KTH FIR is part of the establishment of the unique CESMOD research centre

Experts from the field of Smart Cities, Smart Villages and Smart Regions (SMART concept for short), universities and innovation centres have come together through the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TA CR), the Programme for Support of Applied Research and Innovation SIGMA, in the Centre of Research for Resilient, Smart, Innovative and Sustainable Society (CESMOD). The interdisciplinary centre will strengthen the expertise and knowledge of public administration and create a research base for better implementation of the national Smart City Concept 2021 and other policies and strategies.

A huge success of the Faculty of International Relations of the Prague University of Economics and Business and its partners in a strong national competition is the acquisition of the newly launched more than five-year project CESMOD, which comprehensively addresses the issue of SMART concept development. Its principal investigator is the University of Jan Evangelista in Ústí nad Labem with the involvement of other universities and expert organisations.

“The project is unique, among other things, in that one centre will jointly address topics that in the past have been dealt with by various institutions in dozens of isolated projects,” says Dr Hana Brůhová Foltýnová from FSE UJEP, the principal investigator of the project.

In the Czech Republic, the unique CESMOD research centre was formed jointly by ten institutions with the financial assistance of the Programme for Support of Applied Research and Innovation SIGMA, 5th public competition – sub-objective 5: Cross-sectoral support in the measures Long-term research plans and Addressing current R&D&I needs. This interdisciplinary centre brings together experts from organisations in the field of Smart Cities, Smart Villages and Smart Regions, universities and innovation centres, and has state-of-the-art equipment and infrastructure of parent institutions.

“The project aims to build long-term professional capacity for socio-economic research in the development of a resilient, SMART and sustainable society. This should strengthen the expertise and knowledge of public administration and create a research base for better implementation of state policies and strategies that are useful for the development of innovative solutions in the territory. The end users of our results will therefore be, for example, the Ministry of Regional Development and other ministries dealing with smart city issues, state administration authorities, as well as regional and local governments,” points out the principal researcher.

Co-principal investigators

Together with UJEP, the exclusive CESMOD research team consists of: the University Centre for Energy Efficient Buildings of the ČVUT in Prague, the Prague University of Economics Business, the Technical University of Ostrava, Masaryk University, the South Moravian Agency for Public Innovations JINAG, the National Network of Healthy Cities of the Czech Republic, the Innovation Centre of the Ústí Region, STEM/MARK, a. s., and Obce v datach, s. r. o.

I am pleased to see the concrete results of the work of the ambitious direction of the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management in the field of scientific projects. Dr. Lucie Nencková, the lead researcher of the project for the Prague University of Economics and Business, and her team contribute to the interdisciplinary and holistic approach to research at the Department. I believe that the topic of resilient, SMART and sustainable society is an opportunity for the emergence of high-quality scientific outputs and I also expect the practical application of the project outputs for a wide range of stakeholders in the regions of the Czech Republic.

Innovative Solutions for the Czech Republic

The project aims to support the qualitative development of society to make better and more effective use of innovative solutions, i.e. to increase awareness, acceptance, coordination and effectiveness of their implementation among all target groups (state and local government, universities, companies and civil society). The SMART concept will be defined in the specific conditions of the Czech Republic, the main challenges for its further development will be examined, adjustments to legislation and strategies will be proposed, and methodological support will be provided for planning and effective implementation of SMART solutions especially for cities, rural municipalities and associations of municipalities.

“At the same time, the project will significantly draw attention to the need for education and raising awareness of SMART issues among the interested public. The involvement of universities allows us to effectively focus on the education of students and employees of universities,” says Hana Brůhová Foltýnová.

SMART knowledge and technology transfer

The transfer of SMART knowledge and technologies to the various life situations of the target groups will be based on the support of networking, exchange of experience, sharing of good practice, and support of specific subjects in planning and implementing SMART measures, or directly living labs. At the same time, special software will be developed, using up-to-date information (in real-time) to serve as a support tool for evidence-based policy application and quality evaluation. “Practical implementation and implementation of innovations will take place at all levels, national, regional and local, to support the development of all types of municipalities and regions as well as digital and green transition,” concludes Brůhová Foltýnová.

Principal researcher of the project for KTH FIR VŠE

Bc. Lucie Nencková, Ph.D., MBA

In her work, Lucie Nencková deals with the topic of sustainable development in its many forms, especially concerning the implementation of the principles of the circular economy, regional policy and the concepts of Smart Cities, Smart Villages and Smart Regions. She has been working with relevant key players in these areas for a long time. She has co-authored several strategic development documents at national, regional and local levels, including the Smart Cities – Resilience through SMART solutions for municipalities, cities and regions for the Ministry of Regional Development. She has cooperated – and continues to cooperate – in the preparation and solution of research and innovation projects (Interreg, TA ČR, CEF, H2020, UNDP). She is an active evaluator of projects of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TA ČR) and has been working for a long time at the Institute for Sustainable Entrepreneurship of the University of Economics in Prague. She promotes holistic and multidisciplinary approaches, especially in the area of connecting academia and public administration in solving every day and less everyday problems and challenges of sustainable development, and she is also involved in RRI (Responsible Research & Innovation).

The project “CENTRE OF RESEARCH FOR A RESILIENT, SMART, INNOVATIVE AND SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY” (CESMOD, no. TQ12000017) is supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic under the 5th public competition of the Programme for Support of Applied Research and Innovation SIGMA.