public, third and community sectors joined the first lab session as an ongoing group that will meet 4 times over the course of the project and will also join study visits to Lisbon, Krakow and Copenhagen. Participants engaged with our ongoing research, shaping the next steps of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | 4th and final Local Lab in Amsterdam |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | local practitioners from the public, third and community sectors joined the final lab session as an ongoing group that met 4 times over the course of the project and also joined study visits to Lisbon, Krakow and Copenhagen. Participants engaged with our ongoing research, shaping the next steps of the project (i.e. final conference in Copenhagen + Policy events in each country. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | 4th and final Local Lab in Birmingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 20 May 2019, Birmingham, 12 local practitioners from the public, third and community sectors joined the final lab session as an ongoing group that met 4 times over the course of the project and also joined study visits to Lisbon, Krakow and Copenhagen. Participants engaged with our ongoing research, shaping the next steps of the project (i.e. final conference in Copenhagen + Policy events in each country. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.smart-urban-intermediaries.com/birminghams-final-local-lab-some-concluding-reflections/ |
| Description | 4th and final Local Lab in Copenhagen |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 18 June, Copenhagen- local practitioners from the public, third and community sectors joined the final lab session as an ongoing group that met 4 times over the course of the project and also joined study visits to Lisbon, Krakow and Copenhagen. Participants engaged with our ongoing research, shaping the next steps of the project (i.e. final conference in Copenhagen + Policy events in each country. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | 4th and final Local Lab in Glasgow |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 28 May, Govan, Glasgow, 14 local practitioners from the public, third and community sectors joined the final lab session as an ongoing group that met 4 times over the course of the project and also joined study visits to Lisbon, Krakow and Copenhagen. Participants engaged with our ongoing research, shaping the next steps of the project (i.e. final conference in Copenhagen + Policy events in each country. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.smart-urban-intermediaries.com/getting-serious-about-socially-smart-urban-regeneration-so... |
| Description | Alternative Democratic Futures: Social Movements and the New Municipalism |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We hosted a virtual roundtable organised for CRITIQUE (Centre of Ethics and Critical Thought at the University of Edinburgh) with the purpose of sharing research on urban governance and politics. The event was online and fostered discussion on the state or local democracy in a range of countries and contexts. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://critique.sps.ed.ac.uk/critique-roundtable-alternative-democratic-futures-social-movements-an... |
| Description | Catherine Durose presentation at the Centre for Urban Research on Austerity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Public presentation of our paper 'Working the urban assemblage: A transnational study of transforming practices', published in Urban Studies |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Co-hosting 3rd Transnational Lab, Krakow, Poland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 10-12 June 2019-This was the 3rd Transnational Lab of the project - a format that blends workshops, peer-learning exchanges and site visits as part of a 3 day study visit by delegations from the 4 countries that are core partners in the project (Denmark, Netherlands, Scotland and England) alongside our cooperation partners and co-hosts in Poland (Foundation for Social Innovation), including urban policymakers and practitioners, and researchers from Krakow. The study visit included sharing our research findings so far and checking whether they resonated in a very different context from the nordic countries where most of our project takes place. The delegations from the 4 countries included researchers and practitioners from the respective Local Labs in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Glasgow and Birmingham. The cooperation partners in Poland are now part of our growing European Network, and sent a delegation to our final project conference in Copenhagen in September 2019. We drew useful insights from the visit and our Polish partners found it helpful to inform their work on urban action and governance. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.smart-urban-intermediaries.com/different-countries-shared-challenges-and-shared-learning/ |
| Description | Co-hosting and presenting at the National Community Planning Network |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Co-hosted (with the Community Planning Network and the Scottish Government) this national gathering of practitioners working in Community Planning Partnerships across Scotland. Opportunity to showcase research and signpost the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Co-hosting the 2nd Transnational Lab in Lisbon |
| 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 | This was the 2nd Transnational Lab of the project - a format that blends workshops, peer-learning exchanges and site visits as part of a 3 day study visit by delegations from the 4 countries that are core partners in the project (Denmark, Netherlands, Scotland and England) alongside our cooperation partners and co-hosts in Portugal, including the Institute of Social Studies at the University of Coimbra and urban policymakers and practitioners from Lisbon. The study visit included sharing our research findings so far and checking whether they resonated in a very different context from the nordic countries where most of our project takes place. The delegations from the 4 countries included researchers and practitioners from the respective Local Labs in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Glasgow and Birmingham. The cooperation partners in Portugal are now part of our growing European Network, and will send a delegation to our final project conference in Copenhagen in September 2019. We drew useful insights from the visit and our Portuguese partners found it helpful to inform their work on urban action and governance. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.smart-urban-intermediaries.com/smart-cities-need-smart-communities/ |
| Description | Contributed to design and facilitate the EUROCITIES Citizens' Panel in Glasgow |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We provided advice on the design and facilitation of the Scottish strand of this project, as well as facilitation practice on the day of the main event. This was a unique public engagement initiative across 20 European cities .In January 2019, Glasgow held a citizens' panel on economic development in relation to the European Pillar of Social Rights and as part of the Eurocities citizens' panel initiative (mini-publics formed by between 50 and 100 citizens selected by sortition). The objective of the citizens' panel event was to provide residents with knowledge and facts on economic development and European policies. They heard from expert speakers, discussed ideas, created informed opinions and worked together to make recommendations for the future of Europe. Small groups were asked to consider economic development from a range of specific perspectives such as the culture/creative industries and migration, as well as more general perspectives. Every group was also asked to ensure that recommendations contributed to 'inclusive growth'. All groups then voted on their top three priorities. The day's work and discussions resulted in three recommendations: 1. Education - lifelong learning to provide equal opportunities for everyone regardless of background, with emphasis on: funding for economically demanding skills (e.g. STEM: science, technology, engineering and maths) improving support packages for students (e.g. transport and childcare) taking education out of classrooms (e.g. community courses) keeping EU education initiatives beyond Brexit 2. Increased investment in public-led transportation systems: train lines, river, bus and underground. 3. Health - shift to preventing poor health while protecting vital parts of services that support health These citizens' recommendations, together with those from other citizens' consultations taking place across Europe until the end of February, will be presented at the second mayors summit on the future of Europe on 20 and 21 March 2019. As part of the mayors summit, which will take place two months ahead of the European Parliament elections in the presence of more than 100 city politicians, EUROCITIES and the European Commission will present the panel results to national and European political leaders. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.eurocities.eu/eurocities/news/Glasgow-citizens-panel-on-economic-development-makes-three-... |
| Description | Contribution by Oliver Escobar to the 4 sessions of the Devolved Democracy Forum |
| 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 | A series of forums with practitioners, policymakers and researchers involved in governance across the four devolved administrations of the UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Contribution by Oliver Escobar to the Link-Up Conference organised by Inspiring Scotland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | The Link-Up Conference organised by Inspiring Scotland showcases the work of community groups and community workers across Scotland. Oliver Escobar will reflect on insights from research that speaks to the themes of the conference and places them in the context of current and forthcoming policy agendas (e.g. community empowerment, inequalities, the role of practitioners working at the frontlines of communities and social innovation). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.inspiringscotland.org.uk/what-we-do/our-funds/link-up/ |
| Description | Contribution to DIPLOCAT (Catalonian Government) event on local governance reform |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation by Oliver Escobar: Democratic Innovation in Scotland - The reform of local authorities, to a delegation of representatives across the Catalonian government and civil society to inform their ongoing reforms |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Contribution to Royal Town Planning Institute's Annual Conference: PLANNING FOR A GREEN ECONOMY |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Oliver Escobar shared insights from the Smart Urban Intermediaries and What Works Scotland's research projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Contribution to University of Sheffield Workshop: Principles and Practices of Transdisciplinary Co-design and Co-production |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Oliver Escobar presented: Co-production in public policy: Can democratic innovation counter the democratic recession? This was a workshop with public and third sector practitioners - hosted by University of Sheffield, Workshop: Principles and Practices of Transdisciplinary Co-design and Co-production |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Contribution to the Conference "Democracy 21: Let's Build A Democracy Fit For The 21st Century" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | I chaired and facilitated the session on Localism at this Conference hosted by the Electoral Reform Society Scotland in Glasgow. This gave exposure to our project and helped make connections to relevant networks, as well as to sign up readers for our newsletter. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/500-people-gather-in-glasgow-for-democracy21/ |
| Description | Contribution to the Our World Reimagined webinar series |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Webinar series organised by Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8BodvTStW8&t=2155s |
| Description | Delivered workshop at the Development Day of the new Community Empowerment and Equalities directorate at Glasgow City Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Delivered a research and capacity-building workshop for all the staff at the newly formed Community Empowerment and Equalities Directorate at Glasgow City Council. This built on previous relationships established through other events and ongoing advice about the development of the new unit. This advisory role is ongoing and may be formalised in 2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Delivered workshop on 'Engaged Scholarship: Advancing Community Empowerment and Social Inclusion' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | My workshop was part of a one-day conference organised by Northern Bridge DTC for doctoral researchers in the universities of Durham, Newcastle and Queens Belfast. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Democratic innovations in Scotland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | presentation to the All Party Parliamentary Group at the House of Commons - event organised by the Electoral Reform Society |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Empowering children and young people - 10 provocations for a democratic future |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Workshop for a webinar series organised by the children's charity Barnardos |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | European Caravan on Green Participatory Budgeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We organised a 2-day practitioner conference in collaboration with Participatory Budgeting Scotland (Scottish Government and Scottish Community Development Centre) and partners in Spain, Portugal and France. This was the UK leg of a transnational programme on participatory budgeting focussed on climate action. Participants were involved in PB processes across the countries involved and the 'Caravan' supported peer learning and exchange between practitioners across Europe. Participants reported that the events inform their current and future practices in this field. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://pbscotland.scot/green-pb/caravan |
| Description | Evidence session: Institutionalising participatory and deliberative democracy |
| 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 | Session to present the outcome of our Working Group on Institutionalising Participatory and Deliberative Democracy to the Scottish Parliament's Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.gov.scot/publications/report-institutionalising-participatory-deliberative-democracy-wor... |
| Description | Exchange with 9 members of the local council in Cophenhagen |
| 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 | A delegation of 9 local councillors from Copenhagen visited Glasgow and Edinburgh to exchange ideas and perspectives on local governance, smart urban intermediation and democratic participation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Final Project Conference and 4th Transnational Lab, Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 16-18 September 2019 -This was the 4th Transnational Lab and the final Project Conference - we used a format that blends workshops, peer-learning exchanges and site visits as part of a 3 day study visit by delegations from the 4 countries that are core partners in the project (Denmark, Netherlands, Scotland and England) alongside our cooperation partners in Poland (Foundation for Social Innovation) and Lisbon (Centro de Estudos Sociais), including also local policymaker, practitioners, and researchers from Copenhagen. The Conference shared our research findings and offered reflection on whether and how they resonated across the different country and local contexts. The delegations from the 4 countries included researchers and practitioners from the respective Local Labs in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Glasgow and Birmingham. The cooperation partners from Poland and Portugal also participated and are now part of our European network. We drew useful insights from the visit and our transnational partners found it helpful to inform their work on urban action, social innovation and local governance. 61 participants: 10 Scotland, 10 England, 12 Netherlands, 26 Denmark, 2 Poland, 1 Portugal |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.smart-urban-intermediaries.com/films/ |
| Description | Friends of Cobbenhagen workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Friends of Cobbenhagen workshop was held at Tilburg University and included 30 participants |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Gathering of municipal workers from Amsterdam, Malmo and Copenhagen |
| 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 | A group of over 28 civil servants from the municipality of Amsterdam visited Copenhagen and Malmo. And SmartUrbI joined them. This work-trip, organized by the municipality of Amsterdam and Platform31, aimed to learn, to bond and to exchange ideas about daily practices and dilemmas. Especially concerning area management (in Dutch: gebiedsgericht werken) which has been implemented in Copenhagen and Malmo in different ways, and therefore could offer inspiration to Amsterdam civil servants. SmartUrbI researchers went along with the program and observed the 'walk and talk' of these civil servants: noting down their practices, dilemmas and how they cope with issues. Next to this 'shadowing' practice, Annika Agger from the Danish SmartUrbI team also organized a meeting between the Amsterdam group of civil servants and 14 of their Danish counterparts in Copenhagen. The session was organized as a "giftgiving - sharing session", where the two teams talked about their best and worst practices in relation to local work in close contact with citizens. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.smart-urban-intermediaries.com/amsterdam-meets-copenhagen/ |
| Description | Giving Evidence to the Just Transition Commission |
| 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 | Sharing research findings and insights with the Just Transition Commission for Scotland. These are feeding into their final recommendations and report to be handed over to the Scottish Government in the spring of 2021 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.gov.scot/groups/just-transition-commission/ |
| Description | Guest Lecture: Triumph of the City (Amsterdam) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | TBA |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Guest Lecture: Urban Governance (Leiden University- Campus The Hague) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | TBA |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Guest presentation: NIG Public Administration, CIPA, Nijmegen |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | TBA |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Hosting 1st Transnational Lab of Smart Urban Intermediaries in Glasgow |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was the 1st Transnational Lab of the project, bringing together delegations of participants from Denmark, Netherlands, England and Scotland. We shared the early research findings and the Lab was an opportunity for peer-learning amongst urban practitioners from different European cities. Participants contributed to shoe the next stage of the Smart Urban Intermediaries project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.smart-urban-intermediaries.com/who-are-the-suis-and-what-do-they-do/ |
| Description | International Women's Day Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Annika Agger gave the talk 'Communication about the Smart Urban Intermediary project' organised in Copenhagen by one of our partners in SmartUrbI |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Interview and online piece - 'Smart Urban Intermediaries: You cannot have smart growth without community makers' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Interview by Shafayet Choudhury for Urban Europe |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://jpi-urbaneurope.eu/smart-urban-intermediaries-no-smart-growth-without-the-community-makers |
| Description | Interview in Sprank - Journal of National welfare organization Divosa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Extensive illustrated piece interviewing M.v. Ostaijen about our project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.divosa.nl/sites/default/files/sprank_bestanden/sprank-201906-wij-zijn-niet-ons-brein.pdf |
| Description | Keynote at the 2021 Conference of the Scottish Rural Parliament |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | We gave a keynote speech at the Annual Conference of the SRP, chaired by the Minister for Constitutional Affairs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.sra.scot/events/virtual-scottish-rural-parliament-2021-0 |
| Description | Keynote by O Escobar at the Spanish Conference of the National Institute for Public Administration |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Talk and discussion on 'Democratic Innovation and the future of public governance'. The conference gathers public sector practitioners (and some third sector) from across public administrations in Spain. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Keynote speech at International Symposium of Municipal Clerks |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | 7 June 2019, Stratford on Avon, England, Keynote at International Symposium of Municipal Clerks; title of keynote: 'Innovations in local democratic governance'; 250 conference participants |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Keynote speech at the Annual Conference of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 15 November 2019, Glasgow, keynote speech at the Annual Conference of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations; title: 'Social and Democratic Innovation: 11 provocations'; 250 participants |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://gwsf.org.uk/event/gwsf-annual-conference-2019/ |
| Description | Keynote speech at the World Community Development Conference 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 26 June 2019, Dundee, keynote speech at the World Community Development Conference 2019; title of the keynote: 'How can social and democratic innovation counter the democratic recession? Community development, public participation and social justice'; 500 participants |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.wcdc2019.org.uk/conference-programme/ |
| Description | LPB meeting about SmartUrbi, (national network of civil servants working in neighbourhoods) in Amersfoort |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Discussion of the SmartUrbI project |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Listening and innovating: Putting engagement and data at the heart of performance auditing |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was a 2-hour session for Audit Scotland and the Office of the Auditor General, focussed on sharing our research on public engagement and social science research. We received positive feedback from the Director of Audit Scotland and there was interest by participants in following up with potential training / capacity building. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | NIG workshop, 'professionals in the front line', Conference Panel, Netherlands Institute of Governance, The Hague |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Discussion of SmartUrbI project |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Oliver Escobar at COP26 - The role of communities in a Just Transition |
| 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 | The role of communities in a Just Transition Workshop on Saturday 6th November - 10.00am - 11.30am Overview Exploring how local communities can help to shape the transition to net zero as part of an inclusive, participatory process Details This session will highlight examples of where local communities have played a key role in developing more sustainable places and will examine the process through which they have been empowered to act, with particular consideration given to the potential of green participatory budgeting. Oliver Escobar offered an overview of national and international developments in Participatory Budgeting and its potential to support a Just Transition. Delivered in partnership with Scottish Government, PB Scotland and SCDC |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Oliver Escobar at the Creative Bravery Festival - Presentation and discussion: The creatively brave processof making decisions differently |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The creatively brave process of making decisions differently Innovative democratic processes are inherently creatively brave as they push us into uncomfortable spaces where dialogue and deliberation seek to answer the wicked questions that trouble our communities and systems. Join Oliver Escobar, Senior Lecturer in public policy at the University of Edinburgh and academic lead for democratic innovation at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, for a stimulating and provocative conversation about the current proliferation of democratic innovations in Scotland and around the world. The Creative Bravery Festival brings together practitioners across the public and third sectors to ;earn, discuss and advance the future of public services. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Panel contribution to the Conference 'Engaging Citizens for Good Governance in Cohesion Policy', Brussels 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | 6 February 2020, Brussels, panel contribution 'Co-creation, Ownership and Meaningful Participation' to the Conference 'Engaging Citizens for Good Governance in Cohesion Policy', hosted by the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy of the European Commission. 200 participants (panel); 500 participants (conference) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/conferences/citizens_good_governance?fbclid=IwAR0gruEkFgAQk9... |
| Description | Policymakers Event Amsterdam- Socially Smart Cities: Implications for Policy and Practice |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | 2 December 2020. The purpose of this event was to share and discuss our research findings and make recommendations about how policy-makers and funders from within Government and other national bodies and sectors can support Smart Urban Intermediation. The event was also the official launch of 2 final project publications: 1) the Project Report- Socially smart cities: making a difference in urban neighbourhoods 2) the Policy Briefing- Social transformation in urban neighbourhoods. Event participants received complimentary copies of the reports, professionally designed and printed. The publications reflect differences as well as common patterns of practice emerging from across the European four case-sites in response to the current international policy focus on Smart Cities. Our research is helping us to understand how socially-smart urban intermediaries can draw on diverse approaches to place-making, community-building, person-centred working, and digital development to support participative, community-focused urban regeneration and the democratisation of cities. This final learning event provided the platform for the premiere launch of these publications in the Netherlands and an opportunity to learn more about our findings and discuss these in more depth with key stakeholders --i.e. local, city-wide and national policy-makers and funders joined these discussions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Policymakers Event Birmingham- Socially Smart Cities: Implications for Policy and Practice |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | 28 November, Birmingham. The purpose of this event was to share and discuss our research findings and make recommendations about how policy-makers and funders from within Government and other national bodies and sectors can support Smart Urban Intermediation. The event was also the official launch of 2 final project publications: 1) the Project Report- Socially smart cities: making a difference in urban neighbourhoods 2) the Policy Briefing- Social transformation in urban neighbourhoods. Event participants received complimentary copies of the reports, professionally designed and printed. The publications reflect differences as well as common patterns of practice emerging from across the European four case-sites in response to the current international policy focus on Smart Cities. Our research is helping us to understand how socially-smart urban intermediaries can draw on diverse approaches to place-making, community-building, person-centred working, and digital development to support participative, community-focused urban regeneration and the democratisation of cities. This final learning event provided the platform for the premiere launch of these publications in England and an opportunity to learn more about our findings and discuss these in more depth with key stakeholders --i.e. local, city-wide and national policy-makers and funders joined these discussions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Policymakers Event Copenhagen- Socially Smart Cities: Implications for Policy and Practice |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Planned for 25 March 2020. The purpose of this event will be to share and discuss our research findings and make recommendations about how policy-makers and funders from within Government and other national bodies and sectors can support Smart Urban Intermediation. The event will be also the official launch of 2 final project publications: 1) the Project Report- Socially smart cities: making a difference in urban neighbourhoods 2) the Policy Briefing- Social transformation in urban neighbourhoods. Event participants will receive complimentary copies of the reports, professionally designed and printed. This final learning event will provide the platform for the premiere launch of these publications in Denmark and an opportunity to learn more about our findings and discuss these in more depth with key local and national stakeholders. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Policymakers Event Glasgow- Socially Smart Cities: Implications for Policy and Practice |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | 18 December 2019, Glasgow. The purpose of this event was to share and discuss our research findings and make recommendations about how policy-makers and funders from within Government and other national bodies and sectors can support Smart Urban Intermediation. The event is also the official launch of 3 final project publications: 1) the Project Report- Socially smart cities: making a difference in urban neighbourhoods 2) the Policy Briefing- Social transformation in urban neighbourhoods 3) the Scottish Supplement- Supporting smart urban intermediation Event participants received complimentary copies of the reports, professionally designed and printed. The publications reflect differences as well as common patterns of practice emerging from across the European four case-sites in response to the current international policy focus on Smart Cities. Our research is helping us to understand how socially-smart urban intermediaries can draw on diverse approaches to place-making, community-building, person-centred working, and digital development to support participative, community-focused urban regeneration and the democratisation of cities. This final learning event provided the platform for the premiere Scottish launch of these publications and an opportunity to learn more about our findings and discuss these in more depth with key stakeholders --i.e. local, city-wide and national policy-makers and funders joined these discussions. The event concluded with a celebratory Christmas lunch. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.smart-urban-intermediaries.com/publications/ |
| Description | Presentation about SmartUrbI in course Triomf van de Stad (Triumph of the City), in Amsterdam Nieuw West |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Discussion of SmartUrbI project |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Presentation about SmartUrbI on 15 years of Vrouw and Vaart |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Discussion of the project |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Presentation about local labs at the SURF conference in Amersfoort |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Discussion about the local lab methodology as part of this conference |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Presentation and discussion: Collaborative Partnerships |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Oliver Escobar presented insights from What Works Scotland and Smart Urban Intermediaries to the Climate Ready Clyde Options Appraisal Group, currently undertaking climate action partnership planning for the Clyde region. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Presentation at Danish Conference - Place-based approaches and working with local stakeholders for area-based initiatives |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Discussion of project |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Presentation at PhD Conference on shadowing at EURA Conference, Tilburg |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Discussion of the SmartUrbI project |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Presentation at the Popular Education Network |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Sharing research insights and recommendations with PEN Scotland |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Presentation at the RSA event: 'Innovations in Public Participation in Planning and Urban Design' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 10 September 2019, Edinburgh, presentation at the Royal Society of Arts event: 'Innovations in Public Participation in Planning and Urban Design' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Presentation at the session 'Conceptualising Community: Reframing Research' at the University of Strathclyde |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The aim of this event was twofold. The first is to explore concepts of community. Given the emphasis on 'community' in policy rhetoric and initiatives, we think that understanding how community as a concept is variously invoked, understood and framed is timely. Who and what, for example, is the community that Government seeks to empower and in which individuals are expected to engage and participate? To what extent do Government's assumptions about community accord with the views and experiences of community members? The other aim of the event is to consider how this discussion might interface, intersect and inform two of SCCJR's nascent research themes: that of 'Rights, Resistance and Marginalisation' and 'The Praxis of Listening to the Seldom Heard'. Participants discussed the implications of the presentations for these broad themes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Presentation for Norwegean planners about Smart Urban intermediaries and what it means to work locally |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Discussion of project |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Presentation to local practitioners |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | To launch, raise interest and awareness and elicit participation in the research. Event held at Stirchley Baths, Birmingham in September 2017, hosted by Neighbourhood Support and Development Unit, Birmingham City Council. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Presentation to local practitioners |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | To launch, promote, raise awareness and elicit participation in the project. Held at Clifton Road Mosque, Balsall Heath, Birmingham, hosted by Citizens UK: Birmingham. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Presentation to local practitioners |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | To launch, raise awareness and elicit participation in the research. A follow-up workshop at Stirchley Baths, Birmingham, hosted by Birmingham City Council's Neighbourhood Support and Development Unit, for intermediaries from public, voluntary, community and social enterprise sector working in Balsall Heath and Sparkbrook. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Presentation to the North West Glasgow Voluntary Sector Network |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Sharing research insights to inform the Network's pandemic recovery work and improve their partnership work with local authorities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Public lecture for public planners in Denmark |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Project discussion |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Research presentation to the Board of the Scottish Urban Regeneration Network |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 22 May 2019, Glasgow, presentation and discussion of preliminary research findings with the Board of the Scottish Urban Regeneration Network |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Seminar for Elected Members organised by North Ayrshire Chief Exec, Improving Local Governance |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This session shared early research findings related to the theme of 'Improving Local Governance'. It galvanised previous relationship with the Chief Executive Department at the North Ayrshire Council. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Seminar for the Social Research Unit at the Scottish Government |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of ongoing research to the Social Research Unit at the Scottish Government as part of their annual Evidence Fortnight programme |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Session at the Iluminating Leadership Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The Illuminating Leadership Festival was organised by Collective Leadership Scotland, a body that promotes engagement and knowledge exchange across the public, third and community sectors. Oliver Escobar hosted a session including the presentation and discussion of: Democratic Innovations: What does this mean for power-sharing leadership? |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Social and democratic innovation in Scotland |
| 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 | presentation at international workshop organised by the government of Catalonia |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | The opportunities and risks of building deliberative systems |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Lunchtime talk / webinar for the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://natcen.ac.uk/s/deliberation-all-opportunities-and-risks-building-deliberative-systems |
| Description | The role of partnership brokers in strengthening local engagement in multi-stakeholder partnerships |
| 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 | We contributed to an expert panel at CSSI 2020 - Putting Partnerships in their Place: Exploring the relationships between Practices, Policy and Place in Cross Sector Organising, within the strand on Partnership Brokering in Cross-Sector Collaborations |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.cssi2020.com |
| Description | Vital Cities - Special Issue Workshop - Oliver Escobar's presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of the foundations for our forthcoming paper: Urban paradoxes in the vital city: How do practitioners navigate tensions at the frontiers of social innovation? This workshop gathered a selected group of 40 researchers and practitioners involved in developing a Special Issue on the theme 'Vital Cities' for the journal Cities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Workshop - Developing an Action Plan with the Arts & Heritage Group at the Govan Thriving Place partnership |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We designed and facilitated a workshop to use the findings and recommendations from our project to inform the post-pandemic recovery work led by the Thriving Places Partnership in Govan, Glasgow. We worked with 20 local practitioners from the public, third and private sectors to develop an Action Plan for local recovery work at the intersection of cultural and economic activities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Workshop - Making a difference in Govan: What's next for AHW? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Development session co-designed and facilitated by Oliver Escobar with the Arts Heritage & Wellbeing Theme Group, part of the Govan Thriving Places programme. The workshop built on learning from Smart Urban Intermediaries in order to help decide next steps for this official (Glasgow Council-sponsored) Theme Group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Workshop at Stravaig Summer Festival: Frameworks for Decision-Making |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Oliver Escobar delivered a workshop at the Stravaig Festival online Design Innovation & Land-Assets (DI&L): Towards Reimagining Communities Summer Stravaig 12th - 23rd July 2021 Hosted by the Innovation School, The Glasgow School of Art |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Workshop for Glasgow City Council Elected Members |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This workshop was delivered as part of the 'away day' of the Elected Members that form the current administration at Glasgow City Council. It introduced the project to them and helped to make connections to related policy agendas in Glasgow. It also started an ongoing relationship of collaboration with the political side of the council, in addition to previous ongoing collaboration on the public servants / managers / officers side. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Workshop for delegation of 8 practitioners from Netherlands |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Workshop at the University of Edinburgh (26 February 2019) for delegation of 8 practitioners from Netherlands, as part of their Masters programme of study visits. Title of the workshop: 'Social and democratic innovation in Scotland' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Workshop on Digital Engagement for Aberdeenshire Community Learning and Development practitioners |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Capacity-building workshop on digital skills and online strategies for community engagement |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Workshop presentation ICPP Conference Montreal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of one of our draft research journal articles |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |