An Urban Observatory for Cardiff: Urban systems and public service delivery in austerity Britain
Committee Room D, City Hall, Cardiff, CF10 3ND (invitation only)
The purpose of the seminar is to build upon the work produced for the Foresight project and to
integrate with the Urban Transformations (UT) programme, with a view to creating an ongoing
platform across urban futures focused universities. The Cardiff seminar will focus on a proposed
Urban Observatory.
The data production and management needs for the city-region are taking on a new urgency given:
one, the challenges of public management in a period of austerity; two, new legislation in Wales which
requires greater data driven policymaking to assess wellbeing objectives; and, three, a desire to
advance the close relationships that have been struck between local officials and leaders and
academics engaged in the Cardiff city-region context.
Programme
12:00-12:30 – Introduction and housekeeping – David Waite (Cardiff University) and Nicola
Headlam (University of Liverpool/University of Oxford)
12:30-13:15 – Introduction by Kevin Morgan (Cardiff University) and David Waite
discussing: one, the observatory concept in light of a wellbeing focus; two, proposals for how
the observatory would broadly work and be governed; and three, comparative insights from
observatories and how they operate and function in other cities.
13:15-14:00 – Foresight (Mark Tewdwr-Jones, Newcastle University) and Urban
Transformations (Michael Keith, University of Oxford) reflections on the observatory
proposition (issues and challenges etc.). What can the observatory take on board and learn
from these programmes and projects – both substantively and in terms of developing an urban
network?
14.00 – 14.30 – Coffee
14:30-16:15 – Presentations from wider stakeholders who may contribute toward or offer a
perspective on the proposed observatory. This segment will focus on particular projects,
policies and/or interventions that have a key role in shaping the city-region system. Reflections
will be given on how such projects can be framed/considered in terms of wider wellbeing
objectives. Also, what are the implications for collecting and managing data?
Calvin Jones, Cardiff University – economy and devolution
Mark Barry, Cardiff University – infrastructure/Metro
David Llewellyn, Valleys Regional Park – green infrastructure
Jane Forshaw, Local Partnerships – green growth
16:15-17:15 – Challenges for developing an observatory and building policy-facing research capacity. What are the initial steps and what relationships need to be struck?
Paul Orders – Cardiff Council
Alan Harding – New Economy
Gillian Bristow – Cardiff University
17:15-19:00 – Networking drinks