Smart Urban Intermediaries, 2017-2020

Qualitative dataset including redacted (anonymised) transcripts of entry and exit interviews in the Smart Urban Intermediaries research project. The purpose of this study was to understand and contribute to the work of people who make a difference in urban neighbourhoods. The UK strand of the project focussed on Birmingham and Glasgow, and this data collection is exclusively from that strand. There were also strands in Amsterdam and Copenhagen, but not funded by ESRC.<p>European cities face complex challenges that demand smart solutions. This project puts urban intermediaries, those people who can bring people and resources together in innovative ways, at the heart of smart urban development and sets out to understand how they create social innovation. We carried out fieldwork in four European cities (Birmingham, Copenhagen, Glasgow and Amsterdam) where we developed collaborative working groups, or 'local labs', which were sources of data as well as sites for learning across projects, fields of practice, cities and countries. The project contributes to understand how intermediaries innovate and generate smart urban development that addresses community priorities, needs and aspirations.</p>