Infuse Innovation Collision Space – Net Zero Transition within Public Sector Transportation

By Owen Wilce, Public Service Innovation Manager, Cardiff Capital Region

In his guest blog, Owen Wilce from Cardiff Capital Region writes about the Infuse Collision Space – an innovative programme developed in partnership with PPL, which brings together public, private, and community sectors to unlock expertise and enable cross-sector collaboration and achieve impact on the ground.

Public sector problems should be solved by public servants in public organisations right?  Not from our experience through the Infuse – Innovative Future Services programme.

Some of the biggest societal problems facing public bodies can seem insurmountable, especially in the face of staggering funding deficits.  The time for public servants to proactively define problems, generate ideas, apply disciplined innovation methods, ensure decisions are data-enabled and public spending is both sustainable and strategic appears to be non-existent.  The burning platform analogy whilst once used to shock others, now feels absolutely accurate.

Infuse in its first iteration ran from 2021-2023 working with over a hundred public service leaders, both existing and aspiring. The programme set out the clear ambition of creating a supportive and collaborative space for public servants to build the skills, capacity and confidence for innovation all applied through an innovation experiment and a reverse mentoring relationship with a senior leader.

The Infuse Innovation Collision Space which was launched on 15^th October 2024 builds from the learning of the first iteration but directly addresses the weaknesses.  Now we focus on one problem, not multiple.  We work with people across public, private, third and academic sectors.  And we conclude with investable business cases built from our innovation experimentation.

We are excited to be working with PPL, the UK’s leading social enterprise management consultancy with experience of addressing public sector problems in innovative ways.  Also, now home to many of the original team who designed and delivered the methodology behind the first Infuse iteration.

Net zero transition is a challenge that will affect each and every one of us, some of us are informed, perhaps worried and maybe even unsure about the right decisions we should make.  The Collision Space will provide a catalytic, collaborative and safe space for sectors to come together to address the challenge of transitioning to net zero public transportation.  As you would expect the response has been incredible, as has the level of ambition and expertise by participants, associate advisors and potential funders.

As a delivery team we understand the experimental nature of the Collision Space, we are looking to test our cross-sector innovation methodology, explore the sustainability of the innovations and learn how you build engaging partnerships that stand the test of time.

I suggest you watch this space, there is something very special about to start in South-East Wales.