Empowering Communities with Smart Solutions: Unlocking Sustainability and Prosperity
Place-leaders today face a formidable challenge. They bear the responsibility for the sustainability, resilience, quality of life, and prosperity of their communities, all while grappling with limited resourcesāboth in terms of funding and expertise. Meeting these demands requires innovative solutions that are not only cost-effective but also capable of driving real, tangible impact.
Introducing Smart3: Smart Solutions for Communities and Places
Smart3, or “Smart Solutions for Communities and Places”, is a groundbreaking initiative poised to revolutionize the way we address these pressing challenges. Developed through a partnership between the Future Towns Innovation Hub at the University of Southampton, KnowNow and Enterprise M3 LEP. Smart3 equips place-leaders with the tools and methodologies they need to create transformative projects that enhance sustainability, resilience, quality of life, and prosperity in their communities.
How Smart3 Can Make a Difference
At its core, Smart3 empowers place-leaders to harness the power of a standards-based approach, setting out a practical framework to drive impactful change. Here’s how Smart3 is set to make a real difference:
- Smart Thinking: Identifying Transformational Opportunities
Smart3 starts by fostering visionary thinking, encouraging place-leaders to identify opportunities for transformative change within their communities. It’s about envisioning a brighter future and understanding how to get there.
- Smart Practices: From Vision to Reality
Turning visions into reality is where Smart3 truly shines. It guides place-leaders in developing projects that bring smart solutions to life while minimizing risks and ensuring alignment with broader future goals. This means practical, actionable projects that drive real change.
- Smart Measurement: Ensuring Impact and Learning
To be truly effective, Smart3 incorporates measurement and evaluation throughout project lifecycles. This not only ensures successful delivery but also supports effective communication and learning, paving the way for future projects to be even more impactful.
Leveraging PAS184: Your Path to Success
PAS184 from the British Standards Institution provides structured guidance that forms the backbone of Smart3. PAS184 doesn’t just provide guidance; it offers practical, real-world examples and advice to help you create compelling and robust business cases for smart community projects.
Through Smart3, Future Towns Innovation Hub is offering support for organisations embracing the approach outlined in PAS184. In addition, we are actively working on building the capacity of experienced practitioners to facilitate the widespread adoption of PAS184. Our methodology involves integrating lessons learned from various project assessments and creating an ever-growing library of case studies. This initiative aims to enrich the broader innovation ecosystem in the region by contributing valuable insights and experiences.
Unlock the Power of Smart3: Free Training and Assessments
The Future Towns Innovation Hub is excited to offer free training and assessments using PAS184 throughout February and March 2024. Whether you represent a public, private, or third-sector organization seeking a framework for smart solution proposals or are interested in training alongside experienced local practitioners to conduct assessments, Smart3 has something valuable to offer.
For more information, including details on the training timetable, time commitments, and more, please contact us at futuretowns@soton.ac.uk