Close
We are pleased to announce a new opportunity for a Fellowship with the London Legacy Development (LLDC), part of the Greater London Authority family of organisations. Application deadline: 5 March
This fellowship is based within the SHIFT team, at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (QEOP) and presents an exciting opportunity for a UCL academic or researcher to collaborate with Local Authorities and third-party groups.
Fellowship structure
Funded through UCL Public Policy, this fellowship is intended to start end of March/ beginning of April 2025. It will be a four-month placement (with potential for a one/two month extension) on a part time (3-day p/w) basis. This is a hybrid role, with 1 day per week in LLDC’s office at 5 Endeavour Square, in Stratford E20 1JN. Timings can be flexible so if you are interested but you have other commitments for the outlined time, please get in touch.
The successful fellow will work with the SHIFT team, hosted within the LLDC and based on (QEOP) in east London.
By participating in these fellowships, researchers can gain hands-on experience in policy development ad contribute meaningfully to community-oriented initiatives. Deadline: 5 March 17:00 GMT. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to meet with members of SHIFT and UCL Public Policy on 12 March in Stratford to discuss their application.
Scope of the Fellowship
LLDC and its SHIFT team are excited to collaborate with a researcher who has a strong interest in urban innovation, sustainable development, and emerging technologies. The selected Fellow will co-design a knowledge exchange project aimed at analysing the innovation capacity of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (QEOP) and developing best practice. This Fellowship will focus on defining, measuring, and assessing QEOP's ‘innovation capacity,’ and developing clear, compelling visualisations of the data that SHIFT and its partners can use for strategic programming and policy.
SHIFT looks forward to working closely with the Fellow to co-create a Fellowship project that leverages their unique skills, aligns with the organisation’s strategic goals, and supports the needs of its partners. The Fellow will have the opportunity to collaborate with SHIFT, third-party organisations, and Local Authorities, gaining valuable insights into how innovation is implemented in urban spaces and the challenges they face in doing so.
SHIFT is a running a drop-in workshop on 18 February 15:30-16:30 online for those who would like to learn more about SHIFT and to discuss their ideas for a Fellowship.
Please email alice.tofts@ucl.ac.uk if you would like to join.
Background
The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) is a Mayoral Development Corporation, established by the Mayor of London in 2012. Its main purpose is to facilitate and coordinate the regeneration of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and surrounding areas in east London, delivering a key aspect of the legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is fast becoming a leading Innovation District in the capital. SHIFT is the programme that fuels the growth of innovation on the Park; it focuses on addressing urban challenges through inclusive and responsible innovation.1 An innovation catalyst and ecosystem, SHIFT2 has strengths in areas like climate action, circular economy, health and wellbeing, advanced mobility, inclusive design, digital and data design. SHIFT has 243 organisations in its membership, and is backed by 7 locally based organisations: UCL; Loughborough University in London; University of the Arts London; London Legacy Corporation; Here East, Plexal, and Lendlease. Together, these organisations are engineering healthier environments and enhancing the region’s economic capabilities.
Objectives and rationale
The outcomes of the Fellowship have the potential to:
Support SHIFT to develop and test suitable definitions, measures and framework methodology for measuring ‘innovation capacity’ across a defined area, contributing to SHIFT’s ‘Impact Roadmap’.
Use this to develop a robust evidence base detailing the current (as of 2025) innovation capacity of the Olympic Park and surrounding region in areas such as immersive technologies, cyber security and sustainable construction.
Support in the development of a transferable framework and methodology that can be used by other innovation clusters seeking to run the same analysis.
Support universities on the Olympic Park to plan R&D programming according to existing local innovation capacity and opportunities.
Support universities on the Olympic Park to identify gaps and potential opportunities to develop future courses and knowledge exchange programmes.
Support Local Authorities and the Greater London Authority to shape investment priorities over the next 3 – 5 years spending review cycle according to local innovation capacity and opportunities.
Essential Skills and Experience:
Understanding of innovation ecosystems, economic development, and public policy
Experience in gathering and processing data.
Proficiency in data visualisation, insights, and analysis.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills with experience in translating research for different audiences.
Essential Attributes:
A proactive team player who can build rapport quickly.
Agile and comfortable with change.
Collaborative, with the ability to work effectively in a team.
Analytical, methodical, and logical thinker.
Good at listening and observing.
Ways of working
The fellowship will be for four-months (with potential for a one/two month extension) on a part time (3-day p/w) basis.
About you
These secondments are open to eligible academic and research staff at UCL Grade 6, 7 or 8. Eligible applicants must have a UCL employment contract that extends beyond the secondment period.
To apply
Please complete the online application form by 17:00 GMT 5th March to apply for this opportunity. If you have difficulty in accessing or using this form please contact Dr Alice Tofts, Policy Fellowship Coordinator, UCL Public Policy (alice.tofts@ucl.ac.uk). If you have any questions please take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions page.
We particularly welcome applications from black and minority ethnic, female and disabled/neurodivergent candidates.
Top ranked candidates will be invited to meet members of UCL Public Policy and SHIFT to discuss their application on 12 March. Any questions please take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions page.
In order to apply, you must
have obtained consent from your line manager to do the fellowship
Submit a worktribe costing from your finance manager for your direct costs for the fellowship period
Please note information provided in the application form will be shared with SHIFT to assess your suitability for the award. For more information on data sharing please see the UCL Staff Privacy Statement here and UCL statement on tasks in the public interest here.
Deadline: 5 March 2025