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Building sustainable homes at speed: Risks and rewards
Posted on: 20 March 2013
By: mackene
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Filed under: News
The NHBC Foundation’s latest research review showcases a series of case studies of selected sustainable housing developments which had the potential to achieve significant gains in construction speed by using innovative approaches. It summarises the risks that house builders, registered providers, manufacturers and design teams should be aware of when considering how to build sustainable homes quickly, highlights the risks that are of most concern and suggests how the most significant risks can be avoided or mitigated. Register on this site to view the report.
Empty property rates
Posted on: 20 March 2013
By: mackene
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Filed under: News
This research, published by the RICS, seriously questions the effectiveness of empty property rates (EPR) in reducing the prevalence of empty commercial and industrial properties. It argues that they have in fact restricted economic growth. The report sets out the findings of an online questionnaire of RICS members to find their views on the impact of EPR on the commercial and industrial property sectors. Register on the RICS website to access this report.
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in the UK: Current status, best practice and opportunities for the future
Posted on: 19 March 2013
By: mackene
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This policy brief provides an account of the current status of ESD across the UK. It draws on evidence from independent experts from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and sets out some of the characteristics of best practice and an analysis of future opportunities for enhancing the core role of education and learning in the pursuit of a more sustainable future.
Connecting urban and renewal: Final report of the Sustainable Urban Fringes (SURF) Project
Posted on: 19 March 2013
By: mackene
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The Sustainable Urban Fringes (SURF) project has published its findings after 3 years of research. The conducted research is informed by practical projects demonstrating how the urban fringe (outskirts urban land) can make a real contribution to sustainable development in our city regions. The project is part of the Interreg IVB North Sea Region Programme and partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund. In total, 13 project partners from 5 countries worked together, exchanging knowledge on the effective management and development of the urban fringe. The findings highlight the need for specific policy to address urban fringe development and management; acknowledging the positive economic, social and environmental potential of these areas where urban meets rural. The report sets out a series of local, regional and European policy recommendations that seek to make positive changes to the urban fringe, recognizing how they can add value to the quality of life in urban and rural areas. The project also revealed effective approaches and practices which allow urban fringe areas to be developed and efficiently managed. Soft governance approaches proved to be successful enablers for urban fringe projects.
Mega events and the UK events industry supply chain: Lessons learned from 2012
Posted on: 19 March 2013
By: mackene
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This report presents the results of two rounds of surveys and face-to-face interviews in October 2011 and October 2012 with professionals in the events industry. The survey explored the three main elements of event production: manpower, equipment and venues. The outcomes of the project related to organisational lessons learned over the period, and from an economic perspective, the legacy that the industry inherited from staging three successful mega-events (Diamond Jubilee, Olympics and Paralympics, Cultural Olympiad) over the summer in 2012.
UK first? Improving Northern access to foreign direct investment
Posted on: 19 March 2013
By: mackene
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This report from the Institute for Public Policy Research explores the past and current performance of systems for securing foreign direct investment into the UK as a whole, and to the north of England in particular, with the aim of providing insight into the North’s future potential to maximise these incoming resources. The work includes a review of existing written evidence and targeted interviews with participants in, and users of, the inward investment system.
Changing the culture of Scottish planning
Posted on: 19 March 2013
By: mackene
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This report aims to improve the understanding of Scotland’s planning culture, practices, power relations and identities that shape this as well as the role of cultural change in the implementation of planning reform. Focusing on Scotland, this research has investigated what ‘culture change’ means to different actors, how it is influencing planning in practice, and whether it has helped to address the concerns of the property industry and others that prompted reform. Register on the RICS website to view the document.
A UK ‘dash’ for smart gas
Posted on: 19 March 2013
By: mackene
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Unconventional gas sources such as shale gas could have a role to play in helping to decarbonise the UK energy sector, according to a new report published by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. The report suggests that natural gas, including from unconventional sources, has an important role to play in the transition to low-carbon electricity generation. Replacing coal power stations with gas over the short term would help to reduce UK carbon emissions, as gas emits less than half the carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour of coal. However in the long term emissions from gas-fired power stations would prevent us from meeting the UK’s carbon targets, “unless it is accompanied by the widespread introduction of carbon capture and storage technology”.
Communicating EU research and innovation: a guide for project participants
Posted on: 19 March 2013
By: mackene
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This brochure, published by the European Commission, aims to provide a tool to better communicate about project(s) and achieved results. This short guide gives some examples of successful communication activities, offers a word of warning about commercial organisations seeking to sell their dissemination services and provides an elaborate checklist to develop a sound strategy for communication about the work. Moreover it informs about legal requirements and expectations starting at the negotiation phase right up to the end of the project and how the European Commission, can help coordinators increase their outreach, for example by publicising events and results via the European Commission websites.
Going for growth: boosting the economy through culture, tourism and sport. London, 7 March 2013
Posted on: 19 March 2013
By: mackene
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Filed under: Events presentations
Presentations are available from the latest annual Local Government Association culture, tourism and sport conference. The aim of the event was to make the case for, and present evidence, on the contribution of culture, tourism and sport’s to local political priorities, especially economic growth.
What’s new
What’s new and Events presentations archive
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