By Charlotte Elliott-Harvey, INFUZE Programme Manager,
INFUZE is now one year in! We’ve engaged with hundreds of local residents and a variety of partner organisations and have delivered a range of activities. As we move into the next phase of our five year programme, we wanted to share what we’ve done so far.
Some highlights from our first year:
Our Collaborative Design Team ran two Creative Assemblies with Leeds residents who responded to our Call to Action survey and asked to get involved in shaping our research. These Creative Assemblies have offered valuable insight into people’s philosophies, values, and emotions in terms of how they relate to transport options and navigating their daily lives.
Ahead Partnership, worked with the INFUZE team to run four creative design sprints at different schools across Leeds; at Carr Manor Community School, Pudsey Grammar School, Leeds West Academy, and Leeds East Academy. We asked students how they might imagine a future with reduced car use. Supported by he INFUZE team and our partners from CoMoUK, Department for Transport, First Bus, Leeds City Council, and Steer, students creatively explored designs for alternative transport options and built models of new transport vehicles and cityscapes.
We’ve also started up a series of focus groups with members of different communities across Leeds, in collaboration with INFUZE partner Voluntary Action Leeds.
INFUZE research teams have been conceptualising key research activities and outputs, such as an experiment that we are planning for the Autumn, upcoming national household surveys, and modelling user behaviours in relation to transport. We’ve also conducted a focus group on car ownership models and ran a co-design workshop that will feed into the development of the Autumn experiment.
Finally, the INFUZE team has been growing since the programme started in late July 2024. We are now a team of 23, made up of individuals who each bring valuable skills and expertise to the INFUZE programme. This month and next, we’ll welcome six postgraduate researchers to the team, where they will pursue doctorates.
The INFUZE programme is gaining momentum very quickly with lots of exciting research and activities in store for the future!