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The funding priority »Sustainable Development of Urban Regions« in Southeast Asia and China is supported by a facilitation and synthesis…

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The funding priority »Sustainable Development of Urban Regions« in Southeast Asia and China is supported by a facilitation and synthesis research project. The project team takes over the scientific and organizational support for the overall funding priority and its collaborative projects and is jointly carried out by HafenCity University Hamburg, TH Lübeck, University of Applied Sciences and TÜV Rheinland Consulting GmbH.

The SURE Facilitation and Synthesis Research Project engages in three priority areas:

Intra-funding priority networking, knowledge management and communication

With this guiding principle, the facilitation and synthesis research project encourages the continuous exchange and learning process between the collaborative projects and promotes the cross-project communication with thematically related organisations. The exchange of knowledge particularly generates synergies at the level of the funding priority and initiates learning processes. In this way, SURE develops into a »learning funding priority«. For this purpose, a networking process stimulates cross-project cooperation and promotes an intensive exchange between the individual SURE collaborative projects and their »communities of practice«. Moreover, the SURE communities are provided with technical networking tools and a collaboration platform. This platform ensures a knowledge and communication management and enables analyses of project contents.

Scientific communication and public relations, external networking and transfer of results

The facilitation and synthesis research team promotes the transfer at the interfaces between science and practice. The project organises effective communication and networking with relevant target and input groups beyond the SURE funding priority. In doing so, overarching developments and results from the funding priority are disseminated and external actors are involved. The aim is to transfer gained results into science and practice, enabling SURE to make a contribution with sustainable impact. The activities provide added value to the scientific discourse of various scientific communities. More importantly, the activities aim to disseminate applications and scale up new knowledge through appropriate formats in practice.

Scientific support, monitoring as a cross-sectional task

Scientific support and monitoring are carried out as a cross-sectional task. The main objective is to situate the innovative content of the overall funding priority within the research landscape. In order to examine the actual effectiveness of the gained results and applications, the facilitation and synthesis research project conducts impact analyses. Hereby, the transfer impact of the projects as well as the effectiveness of the implemented results can be determined. A preliminary analysis of internal and external requirements will establish the project related impact frameworks. The scientific monitoring highlights innovation and development topics in a knowledge synthesis. In this way, future development trends and scientific questions become visible in the projects. Finally, the facilitation and synthesis research team summarises the findings in a comprehensive »synopsis« publication and in a digital knowledge database. An urban data-based decision-making infrastructure is additionally provided as a concrete tool. This »city scope« supports planners, authorities and political decision makers in assessing the effectiveness of planning measures in dynamic urban contexts.

The funding priority participants are supported by the Facilitation and Synthesis Research Project, which is made up of HafenCity University Hamburg, TH Lübeck, University of Applied Sciences and TÜV Rheinland Consulting GmbH.

HafenCity University Hamburg (HCU) – Digital City Science

The Digital City Science at HCU takes on the role of support and progress consulting at the project level as well as the scientific support in the SURE Facilitation and Synthesis Research Project.

Digital City Science at HCU explores urban complexity with digital technologies. Our team develops scientific new approaches for the analysis and integrative planning of urban systems. For this purpose, the team comprises expertise in architectural design, urban and spatial planning, media technology, IT, and software development, among others. In cooperation with partners from academia, business, administration, and civil society, we develop data-based tools and methodologies that are applied in the national and international context. Our scientific activities span from fundamental research across applied projects to knowledge transfer in scientific teaching and training.

TH Lübeck, University of Applied Sciences – Research Group »Stadt«, Chair of Urban Development and Planning

The research group »Stadt«, chair of urban development and planning at TH Lübeck takes on the role of support and progress consulting at the project level as well as the scientific support in the SURE Facilitation and Synthesis Research Project.

The research group »Stadt« pursues an interdisciplinary approach regarding forms and processes of urban development as well as urban planning in teaching, research and practical transfer by closely intertwining its four fields of expertise. The group is committed to the guiding principle of sustainable urban development and deals with issues in teaching and research at all spatial scale levels: from a region to small-scale urban development solutions in neighbourhoods, from challenges in metropolises to phenomena in rural areas.

Prof. Frank Schwartze is the head of the facilitation project at the TH Lübeck, University of Applied Sciences. He has extensive experience in the conception and implementation of international consulting and research projects on sustainable urban development. He thereby supports an approach of integrated planning and development with the aim of shaping spatial transformations in a sustainable way.

TÜV Rheinland Consulting GmbH – Research Management

TÜV Rheinland Consulting GmbH (TRC) is a management partner at the interface between research and practice. The Research Management division within TRC has been supporting public bodies in the implementation of their political tasks in the context of research and innovation for around 30 years.

In addition to traditional project sponsorship, services include technical and organisational programme support, knowledge management, technology transfer and knowledge marketing, the establishment and support of expert networks and stakeholder dialogues, evaluations of publicly funded programmes and support for bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Increasing importance is thereby given to the application of digital approaches and solutions. The interdisciplinary team has many years of experience in the fields of mobility, transport and urban and regional development with reference to economic, transport, energy, spatial and environmental policy areas.

TÜV Rheinland is a globally leading and independent testing service provider with over 140 years of tradition. The group currently employs more than 20,000 people in 59 countries worldwide. The independent experts stand for quality, efficiency and safety for people, technology and the environment in almost all areas of life. Since 2006, TÜV Rheinland has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact to promote sustainability and combat corruption and is actively involved in the German Global Compact Network (DGCN). Moreover, the company has a sustainability strategy from which targets and measures are derived, e.g. to reduce the consumption of resources and to reduce CO2 emissions.

Facilitation and Synthesis Research