The Urban Innovation Challenge

Transcription

1 The Urban Innovation Challenge A project of the Tata Centre for Development In partnership with EPIC-India and UChicago Urban Labs urbanlabsdelhi.uchicago.in

2 Urbanization drives economic prosperity. But, energy and environmental challenges frequently become unfortunate side effects to this unprecedented growth. The people who live and work in these urban areas contend with challenges like a lack of access to reliable and affordable energy and increased pollution from heavy traffic and industrial activity. As such, they have the potential to offer creative ideas to confront these challenges. That s where the Innovation Challenge comes in. URBAN INNOVATION CHALLENGE The Model To confront urban energy and environment challenges, the University of Chicago Tata Centre for Development and implementing partners at the University of Chicago Urban Labs Energy and Environment Lab and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago s India team (EPIC-India) are employing a new, cutting-edge model that harnesses homegrown passion and drives solutions that work. The Innovation Challenge starts with a competition to identify the best local ideas. The winners of the crowd-sourcing competition then receive funding to work with their local governments and University of Chicago researchers to pilot their ideas. The researchers use the pilot projects to generate evidence on which urban policy interventions work, for whom, and why. If successful, the projects could become policy solutions scaled up by the government, as well as models for other cities to follow. APPROACH Identify promising solutions to urban challenges. Test the most promising urban policies and programs. Scale Up the most effective and cost-efficient policies and programs.

3 URBAN LABS & EPIC-INDIA Network & Record of Success The Innovation Challenge model is based on a record of successful work carried out by the University of Chicago s Urban Labs and EPIC-India in crowdsourcing ideas and working with partners to foster evidence-based solutions. EPIC-INDIA / Evidence-based policymaking The EPIC-India team employs an evidence-based policymaking approach that is being carried out through projects across India. The approach relies on forming partnerships with the government from the start of a research project to ensure the right questions are being asked and solutions can be scaled up. View of Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. URBAN LABS / Crowdsourcing Innovation UChicago s Urban Labs utilizes rigorous scientific methods and analysis to assess the impact of policies and programs with potential to generate large-scale social change in the domains of crime, education, energy and environment, health, and poverty. The Labs conducted a recent Innovation Challenge in the city of Chicago, where they awarded more than $2.1 million in grants to innovative organizations to support programs with high potential to address critical urban challenges in the poverty, health, and energy and environment realms. For example, $650,000 went to Elevate Energy, which is working in partnership with ComEd on a new program to help low-income households save money on their monthly electric bills. The new initiative, ComEd Simple Save, uses smart meter technology to help households manage energy costs producing insights for improved energy programs that serve low-income households. As an example of the success of this approach, the team worked with the pollution control board in Gujarat, India the most industrialized state in India and among its most heavily polluted to reduce pollution from industrial plants. Gujarat had relied on a third-party audit system where auditors were hired by the plants they inspected. As such, they were not reporting accurate pollution readings. To correct this, the Gujarat authorities partnered with EPIC-India researchers, who removed these conflicts of interest by giving auditors incentives to tell the truth, such as randomly assigning them to industrial plants and having their work double-checked for accuracy. The reforms led to more accurate reporting, and reduced pollution by 28 percent. They were later officially adopted by the Gujarat government. Following on this success, EPIC-India is now working on cutting-edge ways to use information to change behavior and reduce pollution. This includes a novel star rating scheme for industrial plants with the government of Maharashtra and a pilot project that employs continuous emissions monitoring systems in the city of Surat. RESULTS 28% reduction in pollution after implementation of Gujarat reforms TAKE-AWAY Our partnership proves the success of innovative, evidence-based approaches to policymaking and is a model for how researchers and policymakers can make a big difference by working together. HARDIK SHAH, MEMBER SECRETARY, GUJARAT POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

4 2016 WINNERS CHAKR INNOVATION PVT. LTD. Converting Pollution into Ink and Paint CASE STUDY Delhi Innovation Challenge Diesel generators are a significant source of Delhi s particulate pollution, the deadliest form of pollution. This project pilots a technology that absorbs particulate matter from the exhaust pipe of diesel engines and converts it into black ink and paints. The pilot will evaluate to what extent the technology captures particulate matter without compromising engine performance. With the goal of tackling the energy and environment issues in Delhi, India, the University of Chicago and Delhi Dialogue and Development Commission partnered to carry out the Delhi Innovation Challenge. Nearly 250 students, researchers, entrepreneurs, non-profit and for-profit organizations and citizens from across India and around the world submitted ideas to the crowd-sourcing competition. After careful review by a panel of experts from business, academia and philanthropy, three winners were announced in The funded winners are now piloting and testing their ideas with the help of the Delhi government and University of Chicago researchers. The Challenge a project of the University of Chicago Tata Centre for Development was the first of several competitions that the Urban Labs-EPIC team is planning on conducting in India. MAHILA HOUSING SEWA TRUST Installing Cool Roofs to Reduce Heat And Energy Use Access to efficient energy is critical to improving the quality of life and productivity of the poor. This pilot will evaluate the installation of modular roofs and white roofs in Delhi s slums to reduce home temperatures, and save energy costs, determining whether and to what extent these changes reduce exposure to extreme heat and improve the quality of life of slum dwellers. RESULTS 250 submissions from across India and around the world TAKE-AWAY The Delhi government looks forward to collaborating with the talented academic minds at the University of Chicago to carry out these innovative ideas while establishing our city as a trailblazer for how working together can establish immense progress to improve our environment and the lives of our citizens. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia CLIMATE FOUNDATION & TIDE TECHNOCRATS Reducing Pollution From Crop Burning Though illegal, many farmers burn rice straw after harvesting to prepare fields for the next season s crops greatly contributing to Delhi s air pollution. This pilot will test a system, known as Charvesting, which converts rice straw into cleaner biochar. The University of Chicago researchers will evaluate the cost-effectiveness and the ability of the process to reliably and sustainably address Delhi s pollution.

5 The Tata Centre for Development at UChicago develops innovative, integrated approaches to tackling some of India s most pressing development issues. With generous support from the Tata Trusts, the Tata Centre combines implementation, research and executive education to execute ambitious pilots, evaluate new solutions, and spread insights to key decision-makers who can translate research findings and successful pilots into wider impact. The Centre is housed at the Harris School of Public Policy in Chicago and the University of Chicago Trust in India. TCD.UCHICAGO.EDU The India team at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC-India) works to expand access to reliable and affordable energy, identify low-cost solutions to reduce pollution, and improve human health and productivity. EPIC-India uses cuttingedge research to discover solutions to these challenges and provides policymakers with information to help solve them. We work hand-inhand with government and industry partners to identify innovative ideas, pilot them on the ground, and rigorously measure outcomes. This approach ensures the right questions are being answered, and results can be scaled up into lasting policy changes. EPIC.UCHICAGO.IN Cities fuel remarkable economic, social, educational and cultural progress. At the same time, cities amplify and concentrate dire social problems. The University of Chicago Urban Labs works to address challenges across five key dimensions of urban life: crime, education, health, poverty, and energy & environment. We partner with civic and community leaders to identify, test, and help scale the programs and policies with the greatest potential to improve human lives. URBANLABS.UCHICAGO.EDU