Unity Lab / Urban Innovation Policy Lab

While UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) and its website are understandably busy preparing for the upcoming World Urban Forum #WUF, it is wonderful to see the Bosaso City Strategy now published on ReliefWeb. 📜✨ This comprehensive report is the outcome of a year-long effort that UN-Habitat Somalia Programme undertook with the Municipality of Bosaso, the State of Puntland and the Federal Goverment of Bosaso, with the support of IOM - UN Migration and UNDP Somalia under the Saameynta (“Impact” in Somali) Programme. It outlines a clear roadmap for the sustainable and inclusive growth of Bosaso, the booming economic hub of Puntland, Somalia. This strategy prioritizes #resilience, #livelihood enhancement, improved #infrastructure, and equitable #servicedelivery. It focuses on creating a secure environment where all residents, including #IDPs and displacement affected communities, can prosper, addressing key urban challenges through collaborative efforts and innovative solutions. Heartfelt gratitude to the Municipality of Bosaso, the State of Puntland, and the Federal Government of Somalia for their leadership and collaboration in shaping this strategy. Special thanks to our generous donors Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the Government of the Netherlands and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their continued support in making these efforts possible! 🤝💡 Link to Report in the first comment Sophos Sophianos Ishaku Maitumbi Sebastian May Grace Nyonyintono Lubaale, PhD Abdirahman Barkhadle Mohamoud Xasan Osman M. Osman Karel Boers Federica Acquaviva Nick Maddock Teresa Del Ministro Anna Sobczak Dyfed Aubrey Laura Bennison #UNHabitat #UrbanDevelopment #BosasoStrategy #Puntland #SustainableCities #durablesolutions #displacement #migration #development #somalia #newurbanagenda #agenda2030

Our colleague, Ioannis Lykouras, presents his exhibition 'Lifestyles' at this year's TAB Tallinn Architecture Biennale as part of the curatorial programme, representing LÜNK arhitektid OÜ 🏘 The theme of the 2024 Biennale, 'Resources for a #Future', finds a fitting contribution in the 'Lifestyles' project, which aligns with the first sub-theme: Social Intelligence. This work explores how #architecture can actively influence and cultivate #sustainable #lifestyles, examining domestic visions through case studies spanning the past century. Sincere thanks to the curators for organising such an inspiring exhibition and programme: Anhelina Starkova, Daniel A. Walser and Jaan Kuusemets. 📸 Exhibition photography by Tõnu Tunnel

We are delighted to share that in Summer 2025 the International Telecommunications Society will be hosting their annual European conference (#ITSEurope25) at Edinburgh Napier University. The Conference Committee, co-chaired by our Paolo Gerli with Jason Whalley and Dr. Volker Stocker, is inviting submissions of abstracts and panel proposals by 📅 December 6th. Check the full #call4paper 👇 https://bit.ly/3A5zuk0 The C4P covers a wide range of topics of great relevance for our community, including the impacts and applications of #ArtificialIntelligence in specific sectors, #smartcities and the #digitaltransformation of places, the role of #municipal and #regional governments in #digitaltransitions, and many others! Do consider submit your work to this conference, and let us know if you have any questions. We look forward to hosting you in Edinburgh! #UnityLab #EdinburghNapier #academicconference #digitaltransformation #researchimpact #smartcities #digitalinnovation #digitaltransitions #AI #bigdata

📢 Next week, our Director, Prof. Dr Luca Mora, will be delivering a presentation at the "Showcase - City-to-City Exchange" event, organised by the British Standards Institute BSI-KSA Institute as part of the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) General Meeting 2024. 📅 Join us at the EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE LIMITED on Monday, 21 October! During this event, Luca will present some of the latest findings from our research at Edinburgh Napier University on #SmartCityGovernance. Our team at Unity Lab / Urban Innovation Policy Lab has been collaborating with the United Nations over the past four years, gathering insights from 80 countries and more than 300 urban areas. This is a unique opportunity to explore the UN Playbook and smart city governance framework we recently published, providing strategic recommendations for local and regional governments. This year's event is particularly significant as BSI is hosting the IEC General Meeting in Scotland for the first time in 35 years, welcoming over 1,500 global industry experts to discuss the future of a #ConnectedSociety. A special thank you to our colleagues at BSI, Robbie McGregor and Andreea Brady (Vieru), for the invitation! Secure your spot here: https://lnkd.in/d3iV5WST #UnityLab #SmartCities #Governance #UrbanInnovation #TechnologicalInnovation #UrbanSustainability #CircularEconomy #IEC2024 #SmartCityStandards

📢 Next week I will be delivering a presentation at the "Showcase - City-to-City Exchange" event organized by BSI (British Standards Institute) during the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) General Meeting 2024. 📅 The event will take place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on Monday, 21 October! I hope to see many of you there! You can book your place here: https://lnkd.in/d3iV5WST 🌍 During the event, I will be sharing some of the latest findings from Edinburgh Napier University's research on #SmartCityGovernance. Our team at Unity Lab / Urban Innovation Policy Lab has spent the last four years working with the United Nations on this matter, gathering insights from 80 countries and 300+ urban areas. This is a great opportunity to present the UN Playbook and smart city governance framework that we recently published, highlighting key strategic recommendations for local and regional governments. This event is special because BSI is hosting the IEC annual General Meeting for the first time in 35 years, and they’ve brought it to #Scotland. We’ll welcome +1,500 global industry experts to discuss the future of a #ConnectedSociety. A huge thank you to BSI colleagues Robbie McGregor and Andreea Brady (Vieru) for the invitation! #UnityLab #SmartCities #Governance #TechnologicalInnovation #UrbanSustainability #CircularEconomy #UrbanInnovation #IEC2024 #SmartCityStandards

I've just returned from the Smart Cities in Smart Regions Conference, hosted at LAB University of Applied Sciences in #Lahti, as part of the European Commission's #EUCitiesWeek ⚪ 🔵 ⚪ I thoroughly enjoyed the insightful #keynotes, #presentations, #workshops, site visits and #matchmaking sessions. I'm also grateful for the opportunity to present a #research article that Luca Mora and I have been working on, in which we outline pathways for developing a stronger theoretical understanding of governing #SmartCity projects. Many thanks to all organisers and facilitators: LAB University of Applied Sciences, Lahden kaupunki / City of Lahti, Päijät-Hämeen liitto, Lahti University Campus, LUT University, buildingSMART Finland, Avans University of Applied Sciences & Forum Virium Helsinki FinEst Centre for Smart Cities Unity Lab / Urban Innovation Policy Lab

Recently, The British Academy released a series of discussion papers addressing a critical question for researchers and policymakers: What are the possibilities of a good digital society? Unity Lab member, Paolo Gerli, contributed to this series with a paper on community-led initiatives in the digital economy as a pathway to building a good digital society from the #grassroots. His paper explores three grassroots models - #CommunityNetworks, #PlatformCooperatives, and #DataCooperatives - and their role in the development and governance of digital services and infrastructures. It outlines both the strengths and challenges of each model and presents a research and policy agenda based on five key priorities: 📈 Strengthening empirical investigations and techno-economic analyses to map the development trajectories and long-term #impacts of grassroots digital innovations. 💭 Developing alternative #narratives that inspire and inform new grassroots practices in the digital economy. ⏭ Introducing policy and financial measures to support the growth and #upscale of promising grassroots initiatives. ⚖ Rethinking the dominant rhetoric of #neutrality in digital economy policymaking. 📣 Embedding grassroots models in public discourse and academic curricula to shape the governance of #digitaltransformation. This paper builds on nearly a decade of research on grassroots initiatives in the digital economy, from early work on community #broadband networks to recent studies on platform and data cooperatives. We are grateful to The British Academy for including Paolo's work in this insightful series. Read our full paper here ⤵ https://lnkd.in/duQWHmAJ Explore the full discussion series here ⤵ https://lnkd.in/eV6QxrbK #UnityLab #BritishAcademy #EdinburghNapier #DigitalSociety #GrassrootsInnovation #PlatformCoops #DataCoops #DigitalTransition #CollectiveIntelligence #CommunityDevelopment #UrbanInnovation

Last month, Unity Lab / Urban Innovation Policy Lab member Dr Fabio Neves da Rocha participated in the 7th Workshop on Information Infrastructures at Esade Business School in Barcelona. This prestigious event brought together leading scholars to examine the complexities of information systems, ranging from their technical foundations to the organisational and governance challenges they pose. The workshop provided a unique opportunity to engage with in-depth research at the intersection of technology, policy, and industry. Co-authored by Prof. Dr Neil Pollock and Prof. Dr Luca Mora, Fabio presented their research about innovation orchestration in infrastructural digital platforms. #DigitalTransformation #Innovation #InformationSystems #TechnologyPolicy #DigitalPlatforms #Research #AcademicResearch #InnovationOrchestration #Infrastructures #IndustryCollaboration #Governance #UnityLab #EsadeBusinessSchool #Barcelona #Workshops

Last week, Paolo Gerli joined the Expert Group Meeting of the Expert Working Group supporting UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) in the development of the international guidelines on people-centred smart cities (https://lnkd.in/dwc5n4th). On behalf of our team, Paolo presented the preliminary findings of the UN World Smart City Outlook, an assessment of current trends, impacts, challenges and opportunities in the development of people-centred #SmartCities. The presentation was very well received by the experts and was followed by a rich and insightful exchange of views on global and regional trends in #SmartCity development. Our team is now in the process of finalising the Outlook to include the results of the call for #bestpractices that was launched last summer. The official launch of the Outlook is also coming soon - stay tuned for more updates! #UnityLab #EdinburghNapier #SmartCityDevelopment #PeopleCentredSmartCities #UrbanInnovation #DigitalTransformation #SustainableDevelopment

Congratulations Sara Thabit, Alessandro Sancino & Luca Mora for this new article on strategic #PublicValue #governance just published in Public Administration Review (PAR)! Check it out, it is open access! https://lnkd.in/gmpvVrKC