Transition Study

The consortium's EPSRC funded scoping study on SUE-KM is now drawing to a close, and funding running out on 31 October 2004. The Consortium has also submitted the main Core-plus SUE bid, but EPSRC will not be in a position to start funding the main programme until 1 May 2005. Our consortium has therefore been invited by EPSRC to submit this transition (Bridging Fund) project to provide sufficient funding to keep the research team in place at least until the result of the main bid is known. The transition project will also take the scoping study one step forward, especially with regard to the areas that were not able to be exploited in the scoping study due to the constraints of time. The transition project will appraise the options (i.e. tools) for dynamic approaches to modeling and mapping knowledge, which consider the flow of knowledge for sustainability - how it is created, distributed and accessed; develop a structured assessment to evaluate these knowledge mapping tools against stated study requirements and produce recommendations for use by the main core-plus study; the project would test and refine the generic model of knowledge mapping for sustainability, which would form the basis for the main study; use the opportunity of the transition project to work with industrial collaborators (assembled for the main core-plus project) to select appropriate case projects needed to be investigated during the main bid. The main outputs guidance document the different k-mapping tools, indicating the strengths and weaknesses of each in differing contexts ; a structured assessment protocol for evaluating knowledge mapping tools; tested generic model on KM for sustainability to form the basis for the main programme (Core-Plus); organization of a workshop of industrialists, academics , users and producers of sustainability knowledge; identification and selection of appropriate case studies/projects to be used for the main programme (core and plus); a 5-page pamphlet which should be useful in disseminating the importance of sustainability knowledge to the wider SUE consortia and to the users and producers of sustainability knowledge; and a final report on the transition project.

Objectives

The EPSRC scoping study on SUE-KM is now drawing to a close, and funding runs out on 31 October 2004. The deadline for submission of the main bid is 4 October 2004, but EPSRC will not be in a position to start funding the main programme until 1 May 2005. We have therefore been invited by EPSRC to submit this transition (Bridging Fund) project to provide sufficient funding to keep the research team in place at least until the result of the main bid is known.

The specific objectives of the transition study are as follows:

• Appraise the options (i.e. tools) for dynamic approaches to modeling and mapping knowledge, which consider the flow of knowledge for sustainability - how it is created, distributed and accessed
• Develop a structured assessment to evaluate these knowledge mapping tools against stated study requirements and produce recommendations for use by the main core-plus study
• The transition project would test and refine the generic model of knowledge mapping for sustainability, which would form the basis for the main study
• Use the opportunity of the transition project to work with industrial collaborators (assembled for the main core-plus project) to select appropriate case projects needed to be investigated during the main bid
• Arrange and host a workshop for knowledge exchange among users and producers of sustainability knowledge. Thos invited will include the wider EPSRC SUE consortia, industrial collaborators assembled for the Core-plus programme and other potential benefactors of the output of the core-plus projects. This would allow the study of the scoping and transition outputs to be discussed and disseminated; as well as to present the objectives of the core-plus projects and elicit feedback from workshop attendees
• Disseminate outputs of the scoping study and transition project widely. This will include the production of a 5-page pamphlet on "the "Role of Knowledge Communication and Knowledge Mapping in urban sustainability", to be disseminated to all consortia in the wider SUE programme. Outputs of the scoping and transition project to be presented at the EPSRC Organized conference for Researchers to be held in Birmingham in February 2005; and pasted on the dedicated SUE-KM website.

Full proposal

The research team only has restricted access.

Transition Project Pamphlet

View the Transition Project Pamphlet.

Final Project Report

The Final Executive Summary for EPSRC can be downloaded.
Also the Final Project Report.