This week has been a true week, that has lived up to the “i” in our shortened name of LCRIG: “innovation”. It’s easy to forget that LCRIG’s genesis was around innovation, and this week has been all about innovation for me.
On Tuesday, it was brilliant to see that the guidance has now been released for the ITMF Fund. The ITMF fund is a £20 million DfT challenge fund to deploy advanced technology for traffic signals, making use of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to optimise traffic flow and balance traffic across wider areas. I have been lucky to see this guidance as its developed and written, as part of the policy support role I have with the Transport Technology Forum, But now that it’s out, I am looking forward to seeing the innovative projects that councils, suppliers and SMEs put forward.
Another part of this week for me has been planning our new annual LCRIG Innovation Report. I have mentioned (either in my weekly Vlogs or previous “View from the Top”) that as an organisation, we are in the privileged position to be hearing and seeing innovation across the sector – with over 115 Councils as Members, 27 Partner Members, 9 Academia Members and 160 Associate Members, it was only going to be a matter of time before we curated our knowledge and insights into a wider piece. That being said, Karla (in my team) and I hadn’t quite envisioned just the wealth of data and information we can draw on! A nice problem to have…..I think!
This week was also the first LCRIG Infrastructure Innovation Board for 2024, Chaired by Ian Large at Blackpool Council. The Board has been in operation for a few years and has been very successful to date. But this year, we’ve strengthened the existing membership of Councils, RSTA, Geoplace, Utilities representatives, National Highways, DfT and others, with two new Councils on the Board, Reading Council and Central Bedfordshire, and the AIA. This year, the Board will be playing a greater role in how we share the innovations to the wider sector, an increased role in helping with the success of the Innovation and Learning Festival, along with helping to source innovative ideas/innovators at the Festival.
Also this week, myself and one of our LCRIG board colleagues, Dwayne Lowe from Bolton Council, continued our meetings with Universities to identify new products that can be showcased. We have had a series of these meetings now, and we are excited at the possibilities that we’ve heard about and how these can be brought to the Festival.
Finally, I was very happy to take part in one of our Associate Member’s webinar this week. They are rightly proud of their innovations, and I do love this part of my job where I am invited by Associate Members to hear and see innovative products and services.
So, all in all, an innovation themed week and an exciting one at that!!
Paula Claytonsmith, Chief Executive