The Government has announced details of a new Urban Living Partnership that will bring together researchers, innovative businesses and local authorities to help build successful 21st century cities.
Government innovation agency Innovate UK and all 7 UK research councils have come together for the first time to address the challenges and opportunities of urban living in a partnership to enable integrated research and innovation that will address the challenges faced by urban areas.
Research Councils UK and Innovate UK are providing £2 million for the call to be distributed between up to 5 city pilot projects.
Project co-chair Dr Mike Pitts commented:
“Significant previous investment by the research councils and Innovate UK has built great strength across a broad range of research areas related to urban living. This partnership will combine that strength with dynamic local authorities, innovative businesses and major service providers to create the sustainable, successful and desirable city living that we all want for ourselves and future generations.”
£2 million for 5 pilot city projects
The first step in the programme is an investment of £2 million to create up to 5 pilot city projects. A consortium of researchers, local authorities, service providers and businesses will lead each project. Each team will also include engineers, ecologists, economists and heritage experts.
The teams will take a ‘whole city’ approach, using their expertise to identify, understand and address key interconnected challenges.
The partnership will award funding of up to £400,000 to support each pilot project to conduct a ‘diagnostic’ phase starting in April 2016 and running for up to 18 months. The call is open now.
Through working together the partners aim to combine strengths across the UK's research and innovation ecosystem to understand key interconnected urban challenges, to co-produce practical responses and exploit emerging market opportunities and capacity for social innovation.
Taking a 'whole city' approach the Partnership brings together the capabilities needed to address a wide range of challenges including infrastructure, environment, economy, smart cities and big urban data, to give just a few examples.
In this first pilot phase, the Partnership is seeking applications from consortia which bring together leading cross-disciplinary research expertise, city leaders, businesses, civic organisations and community groups, public, third sector and other urban innovators.
Each of the consortia will be expected to conduct an initial pilot diagnostic phase focused on building integrated understanding of the challenges, opportunities and future visions of a specific UK city / urban area and developing agendas for future research and innovation.
Combined funding of £2m is available from RCUK and Innovate UK for the pilot call to be distributed between up to five projects, each focused on a different city / urban areas. Funding of up to £400,000 will be awarded to support each pilot project to conduct a 'diagnostic' phase commencing in April 2016 and running initially for up to 18 months.
The deadline for research organisations to submit full applications on behalf of consortia is 16:00 on 21 January 2016, with a deadline for submitting initial expressions of interest of 26 November 2015.
EPSRC is administering the pilot call on behalf of the partnership.
In order to facilitate networking between potential consortia and showcase a range of valuable research and innovation partners and investments supported by RCUK and Innovate UK, there will be a ‘Town Meeting’ held on 20 October 2015.
EPSRC is recommending that representatives from potential consortia should attend the event in order to network with other partners in looking to work in their city or with resources of potential value to pilot cities, have the opportunity to ask questions about the ambition and scope of the pilot call and develop their ideas for consortia proposals.
Click here for further information
Consortia intending to submit a proposal to this call are encouraged to register their intent by submitting an Expression of Interest by 26 November 2015– click here
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