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Green light for UCL's multi-million pound Digital Research Facility

The government has given £4m for a research facility at UCL, which will be part-funding by an additional £5.6m of institutional funding.

With its new UK Regions Digital Research Facility, UCL aims to create an open source technology platform that supports regional modelling and analysis to help answer socio-economic questions.

The facility will be launched later in the year and aims to help cities across the country make better infrastructure investments and strategic decisions in a bid to rebalance the British economy.

It will allow public sector policy makers, private firms and inward investors to analyse the potential options available against a background of evidence.

The announcement of the new centre is timely given the debate surrounding regional imbalance following the Scottish referendum and calls to give regional cities more power over their local economies.

Project lead, Professor Alan Penn, Dean of The Bartlett (UCL Built Environment), said: “The new facility will help inform debate amongst policymakers, lobbyists and communities by exploring how localities, cities and regions conspire to generate or hinder economic growth, innovation and regeneration. We will be giving workshops and training sessions in the various cities around the country to increase the skills and understanding needed to develop and test ‘in-silico’ regional economic policy.”

The centre announcement comes as part of the Government’s Summer Budget, which confirmed £23 million of funding through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for six new multidisciplinary research centres over the next five years to drive forward the UK’s Digital Economy research, knowledge and skills.

Universities and Science Minister Jo Johnson said: “This latest investment demonstrates our commitment to maximising the digital revolution for the UK. These Centres will lead the way in developing innovative digital products which enhance our daily lives - from personalised digital health services to the use of interactive media in education. By harnessing our international research excellence, in partnership with local and regional expertise, these Centres will accelerate Digital technology innovation for business and society’s benefit.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .