Agenda item

(Mrs. D. Colville, City Innovation Manager, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report/Summary of Main Issues

1.1       To update the Committee on progress on the ‘UK-Republic of Korea Innovation Twins’ programme, which is being delivered by the Connected Places Catapult to encourage SMEs to develop their capacity to sell innovative products and services both locally and internationally. Belfast and the South Korean city of Sejong were chosen to work together to explore options for bi-lateral trade and innovative collaboration.

1.2       The report seeks Committee approval for the Lord Mayor (or her nominee) to attend the programme’s virtual Innovation Demo Day on 30th March, where the Lord Mayor has been requested to sign a ‘Statement of Intent’ between both cities’ local authorities.

1.1             As the event is taking place during an Election period, the Committee is asked to agree that the Deputy Chief Executive attend the event in the Lord Mayor’s place and provisionally agree a Statement of Intent subject to Committee approval. (The details of the signatory need to be confirmed with Connected Places Catapult by the end of February.)

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked:

1.     to note progress on the UK-Republic of Korea Innovation Twins programme;

2.     to agree that the Deputy Chief Executive will attend the event on the Lord Mayor’s behalf and provisionally agree a Statement of Intent; and

3.     to note that a further report will be presented to the Committee in March providing final details of the Demo Day and Statement.

3.0       Main Report

3.1       At the Committee meeting in November, Members were presented with details of the Council’s participation in the ‘UK-Republic of Korea Innovation Twins’ programme[1] which was set up by the Connected Places Catapult (CPC) and funded by BEIS and UKRI. The programme aims to build relationships between smart cities with high potential for accelerating long term R&I collaborations and generating opportunities for trade and FDI.

3.2       The programme has a number of phases with a first ‘research and evidence gathering’ phase now complete. The current phase is looking at improving the delivery of innovations in both cities and, at the local level, involves the Council’s City Innovation Team, Enterprise and Business Growth unit, Invest NI, and Innovation City Belfast.

3.3       The work strands of the project (which are being supported by CPC and PA Consulting) include:

1.     Ongoing high-level engagement between Belfast and Sejong working towards signing a Statement of Intent between both cities on 30 March 2022.

While not legally binding, this statement will support ongoing collaboration and discussions between both cities. And make it possible to unlock further funding from BEIS post March 2022. This statement will require ongoing commitment from Invest NI who are currently considering their level of support. They are in the process of developing a presence in South Korea.

2.     A £25,000 pilot with Belfast City Council to support a Litter Analytics solution. This will deploy IoT hardware and predictive algorithms to indicate when street bins need emptied. The pilot will inform how routes can be optimised for waste management and help understanding of future procurement of street bins including the need for recycling bins.

3.     The delivery of a Belfast innovation competition which will provide seven local SMEs with £10,000 each to develop and show-case their most innovative product or service.

Selected by a panel made up of PA Consulting, Jacobs and Connected Places Catapult, the seven SMEs will showcase a range of products that relate to areas such as fitness hubs, virtual tourism, community rewards programmes, last mile delivery, safer cycling, and personal safety. The participating SMEs will also receive training in successfully engaging in challenge-led competitions with the public sector.

4.     Training for council officers to build their capacity to define challenges and to engage with SMEs on collaborative innovation and procurement.

5.     The development of an ‘Innovative Procurement Playbook’ which will capture the learning from the full programme and support local councils to find better ways to procure more innovative solutions and services.

6.     The delivery of the international ‘Demo Day’ scheduled for 30 March 2022.

This virtual event will involve officers from both cities, BEIS, the Department of International Trade, Innovate UK, Connected Places Catapult, and The UK Embassy in South Korea. Full details to be confirmed at the Committee meeting in March.

            Financial and Resource Implications

            The programme requires officer time commitment from across the Departments.

            Equality or Good Relations Implications / Rural Needs Assessment

            None.”

            The Committee adopted the recommendations.