Centre for People-Led Digitalisation wins share of £10m government funding
Centre for People-Led Digitalisation (P-LD) of the University of Bath has been awarded a share of £10 million in funding from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and is now set to carry out new research to explore ‘whole systems’ approaches to reaching net zero carbon emissions across the UK.
The research centre will work with organisations such as Bath and North East Somerset Council to look into how carbon-saving changes can be made. Partners from the University of Sheffield, Strathclyde, and Loughborough will work with the P-LD team to take a people-led approach focused on systems enabling businesses, local councils and industries to decarbonise quickly.
Four test cases will be undertaken to, with those being; the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority – Dounreary, Bath and North East Somerset – Decarbonisation of office builds, Bath and North East Somerset – Mobility as a Service (MaaS), and Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub (CARMA) – Novel food production.
Using a system approach means looking at a problem or situation as a whole in a holistic manner, rather than focusing on individual parts in a reductionist way. The complex challenge of net zero will bring in researchers from areas including; energy, environment, engineering, economics, law and policy, and social sciences.
Professor Linda Newnes, who leads the Centre for People-Led Digitalisation, said: “We are eager to begin this project and set to work alongside some great partner organisations, as test cases to explore how they can unlock the benefits of putting people at the heart of decisions being taken in the road toward net zero.”
In each test case, the People-Led net zero team will look to make useable models for employees to be empowered by. These systems will enable decision-makers across a raft of industries to be aware of the impacts of transitioning towards a net zero operation would entail, allowing effective and fair outcomes.
Newnes added: “Once the test cases are complete, we will share our learnings to help businesses, industries and organisations across the UK and beyond enact positive change.”
Professor Louise Heathwaite, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) executive chair and UKRI executive champion for building a green future, said: “The journey towards net zero carbon emissions is one of our most urgent and complex national challenges, so it’s important to understand the effects at a systems level of the many different component parts working together, for example, avoiding planting trees where the carbon store in the soil at depth is already stable.”
UKRI’s latest investment via its ‘Building a Green Future’ strategic theme, aiming to accelerating the green economy by supporting research and innovation that delivers on national priorities and unlocks solutions to achieve net zero by 2050.
Heathwaite added: “Through these projects UKRI aims to drive outputs that support a just, prosperous, sustainable and resilient net zero transition, removing barriers to interventions whilst at the same time avoiding unintended consequences.”
