The council spends hundreds of thousands a year manually monitoring the borough s housing delivery (Stock image/Pixabay) Waltham Forest Council could start using virtual reality or even images from space to help new build homes, depending on the results of a Government-funded competition. The council spends an estimated £750,000 a year tracking the progress of housing projects around the borough and wants to find a cheaper, more streamlined way to do so. The Government’s GovTech Catalyst scheme (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/govtech-catalyst-information), set up in 2018, gives public bodies like councils £3.25 million each to pay private firms to find high-tech solutions to their problems.
HP unveils sustainability changemaker and catalyst schemes
Tech giant HP has launched a new scheme offering industry partners the resources and traning they need to accelerate sustainability progress, in the same week that Octopus Energy unveiled what it claims is the world s first energy technology research organisation.
Image: HP
HP’s new scheme is called ‘Amplify Impact’ and is designed to help businesses across the tech sectors accelerate efforts to combat climate change, safeguard human rights and champion community sustainability. Members will be supported to follow HP’s lead in setting and delivering targets relating to net-zero, the circular economy, nature regeneration, human rights, diversity and inclusión and equal access to technology.
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In recent reports, business leaders in Europe pointed out decentralization as a major theme in the supply chain industry.
Blue Yonder reported that over the next few years, usage of pop-up distribution centers, dark stores, and microfulfilment centers will double.
Because of his work, Insider named Blue Yonder strategic advisor, Michael Feindt, to our annual list of the 10 leaders transforming supply chain in Europe.
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There s no doubt that the events of 2020 and 2021 have had a huge impact on supply chains across the world. Norwegian advisory organization Xynteo s recently published Choose Growth report canvassed 80 European business leaders to determine how current strategies are likely to help or hinder the wider transformation needed in Europe.
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has said the Government backed innovation Catapults need better co-ordination to fulfil their potential.
It has published a report, The contribution of innovation Catapults to delivering the R&D roadmap, that says the Government “lacks a detailed plan for delivering its R&D ambitions” and that funding for innovation does not match its ambition.
Catapults are not-for-profit, independent technology and innovation centres, which connect businesses with the UK s research and academic communities. They are designed to turn innovative ideas into commercial products.
They include the Connected Places Catapult, which is prominent in research around smart places, and the Digital Catapult for the development of digital solutions.
Atkins to assess plans for electric air taxis in South West England
Atkins is to assess plans to introduce electric air taxis in south west England.
Trials could begin as early as 2023, following the award of a £2.5M grant from government to assess the plans.
Atkins will work with Vertical Aerospace and the West of England Combined Authority to assess the feasibility of introducing electric air taxis in the area.
The project was awarded partial funding through the government’s Future of Flight Challenge, which was created to find innovative methods of achieving greener air transport, finding new ways to travel, increasing mobility, improving connectivity and reducing congestion.