Winners have been announced in a joint Milton Keynes City Council and Open University initiative to highlight everyday challenges faced by society, including living well, reducing emissions and tackling inequalities.
Earlier this year, the organisations teamed up through the Open Societal Challenges programme to invite businesses and charities to submit research challenges to the Open University, with the winners collaborating with OU academics to try to solve some of society’s most pressing issues.
The city council’s commitment is based on the MK:Smart initiative which was originally set up in 2017 to ensure a collaborative approach to Smart City projects. As part of the Open Societal Challenges, two Milton Keynes projects have been successful:
- Addressing the challenges of an ageing population, and specifically supporting the city council’s goal for Milton Keynes to become a dementia-friendly city with better accessibility for all – Milton Keynes Development Partnership
- Investigating the benefits of living roof technologies by establishing a green living roof on an OU building. – Gardens in the Sky
Some of the themes covered by national applicants include:
- Research to detect the earliest signs of dementia in individuals with Down's syndrome, who are at a higher risk of developing dementia – Alzheimer’s Society
- Better understanding the economic and social benefit of preventing men’s violence against women and girls, which would support the case for investment to address this issue – White Ribbon
- How rural floodplains could be used to deliver flood and drought resilience and make a contribution to nature and climate targets – The National Trust
The next phase of the Open Societal Challenges programme is for academics and other experts to team up with the successful organisations to begin preparing solutions to the issues they have identified.
Cabinet Member for Economy, Sustainability and Innovation, Cllr Shanika Mahendran said, "We’re proud to be working with the OU on this project which holds a lens to some of the challenges we face as a society. By working together, we can explore and develop solutions that will lead to a fairer, more prosperous and sustainable future for our residents.”
Professor Kevin Shakesheff, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Research & Innovation at OU said, "We believe this community-first approach is a new way of opening up university research expertise to broader society. We hope to create a more collaborative experience for external groups. The programme aims to build the capacity of communities to drive sustainable change, making research more responsive and impactful.”
