Our public sector is transforming before our very eyes, and the Infuse programme is delivering ways to tackle the region’s biggest challenges with each cohort of learners.
Cohort Two started in June of this year with 36 Associates from 9 local authorities & 9 associates from public and third sector organisations. This was the first time that Infuse was open to all public and third sector organisations. As a result, there is a wide range of skills and experience – supported by Infuse’s team of research fellows, data scientists, and experts in innovation, data and procurement – working together. They will be striving to understand and consider how to tackle the themes of Accelerating Decarbonisation and Supportive communities by addressing a specific issue within the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR).
When it comes to Accelerating Decarbonisation for the region, the previous cohorts have already worked with ingenuity to make steps towards the CCR’s Net Zero goals. One of the Infuse associates’ work set out to understand whether there is an opportunity to generate energy through ‘anaerobic digestion’ from an overlooked waste stream, such as dog waste. Another associate looked at Carbon Mapping homes, to prioritise the need for retrofitting work in the region.
This month, the current learners (Cohort Two) are now at the stage of the programme where they will begin setting their sights and focusing in on a challenge for their organisation and community that they want to address, individually or as a collaborative group. The Infuse operation will update on these findings in the new year.
In the meantime, look out for their September 2022 newsletter at the end of this month where they will be launching 5 new case studies from Cohort One, including explorative work on finding fleet vehicles route to low emissions and understanding energy demand in schools to inform investment decisions. These will also be linked to their case studies page on the Monmouthshire County Borough Council website, where you can also find others that have been previously published:
Read the Infuse case studies on the Monmouthshire Council website.
Lastly, the project will be recruiting for Cohort Three this Autumn. Please register your interest in joining and Infuse will be sure to get in touch as soon as applications are formally open.