The National Infrastructure Commission is today launching a four
week Call for Evidence to shape the development of its new
Technology study.
On 23 November 2016, the Chancellor asked the commission to:
“conduct a study to identify which new technologies have the
greatest potential for improving the productivity of our
infrastructure, and what steps government should take to support
the deployment of these technologies.”
Launching the Call for Evidence, said,
“From big data to the internet of things, and artificial
intelligence to digitalisation, new technologies are reshaping
our infrastructure and our country. If the UK is to succeed in
the global economy of the future, we have to ensure that we are
harnessing innovative new technologies to maximum effect.
“This study will explore which new technologies have the most
potential for improving the way we manage our infrastructure. So
through this call for evidence we want to hear views from across
industry, politics and the public, from infrastructure
specialists, to developers of new technologies.
“This work is timely and vital - if we don’t position ourselves
at the forefront of technological innovation, our competitors
will.”
The questions that the Commission are particularly keen to focus
on are:
1. What are the key technologies which the NIC should take
forwards to consider for this study? Which will have the greatest
potential impact over a timescale of 10 – 30 years?
2. How will these technologies meet the criteria outlined in
section. For example:
- How does the new technology improve infrastructure
productivity? What aspects of the management of infrastructure
could the technology address - for example aspects of operation,
maintenance, efficiency, capacity, reliability or resilience;
would the uptake of the new technology for example reduce demand
for pressurised services such as transport, energy and water?
- What stage has the technology reached in terms of
demonstration and uptake?
- What evidence is there supporting the potential benefits that
may be expected? Are there examples or case studies of deployment
or demonstration in other sectors, or internationally? Any
indicators of the benefits that could be expected and sectors to
which applied.
- What evidence is there supporting the likely costs of
introduction.
- What are the principal challenges and barriers which need to
be addressed to enable the maximum uptake of the technology?
- Would the introduction of the technology imply major changes
to existing infrastructure, require new infrastructure, or does
it fit with existing infrastructure? Would its introduction make
previous infrastructure redundant?
The full document is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-infrastructure-commission-technology-study
