Program Client: University College of London (UCL)

Tomorrow’s Cities Innovation Network (TCIN)

The “Tomorrow’s Cities Innovation Network (TCIN)” Project is a collaborative initiative between the University College of London (UCL) and the National Society for Earthquake Technology-Nepal (NSET).

The TCIN addresses science at the intersection of rapid urbanization and climate change. It will bring policy champions, technical professionals and researchers together to drive a shift in global action from risk reduction to risk prevention in rapidly growing cities worldwide. This has been the mission of a UKRI funded Tomorrow’s Cities project (2019-2024, £20m) and its community which forms the starting point for the TCIN. UCL leads underpinning research from MAPS and Engineering Faculties with policy partners from Nepal, Ecuador, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Türkiye, Palestine and Kenya, United Cities and Local Government, UN-Habitat and UNDRR. The TCIN will consolidate and expand this membership.

OBJECTIVES

  • To foster an inclusive and diverse network that facilitates cross-sectoral knowledge exchange.

  • To strengthen global collaboration and extend the reach and impact of the Tomorrow’s Cities approach and science, feeding back into UCL

  • To establish consistent and meaningful engagement among members through structured virtual and in-person interactions.

  • To integrate Tomorrow’s Cities professional training courses into national institutions for long-term impact.

  • To support the financial sustainability and scaling of the Tomorrow’s Cities science impact through new city project opportunities.

  • To institutionalize risk-informed urban planning principles within local governance systems globally.

KEY COMPONENTS/ACTIVITIES

The following are the major activities of this program:

  1. Managing transition of the Tomorrow’s Cities CoP into the TCIN

  2. Socializing the new TCIN through regular webinar

  3. Maintaining quality relationships through a physical meeting

  4. Fostering collaborative proposal development to strengthen UCL and partner science

  5. Promoting uptake of UCL and partner science by city governments, through the UCLG MOOC

  6. Inspiring international change through a Nepal demonstrator programme of national capacity strengthening.

EXPECTED RESULT/OUTCOME

  1. Network membership of 100 with active participation in network webinars by international science and policy actors.

  2. Awareness of Tomorrow’s Cities approaches and the Prevent Agenda among TCIN researchers and practitioners.

  3. Nepal National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority integrating Tomorrow’s Cities approach and tools into national planning guidance.

  4. At least 30 Nepal based technical staff trained in the deployment of Tomorrow’s Cities approach and methods

  5. TCIN members collaborating in the submission of at least 3 research proposals

  6. Network members collaborate in 2 publications and 2 policy statements, including for the International Science Council

  7. A proposal for private sector translation of Tomorrow’s Cities tools into marketable products.

KEY PARTNERS AND STAKHOLDERS

  1. University College London (UCL)

  2. Tomorrow’s Cities partner organizations and cities

  3. Members of Tomorrow’s Cities Community of Practice

  4. RiskKAN: Knowledge Action Network on Emergent Risks and Extreme Events

  5. National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA)- Nepal

  6. Department of Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC)-Nepal

PROGRESS

• Training on Tomorrow’s Cities Decision Support Environment (TCDSE), Kathmandu, Nepal

NSET organized a four-day training on the Tomorrow’s Cities Decision Support Environment (TCDSE): Future-Oriented, Risk-Informed, Inclusive Urban Planning under the Tomorrow’s Cities Innovation Network (TCIN), with support from University College London (UCL), under the guidance of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) and the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC), in collaboration with the Regional and Urban Planners’ Society of Nepal (RUPSON). The training brought together 30 participants, including urban planners, architects, civil engineers, technical professionals, and government officials, to strengthen capacities in evidence-based, risk-informed, and inclusive urban planning, promoting resilient and sustainable urban development through improved decision-making for disaster and climate risk management.