Smarter Places Training Course - Info & Registration

Smarter Places 
The tools and knowledge to deliver smart and green growth with climate focus option 
 
Your learning opportunity 

We all want a thriving place to live, work and play. The world’s leading places are realising their economic growth and climate action success by embracing innovation. Town, city, and regional authorities continuously need to change and update their policies, processes and infrastructure for citizens and business to grow. New technologies are enabling places to quantify how resources are being utilised, supporting stronger policy interventions, more efficient outcomes, and encouraging positive behavioural change.  

Climate action, Net Zero commitments and the energy crisis are all driving change around our communities, making us rethink how much carbon we consume. Balance that with the need for attracting inward investment for economic growth, jobs, and prosperity is stirring up innovative initiatives. 

Learn from experienced smart city professionals who have supported the most innovative local authorities from around Europe and the UK in delivering impactful smart programmes. Whatever your specialist interest – urban mobility, energy transition, 15-minute or liveable neighbourhoods, climate actions, innovation zones, test beds – this course will give you a bedrock of smart insights, skills, and tools to run your own programme.  

10 May 2023 - Smarter Places Foundation – Strategy, scope and vision come together to help shape your plan, by identifying drivers, the intended impact, and the stakeholder helix you will need to engage with. We’ll also ensure your data strategies, governance and risk management add integrity and insight to the decision-making process. 
 

17 May 2023  - Innovative Financing & Procurement – Alternative funding options, leveraging private public partnerships, and the role and styles of procurement all influence your programme’s outcomes.  
 

24 May 2023 - Innovation District & Ecosystems – Identifying and building partnerships with innovation actors, learning from the EU's Smart Specialisation approach, and using Challenge Funds as a tool to mobilize innovation across your local area to support economic growth. 
 
OR Smart Solutions for Climate Action – Best practice smart decarbonization solutions for energy, mobility, waste, industry, food and how to access them from the market; data-driven carbon management 
 

31 May 2023 - Citizen Participation & Living Labs– Co-creation process for sharing best practices, engaging with stakeholders, and the design and implementation of Living Labs all support your local ecosystems of innovation and growth.  
 

Learning Outcomes 

After this course you will be equipped with the best knowledge and skills to immediately implement smart outcomes.  

Knowledge & Skills  

Being able to recognise how technology and innovation is making places more competitive 

Being able to discuss different approaches to sustainable economic development and how smart supports climate action 

Being able to interpret the implications of the Smart City and Society approach as a holistic framework for urban transition, social inclusion, and climate action 

Being able to apply global best practices to your strategic development objectives 

Being able to recognise the role of data strategies in urban development 

Being able to compare different data governance models, their advantages, and limitations 

Being able to manage privacy rules and the reasoning behind 

Being able to discuss the role of AI, its impacts, risks, and mitigation measures 

Being able to describe how smart is changing the roles and drivers of the different actors in the city system (city administration, companies, politicians, universities, and citizens) 

Being able to discuss the multiple helix concept in practice 

Being able to design a co-creation process for visions and roadmaps for smart cities  

Being able to communicate and apply the concept of a living lab or innovation district to districts for different stakeholders (e.g., the city, companies, and citizens) 

Being able to recognize why conventional financing mechanisms often fail in the smart city market 

Being able to understand different examples of alternative financing options for smart place projects 

Being able to recognize the role of procurement in smart place development 

Being able to compare traditional and innovative procurement procedures (e.g., procurement of innovation, competitive dialogue, joint procurements) 

How you learn 

Home learning kit 

4 x live interactive online sessions, workshops, breakouts, and tasks 

Self and team reflection 

Peer learning 

Viewing & reading lists 

Flexible timing commitment 

Who takes this course  

Your collaborators on the course 

In the most successful places, public and private organisations effectively collaborate with each other. For that very reason our course is designed to appeal to both. 
 
Public – You may currently work for a local or regional authority, and you have been involved with a couple of smart-related programmes or want to implement a new smart approach, now you want to take ownership yourself with next level thinking.  

Private – You may currently work as an urban development professional or in a tech product team where your client is a public authority. This course puts you into the shoes of your client, helping you understand their needs, challenges, and perspective. 

 
 
Our purpose 

Our towns, cities and regions are getting smarter by the day  

Public authorities are investing in new innovations more decisively to meet ambitious goals, overcome daunting challenges, and become a better version of themselves.  

And yet, smart places remain a puzzle ready to be solved.  

Introducing BABLE ...smart places simplified!  

Spun out of the Fraunhofer Institute in 2017, BABLE has designed and delivered a broad portfolio of training in Germany accredited by TUV Sud, and its digital team has developed various AI tools and services designed to streamline, accelerate urban innovation, and smart city implementation.  

Empowering both cities and businesses across Europe to create healthier and more sustainable places to live, work and thrive.  

Let us improve urban life together!  

Register here, and the BABLE team will contact you to answer any questions, and to arrange final payment.  

£950 + VAT public sector employee  

£1350 + VAT everyone else 

 
£200 early bird discount for registrations received before 6th March 

Panel of experts 

Alex Schmidt - Funding / Innovation 

Nikita Shetty - Climate / Smart Solutions 

Gretel Schaj - Data / Governance 

Henrik Morgen- Transport / Innovation 

Peter Griffiths – Urban Futures / Strategy 

Philipp Riegebauer - Energy / Product Innovation 

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