Strategic Plan 2016-2019
Mistra Urban Futures was established in 2010 to promote urban sustainability through transdisciplinary research and co-production of knowledge with local and global stakeholders. Mistra Urban Futures’ five Local Interaction Platforms (LIPs) – in Gothenburg, Greater Manchester, Kisumu, Skåne, Cape Town and the node in Stockholm – are all based in intermediate cities with viable and active multi-stakeholder partnerships that participate in the processes of co-creation of new knowledge.
This Strategic Plan sets out research and communication strategies for Phase 2, 2016–2019, based partially on experiences and results from a wide range of projects and the actual process of creating an international research centre during Phase 1 as detailed in the Progress Report 2010–2014. Several new features during Phase 2 will add value. These include increasing the number of LIPs and partnerships within Sweden and abroad, in accordance with the additional funding from Mistra and hopefully also Sida, engaging proactively in strategic global initiatives to leverage influence towards our objectives, and undertaking systematic and deliberative comparative research on linked projects in different LIPs. The proposed knowledge and research programme reflects Mistra Urban Futures’ characteristics:
- Focusing on research that supports change and transitions towards sustainability.
- To that end, further refining and adding value to experience gained during Phase 1 with co-creation/co-design of knowledge with multiple societal actors, including through comparative research across LIPs and partnerships
- Emphasising the global reality of challenges through a network structure.
- Seeing cities as critical entities in responding to economic globalisation, climate change and social inequality.
An International Collaborative Framework
The Centre is currently in a process of co-designed learning across the platforms in order to reflect on and operationalise the Strategic Plan. In particular, two key questions are being addressed:
- How do international comparison and collaboration fit with local co-production and co-financing?
- Based on the Strategic Plan, how can we better communicate the research and practice agenda of the Centre, internally as well as externally?
Read more about our research agenda here.
