What's next
Upcoming events and activities in Future Ready
FUTURE READY QUARTERLY GATHERING
14:45 – 20:00 / 4 February 2025 / Sustainable Ventures, London
08:30 – 16:30 / 5 February 2025 / Sustainable Ventures, London
Future Ready Quarterly Gathering
Join us at our next Future Ready Quarterly Gathering in London! The theme for the London event will centre around Managing the change transition - Stage 4 of the Net Zero Living journey.
Day 1, Tuesday 4th February: We will receive a tour of Sustainable Ventures and the history of County Hall, before refreshments and a presentation from Lambeth Council at the Event Hub. This will be followed by Regen's paper launch on 'Maximising the Value of Local Net Zero Planning' and our usual social evening.
Day 2, Wednesday 5th February: The day will include Project Showcases and breakout discussions, a Citizen Engagement and Visioning workshop with Involve and Forum for the Future, and space for networking and collaboration.
The Liminal team have suggested the following hotels:
Premier Inn London County Hall
Belvedere Road, SE1 7PB
- From £124 per night (excl. breakfast)
- Closest Tube: Waterloo (4-minute walk)
- Distance to venue: On site
Premier Inn London Waterloo (Westminster Bridge)
85 York Road, Waterloo, SE1 7NJ
- From £118 per night (excl. breakfast)
- Closest Tube: Waterloo (2-minute walk)
- Distance to venue: 4-minute walk
Premier Inn London Southwark (Southwark Station)
31 The Cut, SE1 8LE
- From £111 per night (excl. breakfast)
- Closest Tube: Southwark Underground (3-minute walk)
- Distance to venue: 19-minute walk
Travelodge London Central Southwark
202 – 206 Union Street, Southwark, SE1 0LX
- From £89.99 per night (breakfast is extra for £11.50)
- Closest Tube: Southwark Underground (3-minute walk)
- Distance to venue: 19-minute walk
Travelodge London Central Waterloo
195 – 203 Waterloo Road, SE1 8UX
- From £89.99 per night (breakfast is extra for £11.50)
- Closest Tube: Waterloo (5-minute walk)
- Distance to venue: 15-minute walk
Maximising the Value of Local Net Zero Planning - Regen paper launch
Regen will be launching their Innovating Net Zero Planning paper on Day 1 of the event. With energy sector reforms and the government’s Clean Power 2030 focus, amplifying local perspectives is crucial. The commitment to 8GW of local energy projects via the Local Power Plan and GB Energy presents a significant opportunity to advance decarbonisation, requiring robust systems for impactful initiatives.
The introduction of Regional Energy Strategic Planners (RESPs) by Ofgem marks a key shift, aligning grid development with regional needs and demanding consistent, actionable data from local net zero plans.
To address these challenges, Regen, Innovate UK, and Carbon Trust engaged over 30 stakeholders through the Net Zero Living programme. Their research focused on integrating local priorities into the broader energy system and overcoming barriers to net zero implementation, offering pragmatic solutions and best practices to enhance local decarbonisation efforts. Please come and hear more.
COMMUNITY MONTHLY ONLINE MEETUP
09:00 – 10:30 / 16 January 2025 / Online
The Net Zero Living Journey & TAP Showcase
Join us this month to reflect on your Net Zero Living project progress and the Net Zero Journey. You will also hear from each of the Technical Assistance Partners on support they have delivered to places through Future Ready so far, and the support available to programme participants for the remainder of the programme.
LAST CHANCE TO APPLY!
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SUPPORT
12:00 – 15:00 / 4 February 2025 / Sustainable Ventures, London
“Stretch & Challenge” session with investment experts: City Science & BwB Expression of Interest
To promote greater interaction between the UKRI NZL cohort and the investor community, BwB and City Science are hosting a “Stretch & Challenge” session with investment experts on Tuesday 4th February 2025. The event will be held in-person at Sustainable Ventures, the afternoon before the Future Ready Quarterly Gathering.
The session will be open to a small group, selected from EOI submissions. Here are some important points to note:
- This is not intended to be a pitching session, but an opportunity to pitch a capital project to a group of investment experts to gain feedback that can provide value-add to the project development process.
- Up to 3 representatives of the local/combined authority may attend and are expected to present this project at the event. This should be a capital project which links to a scalable investment opportunity that has the potential to be attractive to private investors (i.e. has potential to be return-generating).
- This does not necessarily equate to participants’ Innovate UK funded project which may be broader in scope. It can but does not have to be an element derived from the IUK funded project.
Those attending this session will then be able to share their experiences with the rest of the cohort in the subsequent London Quarterly Gathering (details to follow).
Please submit your completed EOI to Harry and Lucy by COB Friday 10th January.
CAPACITY BUILDING SUPPORT / PATHFINDER PLACES
6 February 2025 / Sustainable Ventures, London
Pathfinder Stories of Systems Change Training: Forum for the Future & Innovate UK
As we move towards project completion and transition, Fast Followers are receiving focused mentoring support to explore how to sustain the change required within their organisations.
We would like to invite Pathfinders to join up for similar support at a training session designed and facilitated by the School of Systems Change, delivered by our existing programme partners Forum for the Future. This will take place in London at Sustainable Ventures on Thursday 6th February, the day after the Future Ready Quarterly Gathering.
This training will:
- Provide you with knowledge about systems change tools and techniques
- Give you time to apply these tools to your project
- Allow you to create your own story of change, personal action plan and legacy plan
Pathfinder Place project leads will receive an invitation via email.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SUPPORT
12:00 – 15:15 / 28 January 2025 / online
The Role of Heat Networks in Whole System Finance Models, City Science & BwB
City Science and Bankers without Boundaries (BwB), as the Net Zero Finance Advisory Partner for Innovate UK's Net Zero Living Programme, are delivering financing support to a cohort of 52 local authorities, looking at financial advisory services and strategic support.
As part of this programme, we are delivering training and insights to guide and support local authorities through some of the financial barriers they often face.
This webinar will bring together key stakeholders in the net zero heat network process and deliver much needed insights and information to these local authorities, with the wider public sector audience encouraged to attend.
The webinar will be looking at:
- Local Authority role in heat networks
- Heat Network Zoning
- Techno-Economic Analysis
- Commercialisation and Financing
- Partnership Models
- What Investors are Looking for
- Local Authority examples
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SUPPORT
12:00 – 13:00 / 11 February 2025 / online
Unlocking Net Zero: An Introduction to the Support Ecosystem for UK SMEs, Innovate UK Business Connect
This webinar will showcase the ecosystem of organisations that are working to support UK SMEs on their Net Zero journey. You will hear from those leading national initiatives and the tailored support available for SMEs in the devolved nations.
This webinar is suitable for:
- Local authorities seeking to understand the range of Net Zero support available to businesses;
- SMEs who are new to Net Zero or those already on their journey but are in need of additional guidance and support.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SUPPORT / WEBINAR SERIES
24 February 2025 – 28 April / online
Meet the Innovator: Webinar Series, Innovate UK Business Connect
The UK has set a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2050. Achieving this target requires transformative action across all sectors, with the public sector playing a vital leadership role in driving change. Success hinges on speeding up the adoption and diffusion of innovative products and services which are driving progress towards net zero. The public sector is uniquely positioned to drive place-based progress, not only by adopting these solutions but also by creating an environment for test beds and trials for products and services which are still in the development and testing stage.
Running from February and June 2025, the series will focus on five key themes where carbon reduction needs to accelerate, and therefore where innovation adoption and diffusion is key. These areas which are closely aligned with local authorities spheres of control and influence:
- Decarbonisation of Buildings and the Public Estate: 24 February 2025, 12:00 -13:00
- Decarbonisation of Transport: 17 March 2025, 12:00 -13:00
- Consumption and the Circular Economy: 7 April 2025, 12:00 -13:00
- Biodiversity: 28 April 2025, 12:00 -13:00
Target audience:
- Local Authorities looking to find out about the cutting-edge solutions driving the net-zero transition
Each webinar provides a unique opportunity to:
- Hear from innovative businesses whose products or solutions can be used by the public sector to decarbonise;
- Ask questions about their products or services;
- Discover how they can support your Net Zero goals.
Even if you’re not ready to collaborate with businesses in these areas, join us to be inspired by the talent that is driving the UK’s Net Zero future.
A registration link will be shared via email in the coming weeks.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SUPPORT
10:30 – 12:00 / 21 February 2025 / online
Maximising the Value of Local Net Zero Planning, The Carbon Trust
Regen, the Carbon Trust and Innovate UK are publishing their report ‘Maximising the Value of Local Net Zero Planning - Recommendations on improving outcomes’ in early February.
During February’s Future Ready Thursday, there will be a training session focused on the report's key messages and recommendations for local authorities. This workshop will explore the practical implications for authorities at all stages of local net zero planning (including LAEPs and LHEES), covering a range of topics such as RESPs, governance, and data/modelling standards.
There will also be a chance for participants to shape the second stage of this research, which will develop a detailed set of recommendations based on the findings of the report.
A registration link will be shared via email in the coming weeks.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SUPPORT
10:30 – 12:30 / 21 March 2025 / online
Citizen Engagement and Visioning, Involve
This final group training session will build on learnings from previous Citizen Engagement and Visioning modules and look at how these approaches can be implemented and sustained in your projects.
Stay posted for further information!
Save the dates
FUTURE READY QUARTERLY GATHERING
The Future Ready Quarterly Gathering on 4th and 5th February will be held in London.
Save the preliminary dates for the remaining Future Ready Quarterly Gatherings.
- 14th May 2025 / Birmingham
- 25th June 2025 / Scotland
NET ZERO LIVING ANNUAL EVENT
Innovate UK’s 2025 Net Zero Living Annual Event will be held on Thursday 26th June in Edinburgh. Further details will be announced in the coming months.
- 26th June 2025 / Dynamic Earth