THINKlab were asked to exhibit at the launching of the Greater Manchester Digital Blueprint, a citywide initiative organised by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) which aims to help the city region’s residents lead healthier and happier lives.

The event set out a refreshed digital strategy blueprint for Greater Manchester for the next three years and included key speakers Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, Elise Wilson, Councillor and Leader of Stockport Council, Lou Cordwell, OBE and CEO of Magnetic North and Sarah Todd, Chief Executive of Trafford Council.

THINKlab showcased their recently launched MOBILISE digital platform and the work they have undertaken with the Environment Agency, namely two resilience based digital platforms which enable multi-agency collaborative working and which are aligned to the Blueprint’s five digital priorities. The digital platforms were presented on high performance equipment which allowed the team to fully engage with delegates and demonstrate how the design of the platforms build city resilience and sustainability with their partners and stakeholders.  

Director of THINKlab, Professor Terrence Fernando, said: “We’re delighted to be involved with this key event for Greater Manchester. Creating sustainable cities requires a stronger collaboration between a range of public and private sector organisations to ensure cities are safer, healthier, and are intelligent and prosperous places for citizens to experience an enhanced quality of life. We have developed a range of novel technology platforms that will allow public and private organisations in a city to utilise the power of their data intelligence to make collective evidence-based decisions to address the challenges faced by cities.

THINKlab have an experienced R&D team who can develop customised technology platforms for bringing city information into a discussion space through advanced visualisation and interaction technologies. The team have further extended the toolset available within these platforms to improve disaster resilience and help tackle the climate change challenges in different parts of the world.”

Tuesday 22 October 2019, 15:00 to 17:30 (followed by informal networking)

System Dynamics professionals discuss modelling for Northern Decisions

Old Fire Station G05 (Council Chamber)

In a complex world making good decisions is difficult. Creating models, whether qualitative or quantitative, improves our understanding of complex situations enabling us to make better informed decisions. Systems Thinking (ST) and System Dynamics (SD) approaches can be used for qualitative and quantitative modelling. For example, SD can be used to map the cause and effect relationships that drive performance and then project their behaviour over time using computer simulation. The presentations at this event will describe instances where ST and SD based approaches have, and are, being used in the North.

Presentations include:

‘A polycentric pan-Northern economy – modelling economic transformation through transport connections.’ Jack Snape, Transport for the North.

‘Applying System Dynamics to support strategic decision making within the Nuclear Sector.’ Dr Siôn Cave, President of the UK Chapter / Decision Analysis Service Ltd.

‘Whaley Bridge Dam Emergency: How SD can help Decision Makers understand Evacuation Behaviour.’ Hisham Tariq, THINKLab, University of Salford.

‘Public Sector Integration – Understanding and monitoring complex pathways.’ Leo Wall, Kasia Noone, Paul Holme, Manchester City Council.

The event is FREE through advanced registration.

15.00:    Arrival

15.30:   Presentations and discussion

17.00:   Networking

19.00:   Close

For more information about the event

The Old Fire Station G05 (Council Chamber) is located opposite the Peel Park Campus and located on the main road (A6 / Chapel Street). For more information and directions.

We are delighted to welcome Professor Marie-Christine Therrien from Montreal’s École Nationale d’administration publique and Cité-ID LivingLab, to the THINKlab for a very special event.

Taking place on Thursday 11 October 2018, Professor Marie-Christine will deliver a unique lecture on “Implementation of Urban Resilience Governance and Social Capital” which focuses on projects in Montreal and London.

Professor Marie-Christine Therrien is a Management Professor at the École Nationale d’administration publique, which is one of the largest public administration universities in the world. Since its creation in 1969, it has positioned itself as a leader in the renewal of a modern and effective public administration in Quebec and overseas. It has set the standard in this field, in both academic and practitioner communities.

As a Director of The Cité-ID Living Lab in Urban Resilience Governance, the organisation is a collaborative initiative that brings together individuals from across Canada and around the world working on urban resilience. It brings together city managers to private enterprises, non-profit organisations, citizens and academic researchers and is an incubator for new inter-sectoral evidence-based approaches and innovative practices in urban resilience.

In the presentation, there will be a discussion on two projects underway.  The first is a project looking at enabling strategies and hindering factors in urban resilience implementation by comparing the cities of Montreal and London.  The second project looks at identifying enabling factors in two Montreal neighbourhoods to develop social capital as a way to increase resilience to disasters.

The event takes place from 11.00am – 12.00pm (inc Q&A session) on Thursday 11 October 2018, in the THINKlab, 7th Floor, Maxwell Building.

If you would like to attend this presentation (open to all) please book in via this Eventbrite link https://www.eventbrite.com/e/implementation-of-urban-resilience-governance-and-social-capital-tickets-50961838230