Summary of "Innovation and research - Open Call 2025 webinar"
Summary of “Innovation and research - Open Call 2025 webinar”
Main Ideas and Concepts
1. Introduction and Context
- The webinar was hosted by Cla Hayar, Head of Innovation at National Highways.
- It focused on the upcoming Open Call for innovation and research funding launching on 3rd November 2024.
- The session built on a previous webinar introducing the challenge approach used to align innovation funding with National Highways’ strategic priorities.
- The webinar was recorded, with questions handled via a Q&A function; responses were published afterward.
2. Challenge Approach Overview
- National Highways uses a “challenge approach” to direct innovation funding.
- This approach aligns funding with long-term strategic priorities by identifying key business challenges where solutions are unknown or underdeveloped.
- It emphasizes:
- Transparency
- Collaboration
- Focusing resources where innovation can have maximum impact
- Ensures no duplication of existing work and clear communication of desired outcomes and benefits.
3. Open Call Process and Submission Guidelines
- Open Call submissions open on 3rd November and close on 8th December 2024.
- Applications are welcomed from National Highways staff, suppliers, and external parties; partnerships are encouraged but not required.
- Submissions require:
- A descriptive project title.
- A concise project description (with a word limit) covering goals, activities, deliverables, and resource needs.
- Selection of one aligned challenge (only one per submission).
- Selection of one or more outcomes and expected benefits supported by the project.
- Estimated funding required for the phase, including potential multi-phase funding.
- Optional information includes project sponsor details, delivery scheme engagement, and digital/data governance compliance.
- Projects are categorized by:
- Impact-effort assessment (easy wins vs. big bets).
- Time to value (short-term: <5 years, medium-term: <10 years, long-term: >10 years).
4. Assessment and Prioritization
- Ideas are assessed on:
- Alignment to the selected challenge, outcomes, and benefits (rated high, medium, low).
- Suitability as an innovation and research project.
- Portfolio balance is considered to fund a mix of easy wins and big bets, and across different time horizons.
- Only projects strongly aligned and fitting the innovation remit will be prioritized.
5. Procurement and Funding Expectations
- A two-stage procurement process:
- Stage 1: Open Call to identify high-potential project ideas.
- Stage 2: Delivery phase via pre-market engagement notices, leading to either direct awards or competitive tenders.
- Submission of an idea does not guarantee contract award.
- Funding expectations for successful projects:
- Development and approval of a business case before work begins.
- Use of an innovation scorecard to assess desirability, feasibility, and viability throughout the project lifecycle.
- Benefits management framework to define, measure, and track project benefits.
- Completion of case studies at project milestones or completion, published for knowledge sharing.
6. The Five Prioritized Business Challenges for Open Call 2025
The challenges reflect key focus areas for the November open call but do not cover all National Highways priorities. They are designed to be agile and updated in future calls.
Challenge 1: Improving Customer Experience of Journey Time
- Focus: Reducing delays and improving communication about journey times.
- Outcomes:
- Better delay communication
- Managing recurrent delays
- Minimizing impact of roadworks
- Enhancing journey experience via customer-centric data
- Expected benefits: Improved customer satisfaction, reduced delays, economic benefits, enhanced public trust.
Challenge 2: Increasing Safety on A-Roads
- Focus: Reducing deaths and serious injuries on A-roads.
- Outcomes:
- Reduce shunt collisions
- Reduce KSIs (Killed or Seriously Injured)
- Improve safety on single and dual carriageways
- Benefits: Reduce fatality risk, smoother journeys, build public confidence.
Challenge 3: Maximizing Safety Benefits While Improving Asset Resilience
- Focus: Enhancing asset longevity to reduce renewals and improve safety for users and workers.
- Outcomes:
- Improve asset resilience and asset data
- Reduce in-person inspections
- Understand safety impact of renewals
- Benefits: Reduce injury risk, smoother journeys, financial savings, improved reputation.
Challenge 4: Reducing Live Traffic Interface Risks
- Focus: Minimizing risks to workers from live traffic during roadworks.
- Outcomes:
- Eliminate need for live traffic work
- Reduce exposure time
- Strengthen safe practices
- Enhance safer behaviors
- Benefits: Reduce injury risk, minimize traffic disruption, lower costs, build public confidence.
Challenge 5: Reducing Occupational Health Risks
- Focus: Addressing long-term health risks to workers (which cause most work-related fatalities and lost days).
- Outcomes:
- Reduce ill health incidents
- Reduce lost working days
- Improve health risk control
- Increase preventive practices
- Embed early health risk elimination
- Benefits: Reduce ill health risk, better staff retention, lower sickness absence, reduce costs.
For all challenges, solutions should consider environmental sustainability, scalability, and value for money.
7. Post-Webinar Resources and Next Steps
- All information, guidance, recordings, and Q&As are available on the National Highways challenge approach webpage.
- The Open Call 2025 page will go live on 3rd November with the submission form.
- Project ideas can be submitted only after this date.
- Questions after the webinar can be sent to innovation@nationalhighways.co.uk with subject “Open Call 2025”.
- Answers to FAQs will be updated and published regularly.
8. Q&A Highlights
- Each project idea must align to a single challenge for prioritization.
- Project sponsor is optional at submission but required for funded projects.
- No support for partnership matchmaking in this open call.
- Co-funding is not a criterion in prioritization.
- No additional challenges beyond the five prioritized ones will be accepted in this round.
- Further questions will be addressed offline and published.
Methodology / Instructions for Submission and Funding Process
Before Submission
- Review the challenge approach and guidance documents on the National Highways website.
- Identify which single challenge your project idea aligns to.
- Prepare a concise project description covering goals, activities, deliverables, and resources.
- Estimate funding needs for the initial phase and potential future phases.
- Optionally identify a project sponsor and any delivery scheme engagement.
- For digital/data projects, confirm engagement with digital services governance.
Submission Process
- Submit project ideas via the online form available from 3rd November to 8th December.
- Use dropdowns and pick lists to select challenge, outcomes, and expected benefits.
- Complete impact-effort and time-to-value assessments.
Post-Submission
- National Highways assesses submissions based on alignment and portfolio balance.
- Prioritized projects move to procurement via pre-market engagement notices.
- Depending on responses, projects proceed via direct award or competitive tender.
If Funded
- Develop and gain approval for a detailed business case.
- Use the innovation scorecard for ongoing project assessment.
- Define, measure, and track benefits using the benefits management framework.
- Complete and publish case studies at project milestones or completion.
Speakers / Sources Featured
- Cla Hayar – Head of Innovation, National Highways (Primary presenter and host)
- Mel – Team member assisting with Q&A responses during the webinar
This summary captures the key points, processes, and expectations shared during the webinar regarding National Highways’ Innovation and Research Open Call 2025.
Category
Educational
