The city of Newcastle (UK) has the ambition to become a strong knowledge-based economy. In this light, it is developing the Science Central project, an ambitious plan to transform a vacant brewery site in the city centre into a vibrant science quarter. Newcastle was one of the first cities to join the REDIS-project, uniting eight cities that have the ambition to use their science base as a driver for local economic development.
Currently, the economic crisis makes is difficult to develop the area as planned, but several knowledge institutes are committed to continue the development. In May 2009, Newcastle hosted an ‘Implementation Lab’, a method that we use in REDIS to audit a project using the expertise of project partners from different countries. A delegation of the partner cities paid a 3-day visit to the city and made an assessment of Newcastle’s plans. The first day, a number of local stakeholders delivered presentations and presented their views to the audience, and a site visit was made. During the second day of the lab, the audience was split into three working groups, where each group was a mix of foreign and local participants/stakeholders. A lot of useful ideas and suggestions were developed, that will be used by policymakers. To learn more, check this link: REDIS Newsletter
