Innovating organisational relationships to support co-production and co-operation in

planning for climate change

Dr Rob Wilson, Senior LecturerBusiness School

Centre for Knowledge Innovation Technology and Enterprise (KITE)

Newcastle UniversityRob.Wilson@ncl.ac.uk

Newcastle Living Lab• Historical roots early framework programmes which

created ‘middleware’ and the Arizona State University ‘Decision Theatre concept.

• Most recent iteration from the problem of organisations attempting to collaborate around tackle ‘wicked’ problems (e.g. Child Protection, Street Crime, Care of Older People) – FP,

• Projects focussed on helping organisations to understand the complexities of the problem and in turn move toward innovating their relationships (see Wilson et al. 2012)

Presenting Problem

• Climate change is coming – however responses and activity require innovations in collaboration

• Local Authorities in England have a statutory duty to create a local plan around climate change adaptation.

• Newcastle City Council were struggling to engage partners (e.g. colleagues, communities, health services, business sector)

• Discussions began with University Geomatics department who had developed a Flood Model of Newcastle and KITE who had developed.

Event 1: ‘The Storm’

• This event explored the citywide impacts of a 1 in a 100 year storm event in Newcastle upon Tyne. The scenario comprised both strong winds and intense rainfall impacting upon transport infrastructure and service, power supply, schools, hospitals, residential and commercial properties, and began to explore the inter-connected and long-term implications of decisions by participating organisations. Stakeholders included: Newcastle City Council, Environment Agency, Newcastle Primary Care Trust and Climate North East.

• The theatre consisted of four screens. Screen 1 presented the storm as it passed over the city.

• Screen 2 described the scenario and the impacts occurring through time. It also displayed interactive buttons that enabled different layers of information to be shown on screens 3 and 4.

• Screens 3 and 4 showed maps of the city at two different scales. Both highlighted the impacts on various infrastructure and services during the duration of the weather event.

• Participants considered whether a local bridge, which is frequently closed due to high winds, could be adapted. or indeed whether a replacement might ultimately be more reliable and a cheaper option.

• Subsequent discussions focused on flooding issues in the city centre and the impact upon a range of council services, local businesses, transport and access to the city’s hospital. This led to a more informed discussion and prioritisation of adaptation options. The debate led to the co-creation of the second event.

Newcastle in the ‘storm’

Event 2

• Development of tools to present maps of depths of surface water flooding for both a 30 minute and 60 minute, 1 in 100 year rainfall event.

• A range of policy options including adding permeable or impermeable surfaces and the introduction of roof storage.

• Stakeholders were able to interact with the tool directly to explore these options. Debate focused around the impact and co-benefits of alternative adaptation approaches, alongside discussion around the innovative business models required to implement these new infrastructures.

Reviewing the options for adaptation

Supporting Innovation in Relationship and Decision-Making Processes

• Living Lab

• Stakeholder interaction

• Research-informed decision

making

• Co-development of research

Conclusions

• Role of the ‘Living Lab’ twofold– Initiating a understanding of the problem between

organisations – supporting the development of partnership through shared ‘sensemaking’ processes

– Supporting the accessibility and application of government policy and scientific data – grounding it in the ‘real’ world of options appraisal and decision-making

Then it happened for real...’Montoon’