Core responsibilities:​

• Tasked with legal and financial responsibilities: ensures funding is secured, manages innovation selection process, allocation of funds
• Accountable for the budget, time and quality of deliverables of the scheme (such as trial reports etc)​
• Owns the relationship between SIZ and the SME​
• Provides the funding and requirements framework of SIZ to the SME​
• Needs to tie into the vision and stakeholder management to help shape year to year strategy

The SIZ needs a committed sponsor that can engage with multiple internal and external stakeholders to build a collaborative alliance around the aims of the SIZ. The sponsor can formalise this through regional and national governance.

Core responsibilities:​

• Accountable for the benefits of the programme​: initial focus may be on getting trials running which will need to evolve to demonstrating value from trialing new ideas in the wider industry context
• The client representative within NR and accountable for building an effective team to support SIZ​
• Identifies and articulates the links between strategy and wider programmes​
• Identifies and capitalises on wider commercial and strategic opportunities​
• Supports Testbed Manager ​
• Ensure senior leadership support:
  • When trialling new ideas, it is likely there will be challenges and problems that are new and novel to the station and the wider business. Due to the public nature of stations, some of these challenges can present additional complexities and sensitivities. Support from Regional Executive team can assist the trials in several ways – from bringing a wealth of experiences to help resolve issues, provide effective challenge to the team before issues escalate, and provide leadership and air cover for when times get tough … and they will! ​
• Ensure wider industry involvement throughout the SIZ – e.g., RDG, GBR, RSSB.

​Core responsibilities:​

• Keep as many people informed as possible, at all levels. The more people feel involved, then more positive engagement will be seen 
• Has a strategic, non-operational role​
• Marketing​
• Networking with wider ecosystem ​
  and stakeholder network​
• Informs public of SIZ activities and trials​ and engages in conversations

Core responsibilities:​

• Accountable for the effective undertaking of trials in the station​
• Maintains technical overview of the trials: Ability to oversee all aspects of the implementation of trials within the station environment, covering safe installs and minimising impacts to staff and passengers 
• Direct contact for those trialling their solution at the station
• Manages the National Operating Procedure (safety form for working at stations) NOP and compliance of trials with station procedures​
• Coordinate and liaise with wider NR & TOC teams to help shape and support SME trials​
• Identify efficient delivery opportunities with wider station works portfolio​: Ability to work with any projects that re occurring at the station. This can help with utilising the Principal Contractors to undertake certain works, potentially reducing costs and ensuring safe working practices

• Heads up the Steering Group 
• Direct liaison of Station manager 
• Has significant knowledge station working requirements to help/advise innovation providers (e.g., SMEs) who are trialing. If not, station manager needs to be part of steering group
• Prescence at the station is essential. Getting to know the staff and maintaining friendly professional relationships – remote meetings are often less successful than in-person meetings
• Provides the SIZ with assurance that legal and corporate obligations have been covered

​The station manager role is required, if the testbed manager is not familiar with the station. They ensure tie in with the station. (If testbed manager is familiar with the station, the station manager does not need to be part of the steering group. The testbed manager will ensure close contact with station manager outside of steering group.)

Core responsibilities:​

• Accountable for the safe and effective management of the station​
• Responsible for day-to-day station operations ​
• Oversees effective resourcing, training, assurance and reporting activities​
• Assurance that station targets and objectives are met​
• Be aware of testbed activity and notify testbed manager of concerns

​Core responsibilities:​

• Accountable for achieving the operator’s targets and objectives are met​
• Responsible for communication across different organisational levels of the operator​
• Provides access to data, trends, commercial and market knowledge and insight where relevant for SIZ​
• Links TOC priorities and strategy for customer experience to the objectives of the SIZ.
• Responsible for linking SIZ with other TOC managed stations to ensure e.g., valid challenges.

Prepare

Work to ensure the trial is focused and refined enough to be successful (balance ambition and pragmatism)

• Is the tech actually ready to trial (or does it still require extensive development)?
• What barriers is the technology likely to have to overcome for installation? (Does it require additional space, tech, infrastructure, personnel, or approvals to enable trialling?)
• Ensure the trial is collecting sufficient data to measure trial success against objectives, and is compliant with data regulations
• Understand what regulations need to be met before a solution can be installed in the station

Running

Trialling of technology and installation at the station.

• Ensure users (passengers and station staff) are engaging meaningfully with the tech/trial
• Collect sufficient data to ensure successful Monitoring and Evaluation
• Ensure the SME has met all relevant requirements before the trial begins

Analyise

Analyse data to understand how well the innovation is performing success against trial objectives

• Are there any unintended consequences of the tech?
• Are there learnings about the innovation itself in addition to learnings about the impact of the innovation?

Evaluate

Use the analysed data to evaluate how the innovation has performed (technically) against the objectives and success factors determined in the preparation phase

• Evaluate whether the innovation is suitable for more extensive deployment at the station, or other stations.

Prepare

Understand which questions exist around the innovation in use at the station.

• Determine who the front-and back-end users are that need to be consulted, and recruit participants. • Do the questions differ across different user groups?
• Consider the best approaches reach out to the users to involve in trialling the innovation.

Running

Collect data in the form of feedback from specified users. Choose an appropriate approach to quantitative and/ or qualitative data collection.

Analyse

Understand the positive and negative experiences of the solutions in use, the impact that is therefore likely to have on the front- and back-end users. Applying quantitative or qualitative data analysis. approaches, in line with the data collection method.

Evaluate

Articulate well-balanced answers informed by the learnings from the analysis to answer the research questions posed at the start of the process.

•  What was the impact of the innovation against the challenge area? Did it (partway) achieve the positive change that was envisioned?
• Understand what changes may need to be made to improve the impact of the innovation.

Prepare

Prepare a business model for each innovation, focusing on viability of the innovation once it is deployed at the station.

• Who are the right teams/individuals to review the commercial viability of the innovation at the station?

Running

Work with NR’s procurement teams to review the potential routes to market.

• Explore the commercial offerings of the solution and how it can align with your model
• Explore what budget is available post trial.

Analyse

How have the commercial exploration discussions gone?

• Has the SME been able to find out enough information to assess if the model would be viable for both parties?

Evaluate

Evaluate the learnings gathered around the business model and potential routes to market.

• What is the overall verdict of experts in the field?
• What are barriers identified that need to be overcome for the solution to be ready for deployment in terms of viability?

A technology perspective assesses feasibility, and gives you insight into the efficiency of the solution.

Two main areas which need to be considered to assess the feasibility of the trial are:

1. Technology readiness
2. Station readiness

• Is the technology ready to be trialled, or does it still require extensive development?
• It is important to be realistic about the desired outcome for the technology from trialling in the station reflecting how well the technology is developed (pre-trial) and what success looks like (post-trial).

The success of the trial is party down to ensuring that the station is ready for the solution to be introduced, meeting relevant requirements.

• Increase knowledge of new technologies and how they can feasibly be trialled
• Grow your understanding of how stations can adapt to incorporate new innovations

As the technological feasibility is understood, it is important to ascertain whether the innovation is responding to a clear need.

A human-centred perspective assesses desirability, and gives you insight into the effectiveness of the solution.

People are a major factor in the success of innovation. A ‘human-centred’ perspective looks at understanding the impact and experience of the solution in use, including:

• The range of potential users
• The different contexts of use (use cases)
• Use in the ‘here and now’ and over time
• Identifying the different needs of those using the solution as end-users, and those running and maintaining the solutions for those end-users

Taking a human-centred perspective will:

• The range of potential users
• The different contexts of use (use cases)
• Use in the ‘here and now’ and over time
• Identifying the different needs of those using the solution as end-users, and those running and maintaining the solutions for those end-users

A commercial perspective assesses viability, and gives you insight into the affordability of the solution.

Throughout the trials, not only is it important to test that the solutions will feasibly work in the station context, but it is also an opportunity to explore how the commercial model would align with your own business and procurement routes.

• How does the trial plan align with your strategy?
• Does the commercial model align with how things usually work, if not, what other options are there?
• Are there possible pathways identified that can be integrated that could be integrated with the funding model of the SIZ? 
• Have procurement routes been made clear and does the supplier meet the requirements?

Collect an ample amount of robust data to extract useful findings from a trial. However, this data will not be useful unless you are able to extract meaning from it.

Through trialling, you aim to better understand the impact of innovations on the users and the system, and how effective the innovations are at achieving it. By taking the approach of continuous learning and regular feedback, you ensure the views of front- and back-end users of the solutions that you are trialling are heard. This will help the solutions be human centred and allow you to increase understanding of people’s needs at the station. Remember, this applies to station staff, maintenance & operations teams, and servicing suppliers as much as passengers and other station visitors.​

Prior to running a trial, define metrics which showcase a trial’s success. These need to be carefully considered to ensure they are achievable whilst also resulting in enough evidence to gain real insight from the trial. Conduct a needs assessment to determine the triallist’s capability to capture the data appropriately. Also make sure that data collected can describe the impact of the solution in a way that is meaningful to the rail industry (aligns with their measures of success).


Define these prior to trial commitments to allow comparison of trial results with initial expectations and adjust future practices for the discrepancy. Examples are:

• The number of participants included in a trial
• The amount of data produced, or people engaged, during the trial
• The desired response of trial subjects and testers (e.g., the public)
• Data which supports your existing commercial business model
• Data which supports the aims and objectives of key industry stakeholders
• Consider the balance between what different stakeholders want to monitor
• Set KPI’s and use benchmarks to do comparisons

Outputs will vary depending on what is being tested. Whilst quantified impacts are often the easiest to understand sometimes it will only be possible to collect qualitative data. The key outputs you should attempt to gain from monitoring and evaluation are views of:


• How well the trial went and what could have been improved,
• What barriers did the trial face and how were these overcome?
• Did any additional changes need to be made to the product/service being tested to conduct the trial?
• Was the testing rigorous enough to form a solid opinion from trial results?
• What were the positive/negative views of the product or service being tested?
• Did users or results match initial expectations or previous trial results?

The outcomes of a trial may increase confidence in buyers of innovations that the solutions have been tested in the station. Understanding existing monitoring and evaluation processes to identify opportunities to participate in these as well as build on them. Furthermore, think about how monitoring of the trial can inform the business case for the solution. We therefore recommend you develop a template for a ‘formal’ trial finishing: A post-trial impact assessment and exploitation plan.

When completed by the triallist, this plan identifies next steps for them to take to continue their journey of becoming an industry supplier. The template builds strongly on on existing impact measures forms used in industry, such as ‘score cards’ and Transport Focus’ discontinued ‘National Rail Passenger Survey.

Type of innovation

You may be looking at different types of solutions to trial in your SIZ. Being aware of the different types, will help you get an indication of the kind of testing approach they might require.

Digital solution ​

Likely to be an app or web-based solution which might support passengers to navigate through the station or provide well timed information. Considerations around tech savviness of the potential users need to be made in these instances. Building this into the trial plan will be key. ​

Physical solution

Adapting or introducing a new physical infrastructure to the station e.g., using an unutilised space and repurposing this (as a place to work, wait in comfort etc.). Considerations should be made for those with differing levels of mobility.

Service based solution

Could be a combination of both a digital and physical touchpoint that users will engage over different stages to achieve their desired outcome. Consider how the service model will integrate with the existing services within the station and the end-to-end journey experience.

Digital solution ​

Likely to be an app or web-based solution which might support passengers to navigate through the station or provide well timed information. Considerations around tech savviness of the potential users need to be made in these instances. Building this into the trial plan will be key. ​

Purpose of innovation

Innovations may address the challenge in different ways. Whilst their purpose may differ, they can be complementary to each other.​

Trialling solutions in the station

Bringing in solutions to the stations that are either working in different contexts or are currently being developed for the station and have been through lab testing. ​

Stage 3 will focus mostly on this approach; however, the principles will apply to the other two approaches outlined in this module.

Monitoring the station for improvements

To evaluate the improvements to the station we need to consider what tools we have available to monitor improvements. Considerations on creating a way to capture data that has potential to optimise processes within the station, such as creating a digital twin of the station.

Generating solutions for the station

It is likely that some of the challenges can’t be addressed by the solutions that are already on the market. So, in this instance we might consider introducing some form of competition that generates new ideas to address the challenges.

Agile design cycle:
https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/agile-delivery ​

Trials require change as they mature throughout the development process. In agile development, there are four key stages:​

Discovery​ ​

Understanding the problem that is being addressed. Create initial solutions with some low-fidelity prototypes. Conduct some initial experiments to “validate assumptions against the leading prototype.”

Alpha ​

Testing specific features with a small section of the target audience. First trialling solutions with specific segments of the target audience, then move into general testing of the solution across the whole market.​

Beta​

Test the overall solution with a larger sample of the target audience to assess the overall experience and effectiveness of the solution.​

Live​ ​

Release a first full version of the solution to the market, whilst continuing to collect responses that will inform how to improve the design.​

Guidance on the 9 TRL levels:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/guidance-on-technology-readiness-levels



TRLs form the basis for the rail innovation readiness levels (RIRLs):
https://www.railengineer.co.uk/rail-industry-readiness-levels-rirls-defined-and-explained/

Not all stations are the same, so what applies at one station may not be suitable at another. However, the teams that know the assets and technical systems best are the engineers and asset managers within the NR Director of Engineering and asset Management (DEAM). They can give guidance and advice on focus areas when developing trial plans and how to implement them. ​

The station management team are experts on how projects are implemented and managed effectively in their environment. Having these teams work with you will provide invaluable technical and operational knowledge of the assets. ​

It is also vital to consult the town planning team (such as the Bristol Temple Quarter regeneration team at Bristol Temple Meads) to understand whether there are any significant stakeholder considerations that need to be managed through the process. Feeding into long-term transformation around the station may allow the station to become more embedded in the local community.

Many stations are likely to be considered as Critical National Infrastructure, and any trials or activities that take place in the station will need to demonstrate compliance to guidance and mandatory provisions – the route and the NR Safety, Technical and Engineering teams can assist with this. ​

At this point in the process the innovations to be tested remain unknown. By conducting this assessment now, rather than later, it contributes to understanding what can be trialled and will inform the scouting and selecting of innovations for trialling.

An assessment of the station’s operational infrastructure informs the setup of the SIZ in three ways:​

1. Informing which technologies can be tested as this is dependent on the station assets that are available to run trials.​
2. Identifying which data collection can take place before, during and after the SIZ trials for monitoring and evaluation.​
3. Informs which capabilities related to the challenge and the station need to be brought in.

This is an elaborate and detailed process, that requires members of station staff to be available to support. The process will be the led by the dedicated Testbed Manager and part of the steering group who should allocate sufficient time and attention to conducting the assessment.

​Assessing the infrastructure and operations at the station can be seen as a gap analysis, as it helps to understand:​

• The current physical, electrical and digital assets at the station​
• Additional physical, electrical and digital assets to be installed​
• Regulations, protocols and standards involved in installing physical and digital innovations.

Ensure that the assessment follows a clear structure as you collect the information. It will be used throughout the trialling phase and is likely to be referred to and updated at subsequent rounds of trialling. An example structure for assessment is shown on the right.

Worksheet Document title (PDF Link)
Link here ​

A good innovation challenge balances the local context of the station and need of costumers with the organisational priorities and strategies of the station and NR more widely. It takes a step towards achieving the station vision as it aims to tackle issues that are currently standing in the way of realising that vision.

Identifying a challenge of which the impact can be measured as part of existing evaluation formats will ensure that the trialled solutions can be reviewed in relation to regional objectives. These formats may not be sufficient to capture all the impact of the trials but should make communication easier with those stakeholders. For example, stations review passenger experience of the station with a so-called ‘score card’. Trials that respond to specific questions in the score card review can help improve station scores. 

A challenge can be identified through combining bottom-up and top-up approaches. Often a combination of both is used to ensure the most appropriate challenges are identified.

Bottom-up

A bottom-up approach can start with the problems and challenges that exist now at the station, for example those related to customer experience. ​ These could be elicited by speaking with the teams that are tasked with operating or maintaining the station daily (such as gateline staff, facilities management, operations managers, maintenance engineers), or canvassing passengers to understand where the focus of innovation should be to tackle problems and build momentum.​

The station likely operates a periodic scorecard across numerous metrics that can be consulted to understand current barriers to performance, whilst yearly passenger surveys will give indication of trends and long-standing issues.​

Whilst aligning with national rail focused strategies, challenges also need to allow the local identity of a station to be maintained as it innovates. 

Top-down

A top-down approach focuses on the implications of wider strategy on the stations. Understanding how the aims of the organisation or industry influence decisions made about the station will allow to link up concrete innovation challenges with system-wide objectives. It is likely that higher level challenges keep larger stakeholders engaged, though concrete, small scope challenges, may address an issue that are common across several stations. It is therefore important to understand what the right scope for challenge is.

• Consider wider strategic aims of the organisation or industry. This could be at a local station level, follow the route/regional business planning process, or be informed by wider approaches within System Operator, Property, Safety, Technical and Engineering (STE) or Route Services. This will set the framework for the problem that innovation is trying to ‘fix’.​
• Encourage creative thinking when setting challenges – this will help you explore a wide range of innovation areas and keep you thinking in an open and constructive manner.​
• No matter the aims for the Station Innovation Zone, key aspects that are important to consider:​
• Inclusivity, diversity and equality​
• Accessibility ​
• Sustainability – e.g., decarbonisation, circularity, biodiversity​
• Safety​
• Set up a workshop or review session with the steering group. The review process is to ensure the challenge descriptions give a realistic view of what can be achieved, whilst still helping to achieve the vision or overall aim such as improving customer experience.​
• The challenge scope should be informed by the opportunities of the SIZ: the available operational infrastructure, budget, timescales and support.​ Part of the SIZ purpose is to learn how best to create an environment for innovation in the station (as well as deploying trials). So, start small, get going, and be able to refine and alter focus as you progress.  Starting small allows you to be specific in your requests.
• It may be helpful to scout vision statements and strategies from similar initiatives. Where do they overlap where do they compliment your SIZ? (Some examples are Future Lab and TfW Lab.)
• Bring capabilities related to the challenge – i.e. challenge around accessibility, providing accessibility experts w