At Highways UK this week, I was pleased to be part of a panel titled: Fostering collaboration to improve Local Roads. The panel facilitated by Ringway included colleagues from DfT, ADEPT, LGTAG, ARTSM and Transport for the Southeast. We discussed the importance of collaboration across not just the sector but between groups such as ourselves and others. I said that collaboration is not a passive activity, it’s a constant to make successful and when asked if collaboration restricts innovation I disagreed. For me collaboration and innovation are not mutually exclusive. Something we are very aware of as an organisation that grew out of councils working collaboratively together around innovation
We had many councils, DfT and supply chain at our shared stand with Transport Technology Forum (TTF), ADEPT and LGTAG talking to each other about a range of subjects including inflationary pressures, new ideas to reduce energy consumption, latest industry ideas and all driven to find ways to do things efficiently. The enthusiasm across all organisations is something we love to see, and many were still buoyant after Strictly Highways complimenting the event, agenda and the friendliness of the event. It was great to see so many of our member councils, partners, and associates such as Blackpool Council, Reading Council and others speaking on panels over the two days – a real demonstration of the passion to innovate and collaborate.
Last week, I met with a Cyber Security company, as part of my TTF policy advisory role. The company has been tasked with drawing up guidance on Cyber Security to accompany DfT’s Manual for Smart Streets. We talked about how LCRIG can support them to talk to councils about emerging issues for Cyber Security in an ever-increasing world of connectivity on our roads – we will keep members informed about this. Finally, we’ve added more council only places at the TTF Autumn Meeting on the 15th of November after extending room space.
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