Supporting Urban Innovation the Smart Belfast Framework 2017 to 2021
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Supporting Urban Innovation The Smart Belfast Framework 2017 to 2021 © Belfast City Council CONTENTS Introduction 6 Why do we need a framework? 8 Guiding principles 12 Smart Belfast foundations 14 Roadmap 20 Smart Belfast Project Pipeline Introduction 24 Prioritising the projects 27 Potential Smart Belfast projects 28 Additional funding sources 50 Get involved 54 Contact us 54 FOREWORD Councillor Deirdre Hargey Chairperson of Strategic Policy and Resources Committee Belfast City Council Belfast City Council has talked with residents and partner organisations about a shared vision for our city in 2035. This engagement, known as the ‘Belfast conversation’, generated a wealth of ideas about how we can build on our city’s success to achieve transformational change in the lives of our people. These ideas have become embedded in the Belfast Agenda which sets out our city vision to 2035. There is definite energy for making the Belfast Agenda a reality; and a strong commitment to the vision of a well-connected, vibrant city with a modern, successful economy that benefits everyone. This enthusiasm is of course tempered by an awareness of the substantial economic, social and environmental challenges that lie ahead. To achieve the ambitions of the Belfast Agenda, we have set out a number of goals. We want to grow our population by 66,000; we want to increase the number of people working in the city by 46,000; and we want to reduce the gap in life expectancy between the poorest and richest parts of the city. 4 To meet such goals we need to start thinking differently. We need to start getting much more innovative in our approaches to problem-solving. In particular, we need to think differently about how we design and deliver our programmes, interventions and services. We also need to start borrowing leading-edge ideas from industry and from our university partners. The Smart Belfast framework is about creating the circumstances in which such cross-sectoral innovation can flourish in support of the Belfast Agenda. It is about building the necessary foundations upon which the city can harness its amazing pool of talent, creativity and technical infrastructure to address public policy challenges. In creating these conditions Belfast can also present itself as a ‘living laboratory’ for businesses, start-ups, entrepreneurs and researchers to design, test, and build advanced digital solutions for a twenty-first century city. Over the past twelve months, supported by the Government’s Future Cities Catapult, the Council has been engaging with partners about how we create these foundations. This framework represents the culmination of this process and the beginning of a programme of work with city partners towards creating a Smart Belfast. On behalf of Belfast City Council, I would like to acknowledge the contribution of both the Catapult and the many individuals and organisations from across the community, public, academic and private sectors who have contributed to the development of the framework. We look forward to working with our city partners to deliver an exciting programme of work over the coming years. 5 INTRODUCTION The Smart Belfast framework is about harnessing innovation, technology and data science to contribute to the success of the Belfast Agenda. The framework outlines proposals which seek to foster conditions for greater collaborative innovation between public, commercial, academic and community organisations in Belfast. In developing our ideas Belfast City Council, in partnership with the Future Cities Catapult, engaged with local stakeholders whilst drawing from the expertise and practice of other places. There was strong agreement, particularly from local businesses, for the need for better collaboration to support innovation. The resulting Smart Belfast framework sets out a number of proposals: Guiding principles for a Smart Belfast. Foundations that the city needs to build in order to deliver innovative programmes. A roadmap that describes the resources and activities required to strengthen the city’s foundations and criteria for projects to directly address city challenges. 6 RISE by Wolfgang Buttress. 7 WHY DO WE NEED A FRAMEWORK? Belfast’s community planning deliver together in order to achieve success. City partners will need to think differently about partners recently established their how they design and deliver programmes, long term ambitions for the city. interventions and services. In particular, the city These ambitions are set out in the needs to find better ways to tap into the huge potential of smart technologies Belfast Agenda which seeks to and data science. deliver major economic and social Belfast has significant strengths in these areas change, inclusive growth and achieve and we can draw on innovative practice from the long term positive outcomes for city’s digital SMEs, our communities and from citizens by 2035. The priorities for within our universities. the first four years of the Agenda are By doing so we suggest that not only will opposite. Belfast be better equipped to address its challenges, it will also create a richer and more The agenda also identifies substantial creative environment for our knowledge sector programmes of work that partners will need to businesses and entrepreneurs. GETTING SMARTER Cities around the world are using a range of Transport for London is developing ticketless smart city approaches to improve and create public transport by integrating and promoting new services through opportunities in data, the use of contactless payment cards. connectivity and design. For example, Newcastle upon Tyne is developing an New York’s Digital NYC are fostering a range of innovation centre focussed on data and cloud Smart City opportunities to support hundreds of computing, which also acts as a living lab to test digital start-ups and local entrepreneurs - while smart energy grids, sustainable urban drainage also directly addressing urban challenges. and building sensors. Santander in Spain is using GPS and apps for Glasgow has introduced smart street lighting crowd sourcing citizen knowledge to make that not only is energy efficient but also monitors waste management more efficient. noise and air pollution and supports community safety measures. Barcelona is using IoT and other technologies to gather information on visitors and this has Dublin City Council is mapping local energy enabled the city to create a sophisticated tourist demand and matching it to the best local offering. resources to find the most sustainable solutions for energy consumption. Its Smart Dublin team Bristol City Council and its local university aim to are also supporting a series of SBRI challenges maximise the opportunity presented by its new to encourage local SMEs to develop solutions to integrated transport hub by utilizing big data. the city’s problems Westminster is implementing smart parking to Belfast also has strengths in these areas and tell drivers where they can find a parking space. is beginning to develop and deliver smart city Smart parking cuts congestion and improves the projects, from empowering planners with a experience of coming into the city centre. single digital view of the city’s infrastructure, to 8 deploying IoT sensors. BELFAST AGENDA’S PRIORITIES TO 2021 21 9 9146 The Belfast Agenda V 28 (o).indd 21 10/08/2017 16:06 A SELECTION OF THE TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION CENTRES IN BELFAST TECHNICAL CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE PUBLIC AND THIRD SECTOR 1. QUB Administrative Data Research Centre NI 22. Digital Catapult 2. QUB Centre for Secure Information Technologies 23. Innovation Lab, DofF 3. QUB Centre for Statistical Science and 24. NICVA Detail Data and ODI Belfast Operational Research 25. NISRA 4. QUB Sonic Arts Research Centre 5. UU Cognitive Analytics Research Lab 6. UU Connected Health Innovation Centre EXAMPLE TECH COMPANIES 7. UU Living Labs 26. Analytics Engines 27. BT START UP SPACES AND INNOVATION CENTRES 28. Deloitte 29. Fujitsu 8. Belfast Met’s E3 30. IBM 9. Blick Studios 31. Intel 10. Catalyst Inc 32. Kainos 11. E-Spark 33. Rapid7 12. FabLab 34. See.Sense 13. Farset Labs 14. Innovation Factory 15. Oh Yeah Music Centre 16. Ormeau Business Park 17. Ormeau Baths Gallery 18. PWC / Google Hive Lab 19. Startplanet NI 20. The Foundry 21. Weaver’s Court 10 7 6 5 23 30 24 22 12 10 2 31 19 14 15 8 20 11 33 27 18 29 1 13 21 17 16 34 28 32 3 9 26 4 25 11 Evidence suggests that while individual smart GUIDING PRINCIPLES city projects can certainly contribute to improving outcomes for residents, their impact is often piecemeal. If we want to achieve our ambition of harnessing innovation, technology and data science to contribute to the success of the Belfast Agenda, there is broad consensus that the city must adopt the following principles: 1. A FOCUS ON OUTCOMES FOR CITIZENS 5. BUILD-AS-YOU-GO DATA INFRASTRUCTURE Belfast’s smart city projects will not be Any emerging city data infrastructure will technology-led. Instead they will demonstrate develop incrementally through the delivery of the ability to make positive contributions to the challenge-focussed projects. economic, social and environmental outcomes described in the Belfast Agenda. This outcomes- 6. AN OPEN ECOSYSTEM based approach is also in line with the Northern Data and infrastructure from different projects Ireland Programme for Government. will be open and inter-operable to create an open ecosystem that allows innovation from lots 2. DEMAND-LED INNOVATION of sources. Innovative solutions will be shaped by user- centred design sensitively applied in the context 7. DIGITAL AND DATA PROJECTS of Belfast’s complex social geography. Smart city projects will pursue opportunities in digital and data technologies that can improve 3. PARTNERSHIP AND COLLABORATION outcomes for citizens. There is a strong appetite Projects and framework governance will be among key partners to unlock innovation, based on a collaborative approach with city through digital and data projects.