October News
Dear Friends,
We hope this finds you in good health. It is a pleasure to share our latest newsletter with topics that we think will be of interest to you.
The Resilience Brokers team are excited about working collaboratively towards fairer, healthier, more climate-resilient places and livelihoods and we love co-developing new opportunities with our friends and colleagues.
If you have comments, questions, suggestions or would like to collaborate with Resilience Brokers, get in touch with us
Resilience Brokers at COP26 Glasgow
Resilience Brokers’ chair, Peter Head, and community manager, James Green, will both be in Glasgow next week for COP26 (2021 UN Climate Change Conference) to attend and participate in a range of events and to join the ‘It’s Time to Pivot’ panel discussion on 6th November (see next item below).
Peter and James will be attending and following events in-person and virtually across the Blue and Green zones; however, as with past COPs, there is expected to be lively and compelling action happening across ‘fringe’ events. We would like to highlight events that are of interest to us and may be of interest to you – check out our
COP 26 Trello board.
Both Peter and James would love to connect with any friends of Resilience Brokers who will also be in Glasgow as we take part in this important moment in the global climate conversation – do reach out to Peter and James via Twitter or send an email here.
‘It’s Time to Pivot’ – COP26 event (Saturday, 6th Nov.)
We are delighted to be joining the ‘It’s Time to Pivot‘ event, as part of Malin Group’s COP26 spotlight series. Our chair, Peter Head, and community manager, James Green, will join the guest panel to discuss the need to pivot to a sustainable future, and Resilience Brokers and Pivot Projects activity setting up and supporting the Exeter Living Lab. The event will be led by respected writer, filmmaker, and Pivot Projects member Stephen Hamm, author of The Pivot: Addressing Global Problems Through Local Action (Columbia University Press, Nov. 2021), which follows the journey of Pivot Projects. Additional speakers include Mandekh Hussein (lecturer, Brunel University) and Damian Costello (Decode Innovation).
The event, which can be joined in-person or online, explores Pivot Projects’ potential for diverse collaborations of people from around the world to use systems thinking and modelling and AI-based research tools to help communities become more sustainable and to help guide policymakers.
Hosted at the iconic South Rotunda, just meters from the official COP summit blue and green zones, the event will enable anyone who is interested to contribute to the discussion and help shape the future of society.
Registration for the online or in-person event can be found here.
Innovate UK feasibility study – Kenya
We have been awarded funding by Innovate UK through their ‘Global cooperation feasibility studies’ competition. The study ‘Data-driven finance for a sustainable Kenya’ will advance the development of Resilience Brokers’ integrated systems planning tools, such as resilience.io. These tools support businesses and local governments to plan and develop pipelines of projects in their area that can help them to meet their sustainable development objectives. Key objectives of this study include:
Building on promising high-level political interest in our tools in Kisumu County in Kenya where we will explore partners and clients, and develop implementation plans.
Investigating how data-driven integrated planning tools can be connected to sustainable investment to create a stronger business opportunity for cities and regions in Kenya and other parts of the world.
We look forward to sharing further updates on this when the study begins early in January 2022.
Exeter Living Lab extension
We have received funding to extend our work with the Exeter living Lab. This will allow us to work with the University of Exeter in supporting a new cohort of Global Systems Institute students with their studies by focussing on ‘live’ sustainability and resilience challenges. Resilience Brokers’ support will help facilitate the emergence of a cross-sectoral collaboration for the region to tackle local challenges in and around Exeter.
The Living Lab will continue to be used as an open innovation platform for local decision makers, organisations and communities; encouraging collaboration to identify local problems and to create, prototype and validate solutions. Technical expertise from the Pivot Projects team of global experts are available to support the Exeter Living Lab group in identifying new solutions to meet the region’s aims.
‘ACT on NBS’ webinar (18th Nov) and other updates
Save the date: ACT on NBS (Adaptive Cities Through Nature-Based Solutions) will be holding a post-COP webinar on 18th November. Special guests participating in COP26, together with ACT on NBS team members and cities, will reflect on the adaptation agenda in the context of nature-based solutions for a green recovery. Further details and registration will be available on the ACT on NBS Events page.
As we approach the end of the third year of the ‘ACT on NBS’ initiative of EIT Climate-KIC, the Resilience Brokers team looks forward to participating in and supporting workshops in the Thessaly Region of Greece (organised by Global Infrastructure Basel Foundation with the MAVA Foundation on 25th-26th November) and a final ACT on NBS workshop, likely to be held in the Netherlands in early December.
In case you missed them, recordings are available for two ‘Lightning Labs’ from September. These focused, short (c. 30-minute) knowledge-sharing sessions are intended for the ACT on NBS community, NBS-enthusiasts or anyone interested in learning more about nature-based solutions.
7th September – Lightning Lab 5 – Nieke Hoenjet presented her comparative research with Wageningen University on the technical aspects of implemented natural stormwater systems (NSTS) in three medium-sized Dutch cities.
30th September – Lightning Lab 6 – Philippe Chagnon, an SDG champion and municipal administrator from the town of Longvic (Dijon Metropolis, France), shared the story and fascinating social legacy of the NBS features of Longvic’s first eco-neighborhood, which was completed about a decade ago and where the interconnections between the social and environmental aspirations were at the core of the project.
Work We Love, and Recommend You Check Out
James and Stephen, alongside Pivot Projects friends, participated in the Dawson College-led Sustainable Happiness course. Thank you to Dr. Catherine O’Brien & Chris Adam for leading the cohort through the course.
Recent work on systems thinking: ‘Systems Convening: A crucial for of leadership for the 21st century’ (Centre for Public Impact book launch event, 8th Sep 2021); ‘Systems mapping: what to use when and why’ (Tatiana Fraser & Rachel Sinha, 23rd Sep 2021).
Right To Know (new digital tool developed by Centric Labs to support communities in discovering the environmental health trends of their area).
CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance (Global Indigenous Data Alliance).
‘No Place Left Behind: The Commission into Prosperity and Community Placemaking (Create Streets Foundation, 20th Sep 2021).
Public service innovation and the public entrepreneur’ (Ian Burbidge, RSA Lab, 31st Aug 2021).
Featured Image found on Unsplash by Francesco Gallarotti