The Future Cities Catapult and Transport Systems Catapult are to be merged into a new organisation focused on issues around modern cities and the future of mobility.
They have announced the move along with news that the Government is to provide £215 million to the new body and the Digital and Medicines Discovery Catapults as part of the broader investment in support of its Industrial Strategy.
The Catapult centres are part of a network that bring together businesses and specialists in specific builds to promote innovation, with a third of their funding coming from Government grants.
The merger of the Future Cities and Transport Systems centres reflects their joint relevance to the smart places agenda and the potential for coordinating their work.
The new organisation is scheduled to be formed by April 2019 and will operate from the existing centres in London and Milton Keynes, with new ones to be added in Glasgow and Leeds. A single board will be formed, with the transition board chaired by Terry Hill, current chair of the Future Cities Catapult.
Nicola Yates, chief executive of Future Cities Catapult, said: “Our unified Catapult will strengthen the Catapult network enabling these opportunities at the critical interface between urban infrastructure, transport and the urban systems and services that impact upon population health, wellbeing — and the economy of the whole country.”
The funding is part of nearly £1 billion committed to the whole network by the chancellor August to support its work for the next five years.
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