projects

Innovation Places Leadership Academy – Cohort 2

Building on the success of our pilot with leaders from Aberdeen, Portsmouth and Hull, the second IPLA cohort began in April 2024 with a focus on enhancing investment in regional innovation and infrastructure in selected UK city regions.Building on the success of our pilot with leaders from Aberdeen, Portsmouth and Hull, the second IPLA cohort began in April 2024 with a focus on enhancing investment in regional innovation and infrastructure in selected UK city regions.

Participants benefit from collaborating with peers facing similar opportunities and challenges, sharing experiences and empowering growth in their regions.  The common objective is to align economic and investment strategies for each area, and empowered the to implement them. 

The programme is built around a series of immersive regional gatherings, during which participants gain: 

  • Input from globally recognised experts in systems leadership, FDI, and inclusive innovation  
  • Bespoke diagnostic of each participating city region’s innovation ecosystem, based on our City Pathways Typologies data tool  
  • Candid insights on other cities’ innovation assets and strategic developments via walking tours  
  • Opportunities to convene and mobilise wider regional stakeholders through VIP dinners and bilateral sessions  
  • Applied learning to promote reflection, personal development and practical action  
  • International showcasing and learning opportunities by attending the Smart Cities Expo World Congress in Barcelona.  

Participating organisations

Learn more about Cohort 1.

Learn more about the Innovation Places Leadership Academy.

projects

Innovation Places Leadership Academy – Cohort 1

The first Innovation Places Leadership Academy cohort ran from October 2021 to July 2023 with leaders from Aberdeen, Portsmouth and Hull.

Participants spent time with peers facing similar challenges to their own, with the objective of becoming more aligned around economic and investment strategies for their areas – and becoming empowered to implement them. 

Through a series of immersive regional gatherings, the cohort benefitted from:   

  • Input from globally recognised experts in systems leadership, scale up-support and inclusive innovation;   
  • A bespoke diagnostic of their local innovation ecosystem, drawing on insights from our City Pathways Typologies data tool;   
  • Walking tours with candid insights on each participating city’s innovation assets and strategic developments;   
  • Opportunities to convene and mobilise wider stakeholders through VIP dinners and networking events;   
  • Action learning and 1-2-1 coaching to promote reflection and personal development;   
  • International networking and inspiration by attending the Urban Futures Global Summit in Stuttgart. 

Hear from the cohort

“Through IPLA I have really gained a deeper understanding of my personal agency and grown in personal resilience and mindset to navigate change.”
Louise Smith, Director – Aura Innovation Centre, University of Hull
“It was so reassuring to hear that others are grappling with similar challenges and discovering different approaches to common problems. I found the masterclasses first rate and would highly recommend the programme to other place leaders.” 
Derek Shaw, Director of Innovation and Place, Scottish Enterprise

Jennifer Craw, CEO, Opportunity North East

“I appreciated the insights and knowledge from others on the programme; I realised that many of the opportunities and challenges are the same. The opportunity to share experiences, discuss issues and challenges and get input from other place leaders was invaluable.” 
Jane Lamer, Head of Economic Development and Skills, Portsmouth City Council

Read more from the cohort

A woman with gray hair and glasses sits at a table with a notebook, pen, and tea set, smiling. She is wearing a black top with a beige vest—clearly focused on her small business support plans.
Article

Portsmouth: powering ahead with promoting small businesses

Cities with ambitious plans to regenerate and create new economic opportunities are coming together to share their ideas in a new Innovation Places Leadership Academy, convened by Connected Places Catapult. In the third of a three-part series about participating cities selected as ‘places of potential’, we focus on Portsmouth and its academy representative Jane Lamer.
A man in a navy suit and polka-dot tie stands indoors, smiling confidently, showcasing his Aberdeen skills with a blurred painting in the background.
Article

Aberdeen: adapting old skills to new challenges

Cities with ambitious plans to regenerate and create new economic opportunities are coming together to share their ideas in a new Innovation Places Leadership Academy, convened by Connected Places Catapult. In the second of a three-part series about participating cities selected as ‘places of potential’, we focus on Aberdeen and its academic representative Professor Peter Edwards.
Three women engage in conversation at an indoor event. One wears a patterned top, another a blue blouse with a lanyard, and the third a red jacket. A person in the background appears slightly out of focus.
Article

Hull: Helping businesses go green

Cities with ambitious plans to regenerate and create new economic opportunities are coming together to share their ideas as part of a new Innovation Places Leadership Academy, convened by Connected Places Catapult. In the first of a three-part series about participating cities selected as ‘places of potential’, we focus on Hull and its academy representative Louise Smith.

Learn more about Cohort 2.

Learn more about the Innovation Places Leadership Academy.

opportunities

Rhaglen Sbarduno Datgarboneiddio Trafnidiaeth gydag Awdurdodau Lleol

Y dyddiad cau ar gyfer derbyn ceisiadau yw hanner nos ar 15 Medi 2024

Dyma’r rhaglen Sbarduno Datgarboneiddio Trafnidiaeth gydag Awdurdodau Lleol, i gefnogi busnesau bach a chanolig ac ardaloedd lleol i ddiwallu’r cyfleoedd a’r heriau a ddaw yn sgil ymrwymiadau sero net sy’n seiliedig ar leoedd.  Connected Places Catapult sy’n gyfrifol am y rhaglen a hynny rhwng mis Medi 2024 a mis Mawrth 2025, ac mae’n cael ei rhedeg ar y cyd â’r Awdurdodau Lleol a’r Corff Trafnidiaeth Is-genedlaethol canlynol:

  • Cynghorau Adur a Worthing
  • Cyngor Sir Caerdydd
  • England’s Economic Heartland

Mae’r pedwar partner wedi datblygu her benodol sy’n seiliedig ar leoedd. Gyda chefnogaeth Connected Places Catapult, bydd hyd at 2 fusnes bach a chanolig yn cael eu dewis i weithio ar y cyd â phob partner, a chael dealltwriaeth feirniadol a fydd yn eu galluogi i fireinio eu hatebion i fynd i’r afael â’r heriau a gynigiwyd sy’n seiliedig ar leoedd. Bydd busnesau bach a chanolig yn cael eu dewis ar sail pa mor gryf yw eu hatebion i’r heriau dan sylw, ac nid o reidrwydd pa mor agos yn ddaearyddol ydyn nhw at y partner.

Ar ôl asesu anghenion masnachol unigol y busnesau bach a chanolig, bydd Connected Places Catapult yn llunio rhaglen bwrpasol o gymorth masnachol sy’n canolbwyntio ar integreiddio yn y sector cyhoeddus. Gall hyn gynnwys y canlynol:

  • dadansoddi a dilysu’r farchnad
  • mireinio/datblygu achosion o ddefnydd penodol
  • cymorth i greu a mireinio modelau busnes
  • cyfathrebiadau a strategaethau masnachol wedi’u haddasu ar gyfer caffael cyhoeddus
  • datblygu strategaethau ‘Mynd i’r Farchnad’
  • cyflwyniadau i ddarpar gwsmeriaid a/neu fuddsoddwyr awdurdodau trafnidiaeth ac awdurdodau lleol.

Mae heriau’r rhaglen sbarduno a’r meini prawf cymhwysedd i’w gweld isod.

Gweminar Cymorth i Wneud Cais

Bydd Connected Places Catapult yn cynnal Gweminar Cymorth i Wneud Cais ar 21 Awst, rhwng 2 a 3pm. Bydd y digwyddiad hwn yn rhoi cyfle i ymgeiswyr gael rhagor o wybodaeth am yr hyn mae’r rhaglen yn ei gynnig, yr heriau, y broses ymgeisio, y meini prawf sgorio, a’r broses asesu. Hefyd, bydd sesiwn fyw o holi ac ateb ar gyfer darpar ymgeiswyr i ofyn unrhyw gwestiynau pellach neu i wirio a ydyn nhw’n gymwys.

Meini prawf cymhwysedd

Er mwyn bod yn gymwys, rhaid i ymgeiswyr:

  • fod yn fusnes micro, bach neu ganolig ei faint (BBaCh).
  • bod â swyddfa gofrestredig yn y DU.
  • cael atebion sy’n mynd i’r afael ag un neu fwy o’r heriau a nodwyd.
  • cael atebion ar lefel parodrwydd technoleg (TRL) 7 neu uwch. Mae hyn yn cyfateb i’r gofyniad sylfaenol bod yr atebion wedi cwblhau arddangosiad prototeip o’r dechnoleg mewn amgylchedd gweithredol a/neu wedi cymhwyso’r dechnoleg ei hun drwy gamau gweithredu llwyddiannus.
  • bod yn barod i deithio o bryd i’w gilydd ar gyfer cyfarfodydd wyneb yn wyneb (ond bydd y rhan fwyaf o’r rhaglen yn cael ei chynnal ar-lein)

Sut mae gwneud cais

Gwnewch gais drwy ddilyn y ddolen isod.

Y dyddiad cau ar gyfer derbyn ceisiadau yw hanner nos ar 15 Medi 2024.