We are delighted to share with you the UKCRIC Annual Review, 'Influencing research, policy and practice 2023-2024'
This Annual Review's case studies continue to tell the story of progress against our plan and shows how UKCRIC is influencing and driving innovation in infrastructure and urban systems. We hope that you find this both an informative and inspiring read. If this sparks ideas and you'd like to discuss opportunities for collaboration please don't hesitate to get in touch, email: hello@ukcric.com.
The following is an extract from the Annual Review:
UKCRIC…our story so far
Established in 2015 as the UK’s interdisciplinary infrastructure and urban systems hub, UKCRIC was launched to establish the national-scale, regionally-led, collaborative research needed to transform the UK’s infrastructure and urban systems for net zero, safe, healthy, resilient and sustainable living; to generate economic opportunities for the UK; and to drive economic growth through improving skills provision.
The 2015 budget saw the UK government announce a £138m investment in UKCRIC to build research and test facilities at universities across the country that deliver research to ensure the UK’s infrastructure is resilient and responsive to environmental and economic impacts. Matched funding from the host universities brought the total capital investment to £250m, enabling UKCRIC to deliver a suite of nationally-significant research capabilities across the engineering sciences.
Deliberately rejecting the idea of a single geographical centre, UKCRIC Phase 1 completed in April 2022 and built a new, world-class national network of 11 engineering laboratories; 6 full-scale urban observatories; and computer modelling, simulation and visualisation capabilities (the Data and Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure, or DAFNI). Phase 1 also established a regional approach to research and skills development in infrastructure and cities and created Scientific Missions focusing on sustainability, resilience, equity and governance.
September 2019 saw the opening of the National Research Facility for Infrastructure Sensing (NRFIS) at Cambridge (by the then President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Andrew Wyllie CBE) and the National Infrastructure Laboratory (NIL) at Southampton (by the Chief Executive of Network Rail, Andrew Haines OBE). The Urban Observatories were formally launched in November. Also in 2019, UKCRIC extended its reach into Scotland with the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University joining UKCRIC in October.
In May 2021 construction completed on UKCRIC’s Person Environment Activity Research Laboratory (PEARL), housing full scale facilities that test the impact of environmental conditions such as space, colour, lighting and sound on people’s behaviour and perception. In July 2021 UKCRIC’s Data and Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure (DAFNI) received a further £1.2m of EPSRC investment, providing researchers and practitioners with an unparalleled collaborative computational facility and quality data services to design and test future infrastructure innovations.
In February 2022 the University of Bristol launched the new UKCRIC Soil Foundation Structure Interaction (SoFSI) facility, which is capable of full-scale testing of how buildings and infrastructure interact with the ground when subjected to dynamic loads. In April 2022 the last of UKCRIC’s new-build facilities opened at the University of Birmingham. The National Buried Infrastructure Facility (NBIF) enables researchers to study at scale the interactions between buried infrastructure and the ground.
As well as providing access to unrivalled research capacity and capability, UKCRIC is passionate about nurturing the highly skilled workforce required to manage and deliver nationally significant infrastructure projects. In 2021 The Centre for Postdoctoral Development in Infrastructure, Cities and Energy (C-DICE) launched to advance the skills base required to create a pipeline of world-class talent for the Infrastructure, Cities and Energy (IC&E) sectors, and to accelerate progress towards a net zero society by 2050. C-DICE brings together the collective expertise of UKCRIC’s universities with the partners of the Energy Research Accelerator (ERA), working alongside research associations, institutes, and leading industrial partners.
UKCRIC phase 2 pushed forward its vision to transform from a research community into a sustainable research entity to realise the multi-dimensional potential of infrastructure and urban systems. In January 2022 UKCIRC launched its Doctoral Skills Network, which combines the collective expertise and capabilities of its university members to deliver skills and training and to support career development, helping create the engineers of the future. In March 2022 UKCRIC established a trading company, UKCRIC Limited, which gives collaborators access to engineering-related scientific and technical consulting services across UKCRIC member institutions.
Published in 2023, UKCRIC’s Transition Roadmap Project provides the framework for UKCRIC’s operations for the next five years. It sets out UKCRIC’s vision to be established as an influential, independent, global, and interdisciplinary expert source in infrastructure and urban systems.
UKCRIC is poised and ready to respond to emerging challenges by pushing boundaries, by delivering world-leading research, and by influencing practice and policy. If you are interested in becoming a member, download the membership prospectus.