detailed vision and roadmap

DETAILED
VISION
AND
ROADMAP
AMSTERDAM INSTITUTE FOR
ADVANCED METROPOLITAN SOLUTIONS
1
2
Summary
ENGINEERING TALENT, CREATING METROPOLITAN SOLUTIONS
The world is urbanizing at a tremendous rate. Cities increasingly face
challenges of sustainability and quality of life, challenges that put at
risk resource and food security, mobility and logistics, water and waste
management, health and wellbeing. Cities need metropolitan solutions –
and that creates an opportunity for scientists, companies and entrepreneurs
innovative enough to develop and deliver them. Such solutions are made
possible by today’s revolution of new technologies and design methods.
But no party can do this alone; metropolitan solutions require cooperation
between knowledge institutes, companies, cities and citizens.
We are a consortium of academic and industry leaders, joining forces to
build a new, internationally leading public-private institute to engineer
talent and create metropolitan solutions. TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT
form the academic core of the institute. They partner with industry leaders
in the field, Accenture, Alliander, Cisco, IBM, KPN, Shell and Waternet,
research institutes Amsterdam Smart City, ESA, TNO, and Waag Society,
and the City of Boston. Our ambition coincides with that of the City of
Amsterdam, and we invite the city to join us in realizing the Amsterdam
Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS, working title).
VISION FOR THE AMS INSTITUTE
AMS aims to become a leader in urban innovation, using technology and
design to resolve, steer and navigate city flows – e.g. water, energy, waste,
food, data and people. AMS covers the entire chain from education to
research to valorization, from discovery to development to deployment.
It will be at the forefront of the field of metropolitan solutions, because
of its unique consortium of leading public and private partners, its holistic
approach that integrates engineering and design and the physical and digital
worlds, and the city and its citizens, and its unique facilities, that include
the Amsterdam living lab and a network of living labs around the world.
AMS will foster a culture of engagement and excellence in engineering
and design.
AMS will be:
1. An educational program with a new, innovative MSc in Metropolitan
Solutions that targets top students from all over the world
2. A portfolio of research and valorization projects/programs defined
and executed by consortia of knowledge institutes and companies in
cooperation with the City of Amsterdam and its citizens
3. A value platform that combines infrastructures (e.g. the living lab),
knowledge and networks to enable its education, research and
valorization activities
3
BUSINESS AND OPERATING MODEL
The business and operating model of AMS is built around its three parts:
1. The educational program is defined, executed and financed chiefly by
the academic core of AMS, and operationalized as an integral part of the
larger education offers of the core academic partners. Co-financing from
the City of Amsterdam is mainly used for accommodation in Amsterdam
2. The public-private consortia in the research and valorization portfolio
have different shapes, sizes and governance structures, tailored to the
specific needs of the projects/programs and consortia members. All of
these, however, adhere to specific ground rules and are subject to the
AMS portfolio management. They are mainly financed by the public
and private consortium members themselves – and by subsidy sources
– and AMS itself offers a stimulus fund up to ~20% of a consortium’s
budget
3. The offerings of the value platform have a growth model that will
build up with the platform’s use. In time, the platform is to become
independent of funding from the City of Amsterdam
AMS as a whole will generate a multiplier of four on the investments from
the City of Amsterdam through co-investments from AMS partners and
by attracting funding from other sources in the first ten-year period. AMS
advocates an open model that lets others that share its vision participate
in its research and valorization activities, make use of the platform, and
contribute to and benefit from AMS. AMS has the ambition to anchor itself
in a physical accommodation in Amsterdam as soon as possible.
ROADMAP FOR AMS
AMS has a growth model that, in a four-stage roadmap, foresees:
• A one-year kick-start and design phase, in which activities are initiated
and the organization set up
• A four-year growth phase in which AMS matures, its threefold
operational model materializes, and AMS establishes itself firmly in
Amsterdam
• A four-year development period where AMS moves towards becoming
autonomous
• A full-scale autonomous AMS institute as of year 10
Risks have been identified, and measures for their mitigation will be taken.
AMS will be steered towards realizing its key success factors. To achieve this,
AMS partners will make key expert personnel available.
COMMITMENT
A strong, committed consortium is already in place; all current partners
have expressed their commitment in a letter. AMS’ core academic partners,
TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT, will contribute to AMS by carrying
the educational program, participating in the research and valorization
portfolio, and contributing to the AMS platform. Their commitment is for the
long term, and has been expressed in letters of commitment on the board
level of TU Delft and Wageningen UR, and on the vice president level of MIT.
4
Amsterdam Smart City, City of Boston, KPN, TNO and Waag Society
will play a major role in the value platform and participate in projects/
programs. AMS partners Accenture, Alliander, Cisco, ESA, IBM, Shell and
Waternet have expressed their intent to participate in and contribute to the
research and valorization portfolio. Boston has expressed its intention to
act as a partner city. The open model of AMS will bring many more leading
parties to participate in AMS in the (near) future. Finally, AMS foresees
potential cooperation with the integrated beta faculty of UvA and VU and,
if opportune, with complementary initiatives such as the THNK consortium.
FIT WITH THE GOALS OF THE CITY OF AMSTERDAM
AMS is fully aligned with the goals of the City of Amsterdam. AMS attracts
and retains talented engineers to the Amsterdam region. In time, 200-250
engineering students will participate in its MSc program and 100-150
researchers will be employed. AMS creates sustainable connections in
Amsterdam and on a global level, and firmly roots itself in the city. AMS
multiplies the investment from the city by four, creating an influx of funding
to the city and stimulating Amsterdam’s economy. Through AMS, Amsterdam
will be the first to benefit from metropolitan solutions that improve the
quality of life for its citizens and creating economic opportunities for its
business community. As a leading engineering and design institute for
education, research and valorization, AMS fills a clear gap in the Amsterdam
knowledge and innovation infrastructure.
AMS requests that the City of Amsterdam commits EUR 50 million to
AMS for a ten-year period. AMS proposes a model in which the AMS partners
and the City of Amsterdam co-invest: financial resources committed by
the city will only be spent if sufficient co-financing from public and private
AMS partners is secured. Furthermore, AMS requests the City of Amsterdam
to support housing, facilitate the city’s use as a living lab, provide insight
into urban challenges, contribute city data, open the city’s network, support
use of the Amsterdam brand and create publicity, support the acquisition
of external funding (e.g. Horizon 2020, ERDF, “topsector” policy), support
through various centers of expertise like the Amsterdam Economic Board
and Amsterdam Expatcenter, and act as a launching customer for new
metropolitan solutions. AMS will be a collaborative venture.
READING GUIDE TO THIS DOCUMENT
This document details the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan
Solutions. It starts with introducing the AMS consortium and its ambition
in chapter 1. Chapters 2-6 follow the structure proposed by the City of
Amsterdam in its design contest notice for round 2, giving answers to all
questions raised by the city. Finally, an appendix outlines potential projects
that may be pursued in AMS.
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6
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Table of contents
Table of contents
1.2 We are COMMITTED to taking the lead in the discovery, development and deployment
Summary
1. 1.1 1.3 1.4 2. 2.1 2.2 3
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Engineering talent, creating metropolitan solutions
11
The NEED for metropolitan solutions is magnifying
11
of metropolitan solutions
We AIM to engineer talent and create metropolitan solutions in a next-generation,
world-leading institute for urban innovation
We INVITE the City of Amsterdam to join forces with us to realize the Amsterdam
12
13
Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions
Detailed vision for the AMS Institute
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15
The SCOPE of AMS is education, research and valorization in metropolitan solutions
AMS is equipped to obtain a LEADING POSITION in the field
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21
2.2.1 The field of metropolitan solutions
21
25
2.2.2 Unique characteristics of AMS
2.3 AMS TARGETS the best international students and researchers, leading institutions
and companies, and innovative entrepreneurs and SMEs
23
2.3.1 EDUCATION: educating top talent and professionals
25
2.3.3 PLATFORM: supporting talent, institutions, companies and entrepreneurs
32
3. Business and operating model
37
The MODEL builds on three interconnected parts
37
2.3.2 RESEARCH & VALORIZATION: developing and delivering metropolitan solutions
with leading institutions and companies
engineering and design
2.4 3.1 AMS fosters a CULTURE and ENVIRONMENT of engagement, excellence,
3.1.1 Model for the educational program
3.1.2 Model for the public-private research and valorization portfolio
3.1.3 Model for the value platform
3.2 AMS REALIZES talent, scientific excellence, business activity, networks
and around the world
3.3 3.4 4. 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 5. 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 6. 6.1 6.2 6.3 and metropolitan solutions
AMS facilitates COLLABORATION with other public and private parties in Amsterdam
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35
38
41
47
49
51
LOCATED in Amsterdam
Feasibility and roadmap for the initiative
55
AMS will grow according to a four-stage ROADMAP
AUTONOMY is reached in ten years
55
Securing the development of AMS KEY SUCCESS FACTORS
61
64
Taking measures to MITIGATE RISKS
52
61
KEY PEOPLE to do the job
65
Commitment to the initiative
67
CORE ACADEMIC PARTNERS committed to the initiative and for the long run
PLATFORM PARTNERS committed to support and carry part of the value platform
67
70
RESEARCH AND VALORIZATION PARTNERS committed to participating in the portfolio 73
Other POTENTIAL PARTNERS of AMS
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Fit with the goals of the City81
Strong FIT with the goals of the City
CO-INVESTING in AMS
Proposed CONTRIBUTIONS from the City
Appendix: project examples for AMS
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81
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“The real-time city is now real! The
ubiquitous blanket of urban technologies
emerging in recent years is allowing
a new approach to the study of the
built environment. As the tools for
understanding and impacting urban space
emerge, the way we operate in and on
the city is radically transformed - a new,
sociable, networked urban ecology.”
Prof. Carlo Ratti
Director of SENSEable City Lab
MIT
1
“The densely populated Amsterdam area forms a unique living
laboratory for developing breakthrough technologies for the cities
of the future.“
Prof.dr.ir. Mark C.M. van Loosdrecht
Environmental Biotechnology
TU Delftly
“In a rapidly urbanizing world new
metropolitan food systems are needed,
which requires new scientific approaches.
The new institute is well positioned to
deliver such contributions.”
Prof.dr.ir. Rudy Rabbinge
Sustainable development and food security
Wageningen UR
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1. Engineering talent, creating metropolitan solutions
Rapid urban growth gives rise to an ever more acute need for solutions to
metropolitan challenges of sustainability and quality of life, including resource
and food security, mobility and logistics, water and waste management, and
health and wellbeing. Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Wageningen
University and Research Centre (Wageningen UR) and the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) and their industry and research partners are
committed to taking the lead in developing and delivering such solutions.
We aim to engineer talent and create metropolitan solutions in a nextgeneration, world-leading institute for urban innovation, and we invite the
City of Amsterdam to join us in realizing the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced
Metropolitan Solutions (AMS, working title).
1.1 THE NEED FOR METROPOLITAN SOLUTIONS IS MAGNIFYING
The world is urbanizing fast. Cities increasingly face tightly interwoven
challenges of sustainability and quality of life, challenges which threaten
resource and food security, mobility and logistics, water and waste
management, and health and wellbeing. But these challenges also create
opportunities for entrepreneurs and scientists innovative enough to develop
new solutions that the ever-growing metropolitan world needs – solutions
that a revolution of new technologies and design methods makes possible.
THE WORLD IS URBANIZING FAST
Where 40% of the world’s population lived in urban areas in 1980, by 2030
this figure will jump to 60%, or even around 80% in more developed areas.1
There are currently some 600 cities with a population larger than 750,000
inhabitants, four times as much as half a century ago. Most of these people
live in mid-sized cities like Amsterdam; megacities, with over 10 million
citizens, account for only about 10% of the world’s population.
GREAT CITIES FACE GREAT CHALLENGES
The great challenge of our time is to maintain a sustainable and high quality
of life within cities. To sustain prosperous urban conditions in the face of
global and local climate change and ever growing populations, cities must
secure and green essential flows, including clean water, energy, food, and
waste, ensure mobility and logistics, and protect the air quality, temperature,
natural, public spaces, and built urban tissue essential to a healthy
environment, where citizens can live, breathe and work. The systems that
were set up to deal with these issues have, in many cases, reached their limits
and require radical change.
METROPOLITAN SOLUTIONS ARE PUBLIC-PRIVATE OPPORTUNITIES
All over the world, cities are looking for solutions to preserve and improve
urban living and working conditions. Their challenge represents an
opportunity for public and private parties innovative and entrepreneurial
enough to develop and deliver such solutions.2 Metropolitan challenges are
a promising area for groundbreaking fundamental and applied research
and knowledge valorization for scientists, and for growth and investment
strategies for small and large industrial players. Knowledge institutes,
1. UN, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, key figures 2012
2. MT Management Team, Megasteden bieden megakansen, July 29, 2013
11
companies, cities and their citizens are already starting to come together in
urban-centric initiatives targeting sustainability (the Sustainable City), the
better utilization of resources and infrastructure (the Smart City), effective
production and distribution of food (the Edible City), improved equity and
government transparency (the Just City), higher quality of life (the Healthy
City), technology innovation and urban dynamics (the Creative City),
and activating citizens to co-create the services that they will use (Smart
Citizens).
NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND DESIGN METHODS BRING SOLUTIONS WITHIN REACH
The development and application of digital technologies is radically
transforming the way we describe and understand cities and the tools we
use to design, plan and manage them. This new approach to urban design
allows us to rethink the built environment from the ground up, including
tangible urban technologies in the areas of water, energy, mobility, waste,
food, health, etc. Such developments give rise to a new field of research and
development in applied technology that combines engineering and design
at the crossroads of the physical and digital sides of the urban domain: a
marriage between atoms and bytes.
1.2 WE ARE COMMITTED TO TAKING THE LEAD IN THE DISCOVERY, DEVELOPMENT
AND DEPLOYMENT OF METROPOLITAN SOLUTIONS
Metropolitan solutions is an interdisciplinary approach that draws upon
many different fields of research and which relies on a variety of public and
private parties for its success. We are a consortium of academic and industry
leaders, joining forces to build a new, internationally leading public-private
institute for advanced metropolitan solutions (figure 1).
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Delft University
of Technology
Massachusetts
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Wageningen University
and Research Centre
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Leading industry partners
and institutes participating
in programs, contributing data,
technologies, infrastructure,
network and resources
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ACADEMIC CORE
World leading institutions in
science and technology related
to the domain of urban solution
with proven excellence in
research, education and
innovation
Figure 1. Overview of the consortium
INTERNATIONALLY LEADING UNIVERSITIES FORM THE CORE
Three academic partners are at the heart of the consortium: Delft University
of Technology (TU Delft), Wageningen University and Research Centre
(Wageningen UR) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
They provide the integrated and long-term thinking that secures the
continuity of the consortium and institution. They have profound experience
in multiple relevant fields, including electrical, mechanical, agricultural and
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civil engineering, computer science, governance and policy, environmental
sciences, landscaping, urban planning and design, architecture and
social sciences. Globally, they rank numbers 3 and 32 in engineering and
technology universities and numbers 1 and 22 in life sciences universities.3
In terms of collaboration with industry, they rank numbers 2, 18 and 48
among the world’s top-500 universities.4 These universities educate and
perform research in real-world problems, work together with companies,
and valorize their results.
TOP INDUSTRY AND RESEARCH PARTNERS POOL THEIR STRENGTHS
WITH ACADEMIA
Leading partners from industry and research committed to and actively
involved in the consortium include Accenture, Alliander, Amsterdam Smart
City, Cisco, City of Boston, ESA, IBM, KPN, Shell, TNO, Waag Society and
Waternet. These partners, local, national and international, cover a range
of technology R&D and integration required for prospering cities and their
solutions: from IT to energy, from water and food to materials and waste.
They contribute data, technologies, knowledge (including co-creation
methodologies) and resources to the consortium, guide the research
towards where it matters most for the economy and society, and strengthen
the consortium’s capacity to turn societal needs into research into solutions,
and implement them in real life.
1.3 WE AIM TO ENGINEER TALENT AND CREATE METROPOLITAN SOLUTIONS IN A
NEXT-GENERATION, WORLD-LEADING INSTITUTE FOR URBAN INNOVATION
Our mission is to engineer talent and create metropolitan solutions. We aim
to do this by setting up a world-leading institute for urban innovation that
provides the facilities and services needed to be a value-adding platform for
educational, research and valorization activities (see chapter 2).
THROUGH EDUCATION WE WILL ENGINEER THE NEXT GENERATION
OF ENGINEERING TALENT
For the consortium, “engineering talent” has two meanings: content and
approach. The institute will train talented engineers in the development
and implementation of metropolitan solutions and engineer talent through
innovative education and real-life practice.
Developing and delivering metropolitan solutions requires talented, welleducated and motivated people. Talent can be found anywhere in the world,
but developing that talent and focusing their energies on metropolitan
solutions (in and for Amsterdam) requires new approaches. It is a challenge
that traditional on-site education alone cannot solve. Nor can Massive
Open Online Courses (MOOCs) offered by several institutes, including AMS’
academic consortium members; student commitment and accreditation are
obstacles there.
3. Times Higher Education World University Rankings‘
Engineering and Technology Table and Life Sciences Table, 2012-2013
4. CWTS Leiden Ranking, 2013
13
The educational institute of the future, therefore, combines the physical and
digital worlds at all levels, blending on-site learning, distance education and
MOOCs to deliver individualized education at the scale necessary for a world
full of talent on the one side and metropolitan challenges on the other.5
We have the ambition to set up an institute in the field of metropolitan
solutions that does just that. We aim to attract the best students worldwide,
and from a variety of fields. We aim to provide progressive education and
deliver excellent, interdisciplinary engineers with the theoretical grounding
and practical skills to deal with the complex challenges of cities.
THROUGH RESEARCH AND VALORIZATION WE WILL ENGINEER
METROPOLITAN SOLUTIONS
The consortium’s mission is to apply excellence in engineering and
design to develop and deliver transformational solutions for emerging
metropolitan challenges that are beyond the scope and reach of individual
knowledge institutes and companies. Metropolitan solutions is an inherently
interdisciplinary field that requires profound knowledge and expertise
in fields as diverse as construction, environment, water, energy, food, and
ICT, and their integration; approaches such as big data analytics, selforganization and configuration, and co-creation; and the application of
sensor networks, bioinformatics and smart materials. The consortium aims
to build a leading institute for urban innovation that pools the knowledge,
people and resources of a variety of academic and industrial partners, and
deploys the engineering talent that is built in the institute’s educational
program.
Research and valorization in this institute will not just be about cities, they
will be integrated into cities through an international network of “living
labs” to test and co-create solutions. The institute will use these cities’ living
labs to understand the flows and characteristics of the urban environment,
and thus to design metropolitan solutions and accelerate their integration
into real life. It will do this together with the people, structures and
organizations that make up cities.
Only when innovations are actually delivered – by companies and
entrepreneurs – and used – by people in cities – do they unlock their full
economic and social value. To facilitate urban innovation and ensure urban
delivery, we will set up the institute as a value platform with a physical
location in the heart of a dynamic city, a living lab and a wide network of
partners to jointly realize new metropolitan solutions on the ground.
5. Paul Taylor, Technology is the key to teaching future skills, Financial Times, July 17, 2013
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1.4 WE INVITE THE CITY OF AMSTERDAM TO JOIN FORCES WITH US TO REALIZE
THE AMSTERDAM INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED METROPOLITAN SOLUTIONS
Our ambition coincides with that of the City of Amsterdam, and we are
delighted to invite the city to join us in realizing the Amsterdam Institute for
Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS, working title), with Amsterdam as
the physical nucleus of our educational program, our primary living lab and
our international network hub.
AMSTERDAM WILL HOST THE PHYSICAL NUCLEUS OF THE EDUCATIONAL
PROGRAM
We offer the City of Amsterdam the opportunity to become the physical
nucleus of our educational program. For Amsterdam (and the companies
based there), the combination of physical and digital education provides
access to thousands of talented people from all over the world who will
spend part or all of their studies in Amsterdam, developing and applying
metropolitan solutions there. For the institute, Amsterdam is an excellent
location with international appeal for engineering and design students,
a place where they can meet, learn, live and study, experience urban
challenges and put their solutions to practice.
AMSTERDAM WILL BE THE PRIMARY LIVING LAB AND INTERNATIONAL
NETWORK HUB FOR RESEARCH AND VALORIZATION
Amsterdam will become the primary living lab for the research and
valorization activities of the institute and the main hub in an international
network. For Amsterdam, the presence of the institute will generate hightech employment and R&D investments within the metropolitan borders,
an international network of academic and industrial partners and partner
cities, a high retention of the engineering talent developed by the institute,
and new business. Moreover, Amsterdam and its citizens will be the first to
benefit from the new metropolitan solutions developed by the institute and
its network partners.
With its incredible infrastructure and environment, Amsterdam is an ideal
base for this institute. The city is home to a solid innovation ecosystem,
strong industry and particularly a vibrant creative industry, high number
of headquarters of multinationals, and is itself an internationally acclaimed
living lab – a broad sociocultural diversity of citizens who are involved, open
to change and proud of their city. Amsterdam is also an attractive place
to work and live, appealing to talent, students and researchers alike from
around the globe. The long-term commitment and co-investment of the City
of Amsterdam will certainly catalyze the institute into becoming a worldleading answer to one of the world’s most acute challenges.
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“AMS has the potential to create truly
disruptive innovation in the field of
Intelligent Urbanization. By creating a
team of experts that is dedicated to the
incubation and support of entrepreneurs
that are seeking to translate innovative IP
from the Applied Research organization
into marketable products and services,
the institution can become the engine
of an ecosystem of businesses that will
distinguish Amsterdam as the leading city
globally for disruptive urban innovation.”
Simon Giles
Intelligent Cities Strategy Lead
Accenture
2
“Architecture and urbanism are being radically
transformed by emerging digital technologies. As the
discipline enters new territory, the way we teach must
respond and lead innovation.”
Prof. Adèle Naudé Santos
Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning
MIT
“The global energy and water landscape continues to shift and
increasingly calls for new, integrated and sustainable solutions
for cities. Through the AMS initiative Shell looks forward to a
collaborative and real-life environment in which these challenges
may be tackled with the brightest minds in the world.”
Gerald Schotman
Chief Technology Officer
Shell
16
2. Detailed vision for the AMS Institute
The Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS) aims to
become a leader in urban innovation, using technology and design to resolve,
steer and navigate city flows – e.g. water, energy, waste, food, data and people.
AMS covers the entire chain from education to research to valorization, from
discovery to development to deployment. It will be at the forefront of the field
of metropolitan solutions, because of its unique consortium of leading public
and private partners, its holistic approach that integrates engineering and
design and the physical and digital worlds, and the city and its citizens, and its
unique facilities, that include the Amsterdam living lab and a network of living
labs around the world. AMS will foster a culture of engagement and excellence
in engineering and design.
AMS will be:
1. An educational program with a new, innovative MSc in Metropolitan
Solutions that targets top students from all over the world
2. A portfolio of research and valorization projects/programs defined and
executed by consortia of knowledge institutes and companies in cooperation
with the City of Amsterdam and its citizens
3. A value platform that combines infrastructures (e.g. the living lab),
knowledge and networks to enable its education, research and valorization
activities
2.1 THE SCOPE OF AMS IS EDUCATION, RESEARCH AND VALORIZATION
IN METROPOLITAN SOLUTIONS
AMS envisions becoming an internationally leading institute in urban
innovation. AMS covers education, research and valorization, and offers a
platform on which this can take place. It is centered around the concept of
the 21st century city and its dynamic flows, e.g. water, energy, waste, food,
data and people, using engineering, design and science at the intersections
of the physical, digital and social city to resolve, steer and navigate these
flows. AMS will thus come to deeply understand the city, design solutions for
its challenges, and integrate these into the city’s metabolism.
EDUCATION, RESEARCH AND VALORIZATION ARE ENABLED BY THE AMS
VALUE PLATFORM
AMS‘ educational program, which is overseen by the consortium’s core
academic partners, includes a new, innovative, two-year MSc in Metropolitan
Solutions, geared at educating engineers within Amsterdam. In addition,
AMS hosts a portfolio of research and valorization projects and programs,
defined and executed by public-private consortia that bring together leading
knowledge institutes, companies, and the City of Amsterdam and its citizens.
The educational program and research and valorization portfolio are
enabled by the AMS value platform (figure 2). This platform consists of a
physical infrastructure (e.g. research facilities, educational facilities), a data
platform (access, storage, and analysis), the Amsterdam living lab, extensive
expertise and an international network of partners and cities. The platform
is set up by public and private AMS partners, and is designed to develop and
strengthen over time on par with its use (see section 2.3).
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By taking an integrated approach to education, research and valorization,
AMS guarantees that:
• Talent is educated in issues that really matter and are connected to labor
markets, both local and global
• Researchers build on the latest knowledge and technology, and by
working with companies, governments and citizens the research stays
connected to real world questions and challenges
• Results will be implemented in Amsterdam and exported over the world
by existing companies and entrepreneurial talent
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Figure 2. Overview of AMS
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THE METABOLISM OF THE CITY
Urban metabolism is a powerful way to describe and analyze the flows
and processes in and through cities and city landscapes. In urban systems,
different flows can be analyzed at different levels of aggregation. The lowest
aggregation levels include elementary material flows and cycles, such as
nitrogen management and carbon or phosphate cycles. For technology and
policy, often a higher aggregation level is studied, including drinking water,
food, biomass, energy, waste, heat, air, human traffic, transportation of
goods, and flows of data. It is the combination of flows that unlocks the full
potential of metropolitan solutions. Like the so-called food-water-energy
nexus, acknowledging that flows are interconnected leads to their mutual
optimization – and thus to better solutions.
USING TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN TO RESOLVE, STEER AND NAVIGATE
URBAN FLOWS
AMS focuses on the transformative power and disruptive effect of
technology and design, resulting in solutions that have the potential to shape
and accelerate the development of cities as well as their ability to respond to
change. Such solutions influence spatial qualities, sustainability, comfort and
livability, and in particular are used to resolve, steer and navigate the flows
of the urban metabolism.
Technological advancements in IT, engineering, life sciences and many other
disciplines continuously fuel the possibilities for metropolitan solutions.
These advancements are enhanced by data (and now, real-time data) and by
ways to gather and analyze this data, as cities become “smart” with sensors
and networks in a living lab environment. This makes a real-time model of
the actual city and its flows possible. Simultaneously, new concepts in urban
planning and design – a field in which the Netherlands has an internationally
acclaimed tradition – have a profound impact, as the way we design the
built environment on every scale will influence the way we experience the
quality of living in the city and the sustainability of the city we live in. Only
by combining technology and data with planning and design can truly new
solutions be developed, ranging from adaptation to climate change and
rising water levels to new mobility concepts and zero-emissions housing.
Case example: City Dashboard – for citizens and policymakers in Amsterdam
A dashboard is a visual display of the most important information needed to achieve one or more objectives; consolidated and arranged
on a single screen so the information can be monitored at a glance. (Stephen Few)
Waag Society, one of the AMS partners, is building a City Dashboard in cooperation with the City of Amsterdam. This City Dashboard
combines the functionalities of a corporate information dashboard with a visual analysis and discovery tool. It is an exploration interface
for working with and making decisions on real-time urban data flows, e.g. on mobility and public transport, air quality, waste disposal,
corporate and government spending and crime rates. It aggregates and makes visual data on the manifold processes that go on in the city.
Connections between datasets can also be made to monitor KPIs, set and respond to triggers, and gain access to raw data. Citizens can
monitor self-chosen issues and report on missing or incorrect data; city officials can see in real-time how the city is doing on varying axes
and aggregation levels, what needs attention and how their decisions influence the city; companies can use it to conceptualize and build
new urban services for businesses and consumers.
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SENSE, DESIGN AND INTEGRATE
AMS integrates discovery, development and deployment of new
metropolitan solution in a cycle of (figure 3):
• Sensing and analyzing the city flows and fabric
• Designing metropolitan solutions with urban flows at their core
• Integrating these solutions into the urban domain, in urban planning and
design, using the Amsterdam living lab and partner living labs
SENSE
The City
INTEGRATE
Technology
DESIGN
Metropolitan Solutions
Figure 3. Sense, design and integrate cycle
Sensing provides data that is fed back into the design and integration
processes. Effective designs for metropolitan solutions generally go beyond
technology; they involve the entire sociotechnical system, including social
engagement, policy development and financial engineering. This secures
effective integration of solutions in Amsterdam – and all over the world
– by private consortium partners and new businesses, optimizing the
valorization of developed knowledge and technologies.
Case example: Criteria for sewer pipe replacement decisions, a TU Delft study in Amsterdam
TU Delft investigated the influence of settlement (differential, etc.) on the functioning of sewer systems, with Amsterdam as the case
study. The study identified new criteria for making sewer pipe replacement decisions more sensible. Like many large cities (e.g.
Jakarta, Bangkok, Tokyo, Shanghai), Amsterdam is situated in a delta. As deltas are characterized by soft soil conditions, settlement
is an important factor behind malfunctioning sewer systems. Application of monitoring techniques in Amsterdam (sewer invert
measurements, sewer profile measurements, visual sewer inspection) showed that even within an area with a limited settlement rate (5
mm/year), the influence of settlement on sewer system performance is significant (blockages, fouling and FOG deposits) and to a large
extent predictable. This understanding of the failure mechanisms related to settlement will be used to improve decision-making for
sewer asset management.
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CITIES IN EMERGING ECONOMIES
AMS’ scope includes metropolitan challenges in emerging economies.
Cities in emerging economies are growing fast, leading to large challenges
in city development, sustainability and livability. Sewer systems are heavily
overloaded, and other infrastructures lack the ability to meet the rapid growth.
Large and increasing concentrations of people and buildings lead to rising
temperatures, air pollution and water shortages. Emerging cities can learn
from cities in developed countries, like Amsterdam, in which high-tech urban
infrastructures have been operational for a longer period, and therefore where
information on their benefits and challenges is available. Fast-growing cities
in emerging economies offer the opportunity for “greenfield”, integrated
metropolitan design, where state-of-the-art technology can be embedded in
the metabolism of the city.
2.2 AMS IS EQUIPPED TO OBTAIN A LEADING POSITION IN THE FIELD
The Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS) aims
to become a leading institute for discovery, development and deployment of
metropolitan solutions. This chapter sets out our vision. Section 2.1 outlined
the scope of the institute. This section provides an overview of the field
(2.2.1) and the positioning of AMS within it, building on the strengths of its
consortium, approach and unique facilities (2.2.2). Section 2.3 introduces
the target groups and three components of AMS, education (2.3.1), research
and valorization (2.3.2) and the value platform (2.3.3). Chapter 2 concludes
with a section on the culture and environment we envision for AMS (2.4). The
operations of the institute and its constituent parts are detailed in chapter 3.
2.2.1 THE FIELD OF METROPOLITAN SOLUTIONS
Metropolitan solutions is an interdisciplinary field that resides around
improving the quality and sustainability of living in the city and its
surroundings. Through the development of technological and social solutions,
combined with new urban planning and design concepts, challenges in areas
like water, energy, mobility, waste, climate, health and food are overcome.
It is a relatively young field that is growing rapidly in pace with urbanization,
with increasing numbers of parties from the public and private worlds getting
involved and launching joint initiatives.
KNOWLEDGE INSTITUTES
Knowledge institutes are increasingly developing activities in the field of
metropolitan solutions, performing education and research (fundamental and
applied). Examples of universities and other institutes at the front line are:
• MIT with the SENSEable City Lab and city sciences research group
• NYU with the setup of the Center for Urban Science & Progress (CUSP)
• Columbia University with the Smart Cities Center
• ETH with the Future Cities Laboratory
• LSE with the LSE Cities
• TU Delft with the Urban Metabolism Research Lab and Geomatics for the
Built Environment
• Imperial College with the smart cities research center
• Fraunhofer FOKUS with the Outsmart initiative
• Alexandra Institute with the Smart City Lab
• Wageningen UR with Alterra, research institute on sustainable green living
environment
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COMPANIES
From large multinationals to local SMEs, private parties gravitate towards
the theme of metropolitan solutions because of the huge potential market
it entails. For smart city technologies alone, this market is expected to
grow by ~16% annually, from USD 6.1 bn in total revenue today to USD
20.2 bn by 2020.6 Global leaders in the field of smart city technologies
include IBM, Cisco and Accenture, with contenders like Siemens, Hitachi,
Toshiba, Schneider Electric and General Electric. Companies which rely
on metropolitan infrastructures for their operations, like telecoms and
utilities, are also involved in the field. They contribute to the science through
their data and infrastructure, and benefit from the resulting technologies,
operating on a more local level where the infrastructure is.
CITIES
Cities are competing amongst each other to attract investments and
talent in the field of metropolitan solutions, and to thus benefit from their
developments. Cities are getting involved in metropolitan solutions through
co-investments, acting as living labs, and providing data. Leading cities in
the field include:
• New York: New York initiated the setup of the Center for Urban Science &
Progress and has many more initiatives, such as those around open data
sets and the use of these through NYC Big Apps
• London: Through the Future Cities Initiative, a London smart city
Catapult will be established with GBP 150 m of government funding.
The London center will collaborate with the recently founded Future
City demonstrator host Glasgow
• Amsterdam: With the Amsterdam Smart City initiative, the city has
demonstrated its commitment to the field of metropolitan solutions;
with the AMS design contest it is clearly restating this commitment
• Barcelona: Barcelona designated a district within the city as a living lab
to foster innovations in new urban service; a private-public partnership
of companies and universities will establish the Urban Lab & Smart City
campus there
• Boston: Boston is active in the field through the New Urban Mechanics
office, which is focused on innovations around transformative city
services to residents. Boston also recently established a framework
together with IBM for new ways to monitor traffic and use this to reduce
congestion and greenhouse gasses
• Singapore: Singapore participates in a number of initiatives to become
an ever smarter city. Examples include the shared ‘research
collaboratory’ with IBM, the open approach to serve as living lab (e.g.
the Jurong Lake District which is designated as smart district) and LIVE
Singapore!, a research program lead by the MIT SENSEable City Lab
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
The field of metropolitan solutions becomes especially exciting when
knowledge institutes, companies and cities team up in public-private
partnerships to connect the chain of education, research and valorization.
That is where the competition of AMS lies. Promising initiatives are
developing elsewhere, such as in New York and Barcelona.
6. Navigant Research Leaderboard Report: Smart City Suppliers
22
New York: Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP)
At the end of 2011, New York launched a request for proposals, which
led to the development of CUSP. CUSP is a public-private partnership which
includes New York University, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of
Toronto, the University of Warwick and the Indian Institute of Technology
Bombay. It cooperates with companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Xerox,
Cisco and Siemens and with several city departments. For the educational
activities, a total of ~400 students following the MSc program Applied Urban
Science and Informatics are expected. The research focus is on acquisition
and analysis of data through projects that are application orientated.
Brooklyn, where CUSP is located, will serve as the test area and living lab.
Valorization activities through technology transfer and incubator facilities
are envisioned.
Barcelona: Urban Lab & Smart City Campus (BITH)
Founded in 2012, the BITH is an initiative of the city of Barcelona to create
a living lab and programs in areas ranging from IT to waste. The BITH
operates as a public-private partnership which includes local government,
the University of Barcelona, the University Polytechnic of Barcelona, Cisco,
Endesa and Sanofi. Large investments in infrastructure are being made
and an urban lab will be set up to facilitate incubators, research facilities,
classrooms and more. City data will be made available for use in approved
projects and an area of the city will be dedicated as a living lab.
2.2.2 UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF AMS
AMS has the ability to grow into an international leader in the field
by leveraging its unique consortium, approach and facilities.
CONSORTIUM: INTEGRATING STRENGTHS OF INTERNATIONALLY LEADING
UNIVERSITIES AND MOBILIZING LEADING INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL
(PRIVATE) PARTNERS
TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT, three global top universities, are
combining their strengths in the field of metropolitan solutions. Each of
these academic partners has a proven track record in disciplines key to
the field of metropolitan solutions and the study of city flows, and each
has ample experience in translating this knowledge into technological
innovations and solutions for urban challenges (see section 5.1). Few other
metropolitan solutions initiatives can match the quality and quantity of
knowledge unlocked by their combination.
A number of leading industry parties and applied research institutes
complement the academic core and strengthen the capabilities of AMS. AMS
partners include leaders in information and communication technology and
infrastructure, like Accenture, Cisco, IBM, KPN and TNO, as well as leaders in
application areas like energy and water, including Alliander, ESA, Shell and
Waternet. These partners define research questions and steer AMS activities
towards where they really matter. They also provide local infrastructures
and data to enable and optimize the sense, design and integration of
metropolitan solutions.
23
APPROACH: HOLISTIC INTEGRATION OF (I) ENGINEERING AND DESIGN, (II)
PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL WORLDS, AND (III) THE CITY AND ITS CITIZENS
The institute takes a holistic approach in which not only different
disciplines, but also education, research and valorization functions
are brought together in one center: education through research, and
valorization through research and education. AMS will be an environment
where students interact with researchers, professionals with teachers, and
inventors with users. Few initiatives in the world take this holistic approach
and have the capabilities to make it work; in that sense, AMS can measure
itself against initiatives such as those in New York and Barcelona.
Bringing together the engineering and design of TU Delft, the life sciences
of Wageningen UR, and the technologies of MIT is as powerful as it is
essential in tackling metropolitan challenges. The combination of research
and experimentation, design and technical application, and humanities and
social innovation is at the core of the institute’s approach.
AMS leverages the full spectrum of the physical and digital worlds both
in education and in research. The educational program attracts a large talent
base by offering a strongly rooted program in Amsterdam, with lectures,
practicals and research, and more digital forms of education like distance
learning and MOOCs. This allows basically anyone in the world to follow the
program (or parts of it). In research, the institute combines the spatial and
the digital city through sens(or)ing and analyzing the various city flows with
the city’s living lab at its base, creating a real-time data infrastructure from
which innovations can be developed.
AMS will not just study cities and their citizens; it will mobilize them.
Metropolitan solutions will only be real solutions if adopted by their users:
citizens. In that, AMS takes a place-based approach, tailoring its methods
to the specific characteristics and dynamics of communities; an approach
in which AMS partners Waag Society and Amsterdam Smart City have
ample experience. AMS will use the Amsterdam living lab to facilitate
experimentation and co-creation with real users in real-life environments,
where users (citizens), knowledge institutes, companies and governments
(the “quadruple helix”) develop, implement and use new solutions, new
products, new services and new business models. In this integrated
approach, citizens are active actors, not passive receivers of “innovations”.
FACILITIES: THE INSTITUTE ITSELF, THE AMSTERDAM LIVING LAB, AND AN
INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF CITIES AS LIVING LABS
AMS is set up as a value platform that offers unique facilities for education,
research and valorization. The platform operates on three levels: a facility
in Amsterdam that houses infrastructure and knowledge/experience, the
Amsterdam living lab and its real-time data, and an international network of
other cities as living labs and partners. The platform is thus a solid basis for
both inspiration and for testing (and implementing) metropolitan solutions.
It is designed to continuously enthuse and connect to increasing numbers
of leading parties and initiatives in the field of metropolitan solutions
worldwide to participate in or cooperate with AMS.
24
The academic core and the research and industry partners provide a
broad range of existing connections that together form a network of cities
as living labs across the globe. The connections include Copenhagen,
Singapore, Shenzhen and Boston. The city of Boston has already expressed
its commitment to engaging in this initiative and being a mirror city to the
Amsterdam living lab. AMS will also work together with cities from the
developing world or in upcoming economies to share knowledge, accelerate
the development of solutions for challenges in upcoming cities, and support
AMS private partners in tapping into such emerging markets.
2.3 AMS TARGETS THE BEST INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AND RESEARCHERS,
LEADING INSTITUTIONS AND COMPANIES, AND INNOVATIVE ENTREPRENEURS
AND SMES
Enabled by its value platform, AMS offers education, research and
valorization opportunities. The educational program is an attractive, unique
proposition for top talent from the three academic partners, Amsterdam/
Netherlands-based higher educational institutes, and students and
professionals from all over the world. Its research and valorization portfolio
will attract leading institutions and companies. The value platform also
enables local entrepreneurs and SMEs to benefit from the metropolitan
solutions that are developed.
2.3.1 EDUCATION: EDUCATING TOP TALENT AND PROFESSIONALS
OFFERING A NEW MSC IN METROPOLITAN SOLUTIONS
The core of the AMS educational program is a new, innovative, two-year
engineering MSc program (figure 4). The first year will consist of course
work and practical/lab work. All courses can be followed on-site in
Amsterdam, through blended learning and real-time connections to lectures
in Delft, Wageningen and Boston. The curriculum is also offered online,
enabling MSc students to take courses and submit assignments from all over
the world – from their homes – with AMS providing online tutoring and
minimizing the need for students to come to Amsterdam for practicals and
examinations in the first year.
The second year of the MSc will take place mostly on-site in Amsterdam
and for the most part consist of a research-based thesis project in the
Amsterdam living lab or in partner living labs around the world. The student
participates in the public-private research program, working directly with
leading public and private partners on a real-life challenge to develop
practical, real-life solutions.
All first year courses are also offered as Massive Open Online Courses
(MOOCs) that can be followed by anyone, anywhere and add up to the
equivalent of the full first year program. Students can register for anything
from single MOOCs to the entire program. Unlike the distant learning
program for AMS MSc students described above, MOOC participants
will neither be actively tutored nor selected at the gate. However, the
best among them (based on previous education, results, motivation and
work experience) will have the opportunity to attend a summer school in
Amsterdam where they will be taught, tutored and tested in case work,
25
practicals, knowledge and skills. Students who successfully complete the
summer school may enroll in the second year of the MSc program on-site in
Amsterdam as official AMS MSc students and obtain their engineering MSc
degree after successfully finishing their research-based thesis project.
TARGETING TOP TALENT FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD
The new on-site/online MSc program targets a variety of student
populations:
• TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT graduates with a BSc in relevant fields
• Graduates from Amsterdam-based and Dutch higher education institutes
with relevant BSc/MSc degrees
• International BSc graduates in relevant fields
The University of Amsterdam and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam have
approximately 3,500 science students (bachelor’s) but offer no MSc in
applied technology. The Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Hogeschool Utrecht
and INHOLLAND have 2,600 bachelor graduates annually.7 An MSc in
metropolitan solutions would bring applied technology within their reach.
7. Studiekeuze 123, Studiekeuzedatabase, December 2012
Vision for and approach to the new AMS MSc in Metropolitan Solutions
An innovative MSc program that:
• Combines the physical and digital worlds through on-site, blended learning (face-to-face classroom methods combined with
computer-mediated activities), distance learning (guided online courses for AMS students), and MOOCs (non-guided online courses
for anyone, anywhere)
• Combines engineering, design, life sciences and social sciences, teaching how to tackle metropolitan challenges with technological
and social innovations
• Closely involves industry throughout the curriculum, in case work and in thesis work tied to real-life challenges
• Educates through research, teaching students research methodology and requiring a research-based thesis project in the Amsterdam
living lab
• Takes an active learning approach, engaging students through discussions, cooperation, case work, essays, etc.
• Provides multi-, inter- and trans-disciplinary education, teaching BSc students from a variety of backgrounds to: bring their
background knowledge into collaborative projects (multi); cross the boundaries of their background knowledge and integrate
different scientific disciplines (inter); and collaborate with players outside the scientific terrain, like governments, companies
and citizens (trans)
• Is structured around a set of course modules, focusing on the complex socio-spatial challenges that today’s and tomorrow’s
metropolitan areas face and need answers for: food, energy, water, waste, mobility, greening, digital flows, health and social innovation
• Has overarching skills as parts of the curriculum, like research and design methodology, scientific writing and presenting,
interdisciplinary collaboration and entrepreneurship
• Centers the curriculum on Amsterdam, encompassing cases and guest speakers from Amsterdam, and practical/lab work and
a research-based thesis project in Amsterdam
26
TALENT
Theory courses
Students, industry
professionals and
government officials
from all around the
world
INDUSTRY
MOOCs
(complete program
or individual courses)
(excl. formal exams
and guidance)
Formal exams
SUMMER
SCHOOL
ACADEMIA
Practicals in
Amsterdam
Research-based
thesis project
- TU Delft and
Wageningen UR
BSc students
- Amsterdam and
other Dutch BSc
students
- International BSc
graduates (MIT)
Theory courses
(incl. entrepreneurship)
Practicals in
Amsterdam
Theory courses and
practicals
AMS
ON-SITE and
DISTANCE
learning
(incl. exams and
guidance)
AMS in
Amsterdam
AMS
incubator
TALENT
START-UPS
YEAR 1
Students
2 MONTHS
YEAR 2
Knowledge /
Intellectual property
Figure 4. New MSc in Metropolitan Solutions
Case example: Distance MSc in water management at TU Delft
Background
Starting in September 2013, TU Delft is offering an MSc in water management via a truly blended and distance learning concept. Lectures
can be followed online and exercises can be handed in via email, with practicals and exams taken at TU Delft. Interaction with professors
and students takes place both in “real life” in Delft and via digital methods.
How it works
All MSc courses within the MSc track water management are taped and broadcasted online within 48 hours via the blackboard virtual
environment. Students abroad can follow the lectures at their convenience, while students in the Netherlands can attend the lectures
in Delft. Homework is also published on blackboard and can be handed in by email. Participants will receive any necessary guidance
through email and Skype during the course.
A few weeks a year, students following the online program are required to be present at TU Delft to participate in practical classes, speak
with professors, and take those exams that require physical attendance. This is also the opportunity to interact physically with fellow
students. The second MSc year primarily consists of the graduation thesis, which students can do from anywhere in the world while
receiving guidance from a professor based in Delft.
Who it’s for
The MSc in water management targets three groups of participants:
• Foreign students who want to follow the MSc from abroad
• On-campus MSc students who may want to follow individual courses from a distance (e.g. during an internship abroad)
• Professionals without an MSc who want to follow individual courses at their convenience
27
The MOOC program targets students and professionals abroad who have
a BSc degree; these groups come from different fields, backgrounds and
sectors ranging from industry to academia and government. With the
summer school and second year on-site, AMS will select the best and most
motivated students from a global talent pool.
MOOCs can also be followed by anyone, anywhere, even by those who have
no BSc degree or interest in an MSc. In this way, AMS will educate many
more people than just those in its MSc program. The MOOCs will be based
on Amsterdam cases. This will introduce thousands of participants to
metropolitan challenges and the Amsterdam living lab, attracting talented
people from all over the world to the city for the business, knowledge and
public sector opportunities that the city offers.
COMPELLING PROPOSITION FOR TOP TALENT
The new MSc offers BSc students from TU Delft, Wageningen UR, MIT,
Amsterdam-based and other institutes access to the collective knowledge
of three leading universities on metropolitan technology and design and an
exciting opportunity to immerse themselves in the study of metropolitan
solutions right where it happens – and in an attractive location. In their
thesis project, students will encounter both real-life challenges and potential
employers. For talent following the MOOC program, AMS represents
a unique opportunity for personal and professional development in a
promising field and the tantalizing prize of earning an MSc degree in a top
program in an attractive city with direct exposure to future employers.
COMPLEMENTARY EDUCATIONAL OFFERS
In addition to the new MSc, TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT will include
courses on metropolitan solutions as electives in existing MSc programs
and as a basis for minors in existing BSc programs. Furthermore, MSc
students who take these electives will have the opportunity to carry out
a research-based thesis project in Amsterdam. For the students this is a
unique opportunity to study and specialize in metropolitan challenges, while
AMS and Amsterdam will attract a large number of students from a wide
variety of backgrounds to this interdisciplinary field and to employers in
Amsterdam.
PhD students are educated through their participation in the research
portfolio of AMS, of which a significant part is executed by PhD students.
AMS offers PhD students a compelling proposition: participating in research
projects with leading public and private partners, and in the Amsterdam or
partner living labs. AMS will link to Graduate Schools of its partners. Finally,
AMS will investigate the possibilities of postgraduate education, executive
education, and the use of its infrastructure for vocational education. The
existing Master City Developer course has shown interest in setting up an
international version of the course in Amsterdam in collaboration with AMS.
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2.3.2 RESEARCH & VALORIZATION: DEVELOPING AND DELIVERING METROPOLITAN
SOLUTIONS WITH LEADING INSTITUTIONS AND COMPANIES
DEVELOPING A PORTFOLIO OF RESEARCH AND VALORIZATION ACTIVITIES
OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE CONSORTIA
AMS will develop and manage a portfolio of research and valorization
activities in the area of metropolitan solutions. These projects/programs are
defined and executed by public-private consortia that bring together leading
knowledge institutes, companies, and the City of Amsterdam and its citizens.
AMS is an open institute that welcomes and selects companies, institutions
and consortia with excellence or great promise in the field, which contribute
to AMS‘ mission and the institute as a whole.
AMS RESEARCH THEMES
The AMS research agenda will develop around those themes that are at the
forefront of international research and development, which build upon the
strengths and needs of Amsterdam, which have the potential to boost its
technology sector, and which combine the strengths of the AMS partners.
These themes will evolve over time. Current AMS themes include:
1. Smart infrastructures and smart systems engineering for essential
urban flows (energy, water and nutrients) and urban mobility (people,
materials and information)
2. Circular economy and integrated resource management; urban
metabolism and urban mining; (sensor-based) waste recycling, material
recovery and reuse and recycling of oriented supply chains
3. City dynamics, mimesis technologies and constructive feedback loops
4. Urban resilience (resilience engineering and social innovation) and
support for empowerment and self-organization
5. Emerging urban themes: urban agriculture (food production, logistics,
tracking and security, changes in food intake), smart retrofitting, climate
adaptation, regenerative design and e-novation
Project example: FP7 program UrbanFlood at TNO
More than two-thirds of European cities have to deal with flood risk management issues on a regular basis; these are issues which will
worsen as climate change effects result in more extreme conditions. Early warning systems can play a crucial role in mitigating flood risk
by detecting conditions and predicting the onset of a catastrophe before the event occurs, and by providing real-time information during
an event.
The EU FP7 program UrbanFlood (2009-2012), initiated by AMS partner TNO, investigated and demonstrated the feasibility of remotely
monitoring dikes and floods, whether from nearby offices or from other countries and continents, through the secure use of internet-
based technology. This was realized by implementing sensor systems in test dikes and analyzing the resulting data. Test dikes were set
up in Amsterdam, Boston and Rees.
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COMPELLING PROPOSITION FOR INSTITUTES AND COMPANIES TO PARTICIPATE
IN AMS
AMS offers consortia and individual companies, institutes and researchers
that want to participate in AMS or make use of its facilities access to (mostly
as part of the value platform, see 2.3.3):
• Amsterdam as a living lab to develop and test metropolitan solutions –
involving the Amsterdam citizens as testers, users and co-creators
• The collective knowledge and technologies of TU Delft, Wageningen UR
and MIT
• Data (real-time) on the metabolism of the city and associated data
handling/analyses services and algorithms
• The general and unique physical research infrastructures of AMS
and its partners
• A broad network of leading partners (public and private)
and other cities that can also be used as living labs
• Top talent from the educational program and the academic partners
as project members and future employees
• Funding by the City of Amsterdam and/or support in the acquisition of
public funding from local, regional, national and international sources
Project example: City-zen
Cooperation between public and private partners
The collaborative City-zen initiative is set up by public and private partners to demonstrate the possibilities of optimizing energy systems
in cities through pilot projects. Partners of City-zen include AMS partners TU Delft, Waternet, Alliander and the City of Amsterdam. In the
period 2014-2018 a range of different projects will take place in both Amsterdam and Grenoble.
Projects include:
• Retrofitting 1300 residential units to lower energy needs for heating
• Developing a fully functional smart grid with measuring devices in homes to make power usage transparent and empower customers
to limit their footprint
• Installing biodegradable waste separation tools in households to enable refinement of sewage waste into biofuels
• Heating and cooling of water with large-scale residential installation of solar collectors
• Using surface water to cool Schiphol Airport
Executed in a living lab environment in Amsterdam
All City-zen projects take place within the city environment, transforming it into a living lab through their demonstrative nature. The
public-private setup of City-zen, in which local parties are coupled with leading knowledge institutes and industry players, enables the
combination of groundbreaking research/technologies with direct positive impact for the end customers. The city’s residents are key
for City-zen. The setup leads to collaborative models and solutions which are transparent and transferable and can thus be replicated in
other areas or cities.
Attracting funding
City-zen showcases the funding ability of public-private projects/programs with AMS partners. With a consortium of over 20 national
and international, public and private participants, the total proposed budget of City-zen is around EUR 30 m. The application for EU FP7
has been positively reviewed and the project has been awarded with a EUR 15 m grant.
30
GIVING ENTREPRENEURS A HEAD START
Much of the talent retention and knowledge valorization by AMS will be
achieved through the public-private consortia that make up the research
and valorization portfolio. Talent and knowledge will flow naturally to
the partners in such consortia, especially as they roll out solutions in
Amsterdam and commercialize them internationally.
At the same time, AMS will foster entrepreneurial talent in its educational
program, and the research projects will also generate new insights – some
of which will not be directly taken up by companies in the consortia.
Matching the two, AMS will help entrepreneurs develop new businesses
around AMS results. Its offering to entrepreneurs includes:
• Access to the entrepreneurial support activities, facilities and
experiences of the AMS partners (e.g. YES!Delft) and the City of
Amsterdam
• Incubator facilities and services in the Amsterdam metropolitan area
for companies tackling the theme of metropolitan solutions
• A network of venture capital parties to fund entrepreneurs
• Involvement of consulting firms in AMS
• Entrepreneurship courses (including electives) in the educational
program
TARGETING ALL ENTREPRENEURIAL TALENT TO BENEFIT AMSTERDAM
The entrepreneurial support activities target both entrepreneurial students
from AMS and entrepreneurial people in Amsterdam. The offering will
be designed specifically around their needs and their stay in Amsterdam,
including access to facilities (existing and new) in Amsterdam and especially
partners and support in Amsterdam.
Yes!Delft: high-tech entrepreneurs center
YES!Delft is a high-tech entrepreneurs center closely linked to the TU Delft. Its mission is: building tomorrow’s leading firms. YES!Delft
inspires students, professionals and scientists to make their first steps on the path to becoming an entrepreneur and offers them the
necessary support to turn their venture into a success.
YES!Delft itself became a success as well. By now, more than hundred companies have started under the wings of YES!Delft, including
success stories like Epyon Power (fast charging solutions for electric vehicles), Ephicas (aerodynamic add-ons for semi-trailers) and
Senz umbrellas; companies that make a difference and are of clear value to economy and/or society. In 2012, YES!Delft won the national
incubator competition.
31
2.3.3 PLATFORM: SUPPORTING TALENT, INSTITUTIONS, COMPANIES AND
ENTREPRENEURS
AMS will create a value platform to support its educational program
and research and valorization portfolio: the collection of knowledge,
infrastructures and networks that AMS has to offer (figure 5). The platform
will ensure its continuity and firmly ground the institute in Amsterdam.
FACILITY
- Home base and meeting place
for students, researchers and
entrepreneurs
- Data infrastructure and services
- Unique, shared research facilities
- Incubator facilities and services
AMSTERDAM
LIVING LAB
- Testing grounds for new
metropolitan solutions
- Research object for
understanding city flows
- Access to data from the city
VALUE PLATFORM
- International network of cities as
living labs
- International network of leading
public and private parties in the
field of metropolitan solutions
NETWORK
Figure 5. Value platform of AMS
ENGINEERING
TALENT
TU Delft
Wageningen UR
MIT Boston
RESEA
VALOR
EDUCATION
PLATFORM
AMS
ACADEMIC
PUBLIC-PRIVATE
CONSORTIA
HOME BASE IN AMSTERDAM FOR TALENT
AND RESEARCHERS
Water (waternet, Afval Energie Amsterdam, WUR)
city (Accenture, Cisco, MIT)
The value platform will be located inSmart
Amsterdam,
along with lecture
Energy
(Shell, Alliander, TUD)
rooms, laboratories and office space. It will be the home base for students,
researchers and AMS staff, as well as those who use the Amsterdam living
lab.
USING THE AMSTERDAM LIVING LAB
One of the main functions of the value platform is to secure
and support
GOVERNMENT
access to the Amsterdam living lab, which enables the sense, design and
AMS
integration of solutions in the city. For example, creating real-time visuals
of the flow
of traffic
in Amsterdam: waterways, bicycle tracks, roads,
ENABLING
PLATFORM
KPN - TNO - TUD, WUR, MIT
pedestrian tracks, gaining insight in blockages and traffic management
solutions. Offering Amsterdam citizens (real-time) insights into living
parameters within Amsterdam like air quality, smart parking, water
quality and usage of sustainable energy. Understanding and rebalancing
connections of Amsterdam with the local and regional food systems and
test short supply chains. Realizing the first real-size 3D printed canal
house in Amsterdam. Measuring and forecasting human thermal comfort
in Amsterdam at street level, enabling urban weather forecasting and
improving urban planning. Testing innovative street light systems or smart
energy grids in a city block and measuring their effectiveness. Performing
a large scale energy-management pilot including social mobilization.
Or measuring effects of sediments on the Amsterdam sewer systems
to prevent blockage.
32
IND
AMS
DATA (REAL-TIME) AND DATA MANAGEMENT, STORAGE AND ANALYSIS
SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE
In principle, all themes in metropolitan solutions concern urban flows and
require data (including big data) analytics. The AMS value platform will be
a neutral host for data generated by digital urban networks, enabling the
handling of that data as well as its exchange and a possible marketplace.
The city, AMS partners and public-private consortia in the research portfolio
will all contribute this data. The combination of real-time data with the
physical city as a living lab is an especially powerful offer.
AMS data platform: KPN data infrastructure
Collecting and analyzing vast amounts of data is a key element of the AMS approach to the multitude of urban challenges. This data can
come from many different sources, and in real-time, from cell phones, set-top boxes and sensors placed in the city as part of the living lab.
Large scale, professional and dynamic data infrastructure is a key component of AMS.
KPN has recently started offering “big data as a service platform” to help customers manage the ongoing growth in data in a cost-
efficient way, but more importantly to build new capabilities for and insights into this data by building smart algorithms and revealing
new patterns. This service is called the Discovery Platform. AMS can make use of the integrated platform of KPN, enabling students and
researchers to tap into this platform for their research projects.
Data Storage
Sensors +
Connectivity
Structured +
Unstructured
Integrated Platform
Data Analytics
Pilots + Projects
Figure 6. Integrated Data Platform
The platform includes (figure 6):
• Sensors & connectivity: Sensors connected to the network are a source of data in the database (e.g. mobile devices, M2M, TV, and RFID).
The platform allows a large grid of sensors to be connected to the database, and is fit for significant growth over the years
• Data storage: The platform stores data, categorized as real-time or offline and structured or unstructured data
• Data analytics: Research project teams can use cloud-based big data applications to perform analyses on the datasets. KPN data
experts and analysts can offer dedicated support
AMS data platform: CitySDK from Waag Society
Open data
Waag Society has been a strong proponent of open data since 2009. It has organized many hack-a-thons, challenges and competitions on
regional, national and international levels, and currently leads the Apps for Europe, Turning Data into Business consortium. Next to this,
it participates in several EU programs on open data, in which it is building an open data infrastructure and platform called CitySDK.
CitySDK platform: connecting cities
CitySDK is a linked data distribution platform being developed by Waag Society. It enables the linking of datasets (with regards to
mobility, etc.) and city services. For instance, linking a database with planned road works to a route planning service. Or enabling citizens
to report problems due to road works, or perhaps better, letting them offer alternative routes to their fellow citizens. CitySDK is part of
an open source European project, which means that it offers one interoperable interface for eight different cities (Amsterdam, Helsinki,
Manchester, Lisbon, Istanbul, Lamia, Rome and Barcelona) across the continent. It is a powerful tool to make more and better use of the
huge amount of available open data. The CitySDK project focuses on three different domains: participation (issue reporting), mobility
and tourism.
33
UNIQUE RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE
In addition to the data platform and the Amsterdam living lab, the
AMS value platform will offer other unique research infrastructures.
An example of a potential infrastructure is a proof of concept living lab:
a well-controlled, small-sized environment to evaluate solutions before
testing them in the Amsterdam living lab with its citizens. This and other
research infrastructures accessible within AMS – like the Waag’s Fablab –
can also play an important role for practicals as well as the research-based
thesis projects in the educational program. The value platform also unlocks
access to the research infrastructures at TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT.
INCUBATOR FACILITIES FOR ENTREPRENEURS
The value platform will host support facilities for entrepreneurs in the
Amsterdam area, including incubator facilities, start-up support services
and connections to venture capital parties and consulting firms (see 2.3.2).
Furthermore, such entrepreneurs have access to all other resources that
the value platform has to offer.
CONNECTING ON MANY LEVELS: PARTNERS, KNOWLEDGE, FUNDING, CITIES,
TALENT
The value platform will “connect” on many different levels. It will bring
together existing and new AMS partners where metropolitan challenges
demand, and open the knowledge base of its academic partners to
companies and other institutes. It will connect public-private consortia to
research funding opportunities, e.g. in the Netherlands or EU, and support
funding applications. It will connect consortia to partner cities as living labs
and maintain this network. And it will connect talent from the educational
program to research consortia and potential employers.
AMS research infrastructure: The proof of concept living lab
Unique physical research infrastructure
One of the unique research facilities that AMS envisions is a proof of concept living lab: a fully controlled area that offers next generation,
shared infrastructures as trans-sector systems that allow data to flow freely. The difference between a living lab in a residential area
and a proof of concept living lab is that the latter is a controlled area where new concepts can be tested under pressure. The proof of
concept living lab fits well with funding opportunities from the Horizon 2020 program, in which unique infrastructures are key. At the
proof of concept living lab, stakeholders can collaborate, meet, generate, experiment and test ideas and metropolitan solutions. Barriers
to use this lab are low, allowing SMEs to be involved. At the same time, it represents a stepping stone for cooperation with international
companies. The lab can be combined with an AMS demo and experience center, and can support practicals in the educational program.
Connected infrastructures and data
The proof of concept living lab is connected to the Amsterdam living lab and the AMS data platform. Networks and data from an
increasing variety of domains will be interconnected, such as utility networks, telecommunication networks, home networks, car
networks and hospital networks, both in the “real” environment and in the controlled environment. The lab may also link to other
facilities that are available within the Amsterdam area and at AMS partners.
Developing in line with its use
TNO is committed to leading the development of the proof of concept living lab. It will be kick-started by involving a number of parties
(commercial, etc.) that have projects that require shared information and infrastructure and that are willing to co-finance it.
34
2.4 AMS FOSTERS A CULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT OF ENGAGEMENT,
EXCELLENCE, ENGINEERING AND DESIGN
AMS will realize an entrepreneurial and innovative environment
with a culture of engagement, excellence, engineering and design.
ENGAGEMENT
Through AMS’ education, research and valorization, students and
researchers from the institute interact intensively with the City of
Amsterdam as a living lab and with its citizens. At the same time, AMS relies
on close collaboration between public and private organizations. Sharing
knowledge, data, experience, etc. is vital to its attraction and success.
Engagement is expected and encouraged at all levels; a deep commitment
to AMS and the city, and a sense of social responsibility to deliver solutions
to citizens, with citizens, is mandatory.
EXCELLENCE
AMS seeks proactive, ambitious people who are always on top of the latest
developments. With three internationally leading universities at its core,
AMS builds on excellence. It targets the best students from all over the
world, selects research activities by their scientific excellence, and even
requires the integration of new metropolitan solutions – highly applied
research and valorization – to be scientifically solid. TU Delft, Wageningen
UR and MIT will accept no less. Nor will partners like Accenture, Cisco, ESA,
IBM, KPN, Shell and TNO that are at the top of their respective leagues and
view excellence as the basis for both their own and AMS’ long-term success.
ENGINEERING AND DESIGN
AMS fosters a culture of engineering, creativity and design. That is where
MIT (digital engineering, new technologies), TU Delft (physical engineering
and design) and Wageningen UR (life sciences, ecosystem engineering
and design) come together and reinforce each other. The research and
valorization portfolio, as well as the educational curriculum, will be
developed around the engineering and design of metropolitan solutions.
Engineering and design are also a gap in Amsterdam’s current offering to
talent and businesses, which further emphasizes the importance of this
approach.
35
“Cities create their own weather and
climate. The AMS platform will allow
Amsterdam and its citizens to experience
this in a true living laboratory in relation
to health and local living conditions
benefiting from detailed weather
observations and forecasts via social
media and Apps.”
Prof.dr. Bert Holtslag
Chair of Meteorology and air quality
Wageningen UR
3
“Smart Cities need Smart Citizens. The unique
collaboration in AMS will create urban solutions that are
not only technological feasible, but will also empower
citizens. Amsterdam is the perfect habitat for this
intersection of emerging technologies and user driven
design.”
Marleen Stikker
Director
Waag Society
“Online education is not an option,
but a compelling requirement.”
Drs. Anka Mulder
Vice-President for Education & Operations
TU Delft
36
3. Business and operating model
The business and operating model of AMS is built around its three parts:
1. The educational program is defined, executed and financed chiefly by
the academic core of AMS, and operationalized as an integral part of the
larger education offers of the core academic partners. Co-financing from
the City of Amsterdam is mainly used for accommodation in Amsterdam
2. The public-private consortia in the research and valorization portfolio
have different shapes, sizes and governance structures, tailored to the
specific needs of the projects/programs and consortia members. All of
these, however, adhere to specific ground rules and are subject to the AMS
portfolio management. They are mainly financed by the public and private
consortium members themselves – and by subsidy sources – and AMS itself
offers a stimulus fund up to ~20% of a consortium’s budget
3. The offerings of the value platform have a growth model that will build up
with the platform’s use. In time, the platform is to become independent of
funding from the City of Amsterdam
AMS as a whole will generate a multiplier of four on the investments of the
City of Amsterdam through co-investments of AMS partners and by attracting
funding from other sources in the first ten-year period. AMS advocates an
open model that lets others that share its vision participate in its research and
valorization activities, make use of the platform, and contribute to and benefit
from AMS. AMS has the ambition to anchor itself in a physical accommodation
in Amsterdam as soon as possible.
Figure 3 - Total Contributions (EUR m)
Figure 5 - Research and
Total
250.0
Total
Knowledge institutes
51.5
Private parties
85.1
Other subsidy providers
Amsterdam
Knowledge institutes
Private parties
Other subsidy providers
63.4
Amsterdam
50.0
Multiplier: 4
Figure 7. Estimated contributions (in cash and in kind) to AMS over the first ten-year period [EUR m]
3.1 THE MODEL BUILDS ON THREE INTERCONNECTED PARTS
This section describes the operating and business models of the AMS
components:
education program
Figure 4 - Education
Contributions
(EUR(3.1.1),
m) research and valorization
Figureportfolio
6 - Platform
(3.1.2) and the value platform (3.1.3). Each ends with a brief discussion
of the key drivers of success. The business models result in an expected
Total
24.2 of the City of Amsterdam for
Total
multiplier of 4 on the investment
AMS as a
whole over the first ten-year period. This is achieved by direct investments
(in cash and in kind) of the public
and private AMS partnersKnowledge
and attracting
Knowledge institutes
19.5
institutes
other subsidy sources (figure 7).
Amsterdam
4.7
37
Cont
Private parties
Multiplier: ~4
Other subsidy providers
The three parts of AMS are closely linked. The value platform supports
education, research and valorization, and these in turn fund the value
platform and challenge it to continuously reinvent itself to create value.
Research and valorization activities are defined and carried out by the
AMS partners. Each research and valorization project or program must add
value to the platform in the form of, for example, data, knowledge, network
and/or infrastructure that can be leveraged for other projects. To complete
their education, engineering students must carry out a research-based
thesis project within the research and valorization portfolio. The research
and valorization portfolio supports the education of PhD students and
researchers from the partners. Entrepreneurial talent valorizes research
results.
3.1.1 MODEL FOR THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
The new MSc in Metropolitan Solutions consists of two pathways (see
section 2.3), each of which has its own operating and business model:
A. Two-year MSc program in Amsterdam (first year on-site or distance
learning)
B. MOOC program – open to all – with the opportunity for selected students
to attend summer school and enroll in the second year of the MSc in
Amsterdam
A. TWO-YEAR MSC PROGRAM IN AMSTERDAM
The MSc in Metropolitan Solutions is a new curriculum developed and
delivered by TU Delft and Wageningen UR, with the support of MIT. It will
consist of newly developed courses and existing material from all three
partners, and combine the physical and digital worlds through on-site,
blended learning and distance learning. Students are selected through
an application procedure and are physically based in Amsterdam, where
courses are taught by TU Delft and Wageningen UR lecturers and guest
lecturers from MIT. Other lectures take place in Delft, Wageningen and
Boston. All lectures can also be followed online in real-time and with online
tutoring. Thus, lecturers need not teach the same course twice, in different
locations, and students can participate from all over the world.
The second year includes a research-based thesis project carried out
within the AMS research and valorization portfolio, in the Amsterdam living
lab, for/with one of AMS’ private or public partners. All students have a
supervisor from TU Delft or Wageningen UR who will spend part of his/her
time in Amsterdam. Many students will also be coached by a professional
from one of the private partners.
The MSc will be a joint degree from TU Delft and Wageningen UR. The
program will be connected to and welcome students from various BSc
programs at TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT, specific BSc programs at
Amsterdam-based institutes, and a range of international BSc programs
(engineering especially). Internationally, only the top students will be
accepted, based on motivation and previous results.
38
The development and delivery of the MSc offering (including the MOOC
program, see next subsection) will be the shared responsibility of two
part-time coordinators: one from TU Delft and one from Wageningen UR.
An educational program advisory committee with representatives from
TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT will meet quarterly and advise them.
The business model is analogous to all MSc programs at Dutch public
universities, with Dutch students paying the standard annual tuition fee of
EUR 1,835. Tuition for international students is set at EUR 12,916. This fee
pays only a part of the cost per student. TU Delft and Wageningen UR will
cover most of the remainder from the so-called first funding stream (direct
government funding per student). MIT will contribute in kind through
curriculum co-development and online education. Private partners in AMS
will contribute in kind by making thesis advisers available and by giving
guest lectures in Amsterdam. The costs for the presence of the institute in
Amsterdam as well as co-investments in the development and set-up of
the curriculum will be covered by the city. Online and on-site courses (e.g.
executive courses) for professionals provide an additional income stream
that will be reinvested in the AMS educational program.
B. MOOC PROGRAM, SUMMER SCHOOL AND SECOND YEAR MSC IN AMSTERDAM
The second educational pathway of AMS starts with a MOOC program,
which is equivalent in content to the theoretical framework of the first year
of the on-site/online MSc program, but which lacks the guidance, practicals
and accredited exams. Any person (student, researcher, governmental
professional, etc.) anywhere can follow a MOOC and/or participate in the
entire MOOC program. It will be offered through existing platforms like edX.
The MOOCs will have a clear Amsterdam leaning – using Amsterdam as a
case study throughout.
The edX platform
Scaling up education
The way people are educated is changing. Education is not only for those who happen to be in physical proximity to the educational
institute. And a typical student of a first year course may just as well be a 40-year-old, lifelong learner with work experience as an
18-year-old, high school graduate. But more than this: a course may no longer have 80 students, but over 20,000 across the world!
The edX platform
The edX platform has taken an important first step towards the future of education. edX, set up by MIT and Harvard, is a non-profit
online platform that allows participating universities to offer online courses. Such courses, called MOOCs (Massive Online Open Courses),
can be followed by thousands of students from anywhere in the world. Students register on the edX website and enroll in the selected
course for free. Through short videos, online tests and interactive forums, students are able to follow the course at their own convenience
and receive a certificate of participation upon completion.
AMS partners are pioneers
MIT, the founding father of edX and with its extensive open-courseware program, is an indisputable international frontrunner in
virtualizing and opening up courses. TU Delft also provides MOOCs via edX. The new “introduction to water treatment” MOOC by TU Delft
is expected to attract over 20,000 participants.
39
After completing the MOOC program, students may apply for a two-month
summer school in Amsterdam. They will be admitted based on their
motivation, performance in the MOOC program, and level of education and
experience. A BSc degree is a minimal requirement. TU Delft, Wageningen
UR and MIT will jointly develop the summer school and TU Delft and
Wageningen UR will run it. Students who finish the summer school
successfully may enroll in the second year of the TU Delft-Wageningen UR
MSc in Metropolitan Solutions.
Figure 3 - Total
Total
MOOCs are a promising new development. The business model is not yet
cast in stone. MOOCs and the MOOC program are expected to remain free
of charge, or in the future to have a very small fee per participant. Summer
school participation is paid by the students themselves; the possibility of
private sponsors, who benefit from having students participate in research
Contributions
Figure
5 - Research
projects, will(EUR
also bem)
investigated. Summer school students
who enroll
in
the second year of the MSc program will become an integral part of the MSc
program and its business model.
Total
250.0
and Valorization
MODEL FOR COMPLEMENTARY EDUCATIONAL OFFERS
Knowledge institutes
51.5
TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT will offer
courses on metropolitan
technologies and design in existing BSc and MSc programs, as minors and
electives respectively. They will
also offer the option to do
a research-based
Private
parties
Private parties
85.1
MSc thesis project in Amsterdam. Electives can either be taken on-site where
(in Amsterdam, Delft, Wageningen or
Boston)
or online.
Other
subsidy
providers
Other subsidy providersthe course is taught
63.4
Accreditations already exist and the business model follows that of the
institute and education program the student belongs to. The business model
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
50.0
for PhD education is integral to the research portfolio’s model (next section).
Multiplier: 4
Knowledge institutes
61.2
33.2
MULTIPLIER ON AMSTERDAM INVESTMENTS
The business model for the educational program results in a multiplier
on the investment of Amsterdam of about 4 over the first ten-year period
(figure 8). Co-investments are primarily from the core academic partners
of AMS.
Figure 4 - Education Contributions (EUR m)
Figure 6 - Platform Contributions (EU
Total
Total
24.2
Knowledge institutes
Amsterdam
19.5
4.7
Private parties
Multiplier: ~4
Figure 8. Estimated contributions (in cash and in kind) to the AMS educational program
over the first ten-year period [EUR m]
40
Knowledge institutes
Other subsidy providers
Amsterdam
15.2
KEY DRIVERS FOR SUCCESS
The number of students drives the business model of each educational offer,
both through tuition fees and direct government funding (first stream).
To achieve sufficient numbers, the new MSc program will connect to a
broad base of BSc programs and be actively marketed by communication
professionals from AMS, TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT. These institutes
have direct access to a large student base and are global leaders in the area
of online education and MOOCs.
The best students are attracted to the best institutes, and TU Delft,
Wageningen UR and MIT – as internationally leading engineering and
design institutes – will strongly appeal to students in the Netherlands and
worldwide. This appeal is amplified by the opportunity to study through a
living lab, work with private parties in research, and experience what the
vibrant city of Amsterdam offers.
3.1.2 MODEL FOR THE PUBLIC-PRIVATE RESEARCH AND VALORIZATION
PORTFOLIO
AMS will build a portfolio of research and valorization projects and
programs that are defined and executed by multiple public-private consortia,
can vary in size and shape, and will develop over time. These projects will
make use of the AMS value platform and enhance its proposition in turn. Any
AMS funding invested in these projects/programs will be multiplied by a
factor of at least four through contributions by project/program participants
and other subsidy providers.
DEFINED BY THE PARTNERS THEMSELVES
Public and private partners themselves will define what research and
valorization projects and programs they want to execute and co-fund –
either to get access to the AMS value platform or to be eligible through AMS
for project stimulus funding from the City of Amsterdam. The portfolio is
thus driven by experts from the AMS partners.
VARIOUS SHAPES, FORMS AND PARTNERS
Public-private consortia in the research and valorization portfolio vary in
size and shape to fit the purposes and goals of their specific partners and
funders. For example, they may differ in:
• Maturity of the consortium: ranging from emerging consortia, in which
parties are starting to get to know each other and launching cooperative
activities (AMS acts as incubator for consortium development), to
established consortia that have worked together for many years (AMS
acts as accelerator for consortium activities)
• Maturity to market: ranging from publically driven consortia developing
a new technology far from commercial use and trying to gain initial
interest from private parties (AMS acts as design platform), to privately
driven consortia that test and implement a developed solution in
Amsterdam (AMS acts as testing ground)
• Size of consortium: ranging from a single party or a closed consortium
of only a few partners (AMS acts as value platform for a specific party)
to a consortium with many public and private partners which is open to
others (AMS acts as an open partner platform)
41
• Size of activities: ranging from a consortium running a single project and
disbanding upon its completion (AMS acts as value platform for a specific
project) to a consortium that designs and executes a program with
multiple projects over time (AMS acts as carrier of the program)
By allowing for consortia with different shapes, forms and partners, AMS
acknowledges the diversity of activities and partners required to tackle the
interdisciplinary theme of metropolitan solutions, and is able to cover the
whole process from sensing the city to designing solutions to integrating
them in the urban environment.
Existing consortium
connected to AMS
(opportunity to kick-start)
Consortium that is finishing
its activities and fades out
of AMS
Connection/bundling of
different consortia/activities
RE
S
RCH FAC
I
EA
TY
LI
RCH FAC
I
EA
TY
LI
RE
S
New consortium starting
and growing over time
VALUE PLATFORM
RE
S
OPEN S
O
CE DATA
UR
CE DATA
UR
L
LA IVIN
B G
O
L
LA IVIN
B G
RCH FAC
I
EOAPEN S
TY
LI
RE
S
RESEARCH PROJECT OR PROGRAM
CE DATA
UR
CE DATA
UR
TY
LI
CH FAC
EN
PR
I
EOA SO
TY
LI
RESEARCH PORTFOLIO
RE
S
VALUE PLATFORM
CH FAC
EN
PR
I
EOA SO
RESEARCH PORTFOLIO
RESEARCH PROJECT OR PROGRAM
Evolvement public-private research and valorization portfolio
L
LA IVIN
B G
CE DATA
UR
L
LA IVIN
B G
OPEN S
O
L
LA IVIN
B G
Figure 9. Illustration of different shapes and sizes of consortia (left) and the dynamics of the portfolio (right)
PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT OVER TIME
The portfolio of research and valorization activities is dynamic, with
consortia continuously starting and growing, adding, ending, expanding and
discontinuing projects over time (figure 9). Existing consortia that zero in on
AMS enable the institute to get up and running quickly. Several projects have
been defined/identified by AMS partners as examples of potential projects/
programs to execute/integrate in the AMS research and valorization
portfolio (see appendix for short descriptions). These include:
• Clean Capital initiative: creating a livable metropolitan area by working
on challenges at the intersection of the water, energy, waste and raw
materials, and resources cycles
• Summer in the City: forecasting human thermal comfort in urban areas
at street level, enabling urban weather forecasting and impacting urban
planning efforts
• Amsterdam Foodlinks: building locally embedded and globally connected
urban food systems
• PolyArch: contributing to a more sustainable city by deploying polymer
technology for management of daylight in buildings
42
• Old Amsterdam Transformation: changing the dairy chain through
modernization of agriculture in the framework of global urbanization
• Big Data initiative: developing big data services and solutions
contributing to smart mobility (e.g. real-time traffic visuals), smart living
(e.g. real-time insight in air quality), smart events (e.g. solutions for
crowd management) and smart economy (e.g. insight in job vacancies)
applicable in Amsterdam
• Biocycle initiative: performing biobased resource production via
metropolitan farming and the development of resource management
solutions for the Amsterdam area
• MELiSSA: creating life support systems based on microbiological
ecosystems, enabling the recovering of food, water and oxygen from
waste, carbon dioxide and minerals in a closed loop system
• Hybrid urban development strategies: obtaining insight in the process
of public-private sector coalitions creating resilient delta regions
• Society in Times of Crisis: studying cascade effects and human behavior
in urban crisis events to prepare for and manage such situations in cities
• Urban Europe: studying the relationship between infrastructure planning
by public authorities and urban area development by private actors
• PowerWeb: integration of disciplines and technologies in the
specification and design of robust and reconfigurable Smart Grids
ADHERING TO GROUND RULES
Although research and valorization projects may vary, all will adhere to a
number of ground rules. Adherence to these ground rules is secured during
the acquisition and start-up of projects/programs:
• Scope: all projects/programs will fit with the scope of AMS
(see chapter 2)
• Value platform incl. living lab: all projects/programs will both make use
of the value platform (e.g. living lab, facilities, data, network) and will
contribute to it (see 3.1.3)
• Leverage knowledge base: all projects/programs will tap into the
knowledge base of TU Delft, Wageningen UR and/or MIT
• Scientific rigor: all projects/programs will be scientifically sound.
This may vary from scientific excellence in fundamental research to a
scientifically sound approach to product testing
• Value creation: all projects must have preapproved governance and
IP arrangements (see IP guidelines in this section) that stimulate
valorization of research results by project partners and/or by
entrepreneurs that valorize results through spin-offs
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
AMS will have a dedicated portfolio management function, including:
• Identifying portfolio opportunities
• Allocating AMS resources to the most promising and – for AMS – valuable
projects
• Supporting the actual set-up of projects/programs and their use of all
AMS has to offer
• Capturing synergies between projects/programs in the portfolio
• Reallocating resources on the basis of project/program milestone
planning defined upfront
• Reviewing the portfolio on an annual basis
43
The majority of projects/programs will already be subjected to rigorous
upfront review and assessments of national/international subsidy providers
(e.g. for obtaining Horizon 2020 funding, “TKI toeslag”, EU Structural Funds,
etc.) and of the consortium’s partners (see financing paragraph in this
section). AMS will not repeat such assessments but use them in its own
resource allocation process.
The portfolio management function will be supported by a scientific
advisory committee with leading scientists from within and outside
TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT that meets on a quarterly basis.
TAILORED IP, FUNDING AND GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS
To account for the different characteristics of consortia and their projects/
programs, each will have tailor-made arrangements in intellectual property
(IP), project governance and funding – defined and agreed upon at the
start of a consortium. AMS will make available standard IP and governance
arrangements and contracts, building on the many examples that exist in
public-private partnerships in the Netherlands and abroad. Their use, or
adaptation, is at the discretion of the consortia themselves. It should also be
mentioned that IP is not equally relevant for all themes within the research
portfolio.
Nevertheless, AMS has defined a set of general IP guidelines that support the
valorization of IP and a constructive relationship between public and private
parties in AMS consortia:
• IP ownership: Legal ownership of foreground IP (IP generated in the
project/program) is with the inventing party (university or company)
or parties – if the inventing party (or parties) declines to file the patent,
other consortium partners may do so
• IP use: Other consortium members have the right to use the foreground
IP according to a predefined arrangement that suits the consortium, e.g.:
-Non-exclusive, royalty free license for all consortium partners
-Right of first refusal for a non-exclusive or exclusive license on favorable
terms by consortium partners – favorable terms include a discount on
commercial terms, taking into account the party’s contribution
• Third party use: Parties that do not participate in the consortium license
IP against commercial terms, and only after consortium partners have
waived their right of first refusal (if any)
• Licensing as the norm: All consortium partners support commercial
use of foreground IP through licensing – this may include anti-shelving
clauses and stimulating licensing of foreground IP by start-ups when
consortium members do not use the IP
• Balanced publishing and protection: All consortium partners may
publish their results, but all partners will receive the document before
publication and can delay publication for a predefined period to ensure
protection of IP
• Background IP: Ownership of background IP remains with the
consortium partner that brings it into the project/program and decides
on its use by other parties
• Partner notification: Consortium partners notify each other (under
secrecy) about findings that would be patentable
44
• Upfront definitions: Consortia must define their IP arrangements
upfront and are encouraged to follow these guidelines as much as
legal/regulatory constraints (e.g. of a subsidy provider), purpose and
applicability allow
FINANCED BY PARTNERS
Private and/or public partners will mobilize the majority if not all funding
for the projects and programs in which they participate from a range of
sources, including:
• In kind contributions from knowledge institutes and/or companies, such
as knowledge, data, technologies, facilities, human resources or IP
• Cash contributions from companies or NGOs (e.g. health foundations,
lottery)
• Subsidies/funds from regional, national or European governments (see
also appendix 2 of the contest notice for round 2 from Amsterdam), e.g.:
-Subsidies and other contributions under Dutch topsector policy, such as
the TKI toeslag (25% subsidy on private cash contributions), subsidies
from NWO or STW, contributions from the InnovatieFonds MKB+ and
other policy instruments
-EU subsidies, such as Horizon 2020 programs or the European Regional
Development Fund
-Investments from local and regional governments with specific research
questions
Many opportunities in Horizon 2020
Horizon 2020 is the EU’s new program for research & innovation, running from 2014 to 2020 with a budget of EUR 80 bn. Its
programming is centered around excellent science, industrial leadership and societal challenges. Many topics are related to metropolitan
solutions, for example: ICT-based e-infrastructures (excellent science), technology for energy efficient buildings (industrial leadership)
and bioeconomy, smart transport and resource efficiency (societal challenges).
European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs) are formed to bring together all relevant players from the EU within a certain topic and steer
the Horizon 2020 agenda. Smart Cities and Communities is one such EIP, which combines the fields of energy, transport and ICT (water
will be added) to support demonstration projects in partner cities. In the draft work program 2014-2015 for ‘climate action, resource
efficiency and raw materials’, various calls are proposed within the AMS scope, including one on urban metabolism.
Strong connection to the Dutch topsectors
The Dutch government is steering its innovation policies and investments towards nine strong and promising industrial sectors, the
so-called “topsectors”. The topsector policy stimulates knowledge institutes, governments and companies to work together on research
projects. Subsidies from NWO (and related organizations) are geared more towards public-private partnerships in these topsectors. In
addition, the “TKI toeslag” offers stimulus funding for partnerships. Finally, companies can make use of generic fiscal stimuli for R&D, like
WBSO and RDA.
The scope of AMS is well in line with the topsector policy, connecting to nearly all topsectors with flows in cities’ metabolism: energy,
water, logistics, creative industries, high-tech, life sciences, agri&food and horticulture. Public-private consortia in AMS are expected to
benefit from topsector funding opportunities.
45
BOOSTED WITH STIMULUS FUNDING
In the first period, AMS intends to use part of the City of Amsterdam’s
investment to offer research and valorization projects/programs stimulus
funding up to ~20% of their total budgets in the first years, decreasing
eventually to 0% after year 10. This is in line with the growth model of
the AMS value platform, which in time will become the primary reason for
participating in the research and valorization portfolio, and will strengthen
with its use (see section 3.1.3).
Stimulus funding also has a different meaning. AMS will financially support
partners for performing very small projects (<EUR 100,000 total budget)
that if successful promise to grow into sizeable projects/programs at AMS.
For such a project, AMS will finance up to 50% (<EUR 50,000) of the total
project budget.
MULTIPLIER ON AMSTERDAM INVESTMENTS
The business model for the research and valorization portfolio results in a
multiplier on the investment of Amsterdam of about 5 over the first ten-year
period (figure 10), through co-investments from public and private parties
and attraction of other subsidies.
Figure 5 - Research and Valorization projects/programs (EUR m)
Total
51.5
203.9
28.6
Knowledge institutes
Private parties
80.9
Other subsidy providers
Amsterdam
61.2
33.2
Multiplier: ~5
Figure 10. Estimated contributions (in cash and in kind) to the AMS research
and valorization portfolio over the first ten-year period [EUR m]
KEY
DRIVERS FOR SUCCESS
Figure 6 - Platform
Contributions
(EUR m)
The business model of the research and valorization portfolio rests on the
attractiveness of AMS to public-private consortia and their ability to (co-)
fund research and valorization
activities. The value platform determines
Total
43.6
AMS’ attractiveness (see section 3.1.3). The majority of funding needs to be
Knowledge institutessecured by the consortia themselves. The stimulus
6.5funding acts as a catalyst
to attract other funders, and AMS offers specific funding support services as
part of its value platform.
Private parties
12.9
Other subsidy providers
Amsterdam
9.1
15.2
46
Multiplier: ~2
3.1.3 MODEL FOR THE VALUE PLATFORM
The AMS value platform supports its education program and research and
valorization portfolio, and will become one of the primary assets of AMS.
A GROWTH MODEL – GIVE AND TAKE TO STRENGTHEN THE OFFERING
The value platform has a growth model. Its offering will strengthen over
time through direct investments/contributions by partners and by the city,
e.g. to build new research infrastructure, or to collect, store and analyze data
from the city and AMS partners. But most of its offering will develop and
strengthen with the actual use of the platform in the public-private research
and valorization portfolio.
Each project/program in the research and valorization portfolio will make
use of the value platform in one way or another, adding to the platform’s
knowledge and experience. Each project/program is required to add value
to the platform itself, for example by sharing the living lab network of
the public and private partners in a project/program, providing data to
the platform, or by contributing research facilities that a public-private
consortium developed in its project/program.
ACTIVE MANAGEMENT OF THE VALUE PLATFORM’S OPERATION
The buildup of the value platform will be executed through dedicated
operational functions at AMS (see section 4.5 for an organizational chart of
AMS as a whole):
• Living lab set-up, use and network: AMS’ dedicated living lab function
holds close ties with the City of Amsterdam and with partner cities as
living labs, helps new partners obtain the required licenses/approvals
for specific use of the living lab, and supports the mobilization of citizens
to participate. AMS will build on the experience of Amsterdam Smart City
and Waag Society in the use of Amsterdam as a living lab. This experience
ranges from co-creation with citizens, to using city data supplied by
its citizens, to linking companies with real solutions to citizens in pilot
projects. AMS will also build on the connection with and expertise of the
City of Boston
• Data infrastructure set-up and operations: This function manages the
necessary infrastructure and its operation, and coordinates AMS’ data
storage and analysis offering. Capabilities of AMS’ partners to collect,
access, interpret and visualize data is leveraged within the platform.
This includes the KPN data infrastructure and City SDK from Waag
Society (see box in section 2.3.3), as well as the knowledge and expertise
of TNO’s Big Data Value Center in Almere. City data will be open access;
access to the data contributed by partners/consortia may be subject to
restrictions by the data owner
• Unique research infrastructure development and use: Such
infrastructure will be built/contributed by public and private AMS
partners and the consortia in the research and valorization portfolio.
The operational model, governance and technical staffing of each
infrastructure will be tailored to its specific characteristics and builders/
financiers/contributors
47
• Incubator facilities and services set-up and operations: AMS will partner
with existing incubator infrastructure in Amsterdam, offering one or
more central places where entrepreneurs in metropolitan solutions
can grow. As of day one, Schiphol (theGROUNDS) and Waag Society will
open their incubator facilities in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area to
spin-outs from AMS. At the incubator infrastructure, AMS will coordinate
dedicated support for metropolitan solutions start-ups, including access
to the knowledge, data, network and infrastructure in the value platform
and to entrepreneurial support activities at AMS partners
• Business development: The AMS platform will secure a dedicated
business development function that acquires new projects, partners
and funding
BUSINESS MODEL – SELF-SUSTAINING IN TIME
The business model of the platform is centered around its use in the publicprivate research and valorization portfolio. In time, part of the budget of the
projects/programs in this portfolio will be used to fund the value platform’s
support.
To build up the platform’s infrastructure, initial investment and costs will
be covered up to ~50% by funding from the City of Amsterdam, depending
on the specific part of the platform; other funding comes from AMS partners
(and other subsidies they obtain). Co-investments (in kind and/or in cash)
by AMS partners – e.g. in data infrastructures, unique research facilities
or services – will give certain rights to use the platform (or parts thereof)
freely or at a discount, and potentially to have a say in its use by other
parties/consortia and the conditions (e.g. financial) of that use. This will be
determined on an individual basis per co-investment.
The value platform will build up a strong value proposition over the coming
years, which in ten years can be sustained and further developed through
its use – without requiring funding from the City of Amsterdam. The value
platform allows itself to not only be used by public-private consortia in the
research and valorization portfolio (part of which budgets are dedicated
to the value platform), but by individual parties that want to pay directly
for the use of certain infrastructures, as well. Especially data management,
storage and analysis promise a profitable future business model, where
profits can be reinvested in the value platform. Furthermore, subsidy
opportunities for research infrastructure (e.g. national or EU) will be
targeted continuously.
MULTIPLIER ON AMSTERDAM INVESTMENTS
The business model for value platform results in a multiplier on the
investment of Amsterdam of about 2 (figure 11) over the first ten-year
period, through co-investments from public and private parties and
attraction of other subsidies.
48
R m)
19.5
plier: ~4
Figure 6 - Platform Contributions (EUR m)
Total
43.6
Knowledge institutes
6.5
Private parties
12.9
Other subsidy providers
Amsterdam
9.1
15.2
Multiplier: ~2
Figure 11. Estimated contributions (in cash and in kind) to the AMS value platform over the first ten-year period [EUR m] –
note that part of these contributions come from the public-private consortia in the research and valorization portfolio, and
are depicted in figures 10 and 11; the total contribution in figure 7 is corrected for this overlap
KEY DRIVERS FOR SUCCESS
The key driver for the value platform’s success is building up an offering
that public-private consortia are willing to co-finance. As the use of city data
and Amsterdam as a living lab is an important part of that offering, strong
long-term commitment and support from the City of Amsterdam is essential.
Based on the past experience of consortium partners, two aspects will
facilitate a constructive and efficient interaction between the AMS institute,
the City of Amsterdam and third parties: the presence of city staff in the AMS
institute as go-betweens, and the perception of AMS as a neutral space in
which various parties can share data.
Another key driver is the building up of sufficient research and valorization
activities in AMS to strengthen its value platform offering. The stimulus
funding, as an additional incentive to participate in AMS, will drive research
and valorization activities during the initial period. Finally, the value
platform requires investments from AMS partners (private, in particular)
to contribute directly to its offering.
3.2 AMS REALIZES TALENT, SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE, BUSINESS ACTIVITY,
NETWORKS AND METROPOLITAN SOLUTIONS
EXPECTED RESULTS OF AMS
AMS aims to become an internationally recognized institute in the field of
metropolitan solutions: a place that attracts and develops talent, is at the
cutting edge of international science, supports and creates businesses, has
a global network of partners and cities, and generates the metropolitan
solutions needed in Amsterdam and in cities all over the world.
49
In the academic year 2022, AMS has:
• 200-250 talented students enrolled in the new MSc education program
• >100,000 people following MOOCs (individual or the program as a
whole) from all over the world
• 100-150 researchers (PhD students, post-docs, researchers from applied
research institutes, corporate researchers, principal investigators)
working in the research and valorization portfolio of AMS
• A EUR 25-35 million annual budget in the research and valorization
portfolio
• 15-25 research and valorization projects by consortia of different
sizes and shapes, in which a total of 30-50 public and private partners
participate; 20-40 of these being companies
• Attracted 2-5 companies to set up offices in Amsterdam over the period
2013-2022
• A global living lab network of 4-8 partner cities which collaborate in the
research and valorization portfolio
• A self-sustaining value platform with unique infrastructure, network and
knowledge/experience
• 1,000-1,500 articles published on metropolitan solutions between 2013
and 2022
• Generated 10-15 spin-outs in the field of metropolitan solutions from
research/partners and 30-70 start-ups from entrepreneurial AMS
students in Amsterdam between 2013 and 2022
• Rolled out new metropolitan solutions on a large scale in Amsterdam
• An internationally renowned name in the field of metropolitan solutions
DEFINITION OF SUCCESS FOR AMS PARTNERS
All AMS partners share and support the ambition to realize an
internationally recognized institute in metropolitan solutions. Within that
ambition, each partner has its own definition of success. For the academic
core of TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT, the endeavor will be successful
when AMS:
• Facilitates the improvement and acceleration of their basic and applied
research into one of the world’s main challenges: urbanization
• Attracts talented students to their institutions, to AMS or to individual
educational programs – adhering to their mission to educate talent for
shaping the future, and using AMS as inspiration and talent pool for PhDs
and researchers
• Acts as a laboratory and showcase for the future of education and
educational intuitions, combining physical and digital worlds – a local
base and a global reach
• Strengthens cooperation between themselves, with leading private
partners, and with Amsterdam-based research institutes
• Strengthens their scientific output, reputation and excellence
• Establishes the City of Amsterdam as a true living lab for their research
• Builds up and gives access to research and valorization infrastructure
(e.g. data, facilities) currently nonexistent or unavailable
• Gives access to financial resources for education, research and
valorization
• Provides a pathway to valorize their knowledge and research results
50
For the other partners in AMS, success is defined on an individual basis,
and includes:
• Increased efficiency of their own R&D efforts through:
-Access to the knowledge and facilities of the core academic partners
-Access to financial resources normally unavailable to individual
organizations
-Access to other resources they do not have themselves (e.g. data and
infrastructure)
-Access to partners in R&D
• Improved market knowledge through understanding urban flows and
challenges
• New leads for innovative products, processes or services based on new
insights and the knowledge of academic and other partners
• Higher market success rate of new commercial products, processes and
services through the living lab’s testing possibilities
• New business generation from international roll-out of new products,
processes and services, including in the cities in the AMS network
• Access to talent for R&D and other functions
• Improvement of innovation/CSR reputation through participation in AMS
3.3 AMS FACILITATES COLLABORATION WITH OTHER PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
PARTIES IN AMSTERDAM AND AROUND THE WORLD
AMS is by nature a platform for collaboration. Its research and valorization
portfolio consists of public-private consortia that develop metropolitan
solutions and use the AMS value platform, itself a cooperative platform, to
do so.
COLLABORATION IN THE RESEARCH AND VALORIZATION PORTFOLIO
The research and valorization portfolio is inherently collaborative. It
consists of multiple public-private consortia. Any public or private party can
propose a research or valorization project/program, become part of AMS
and make use of the Amsterdam living lab, as long as the project/program
adheres to the ground rules (see section 3.1). AMS expects to develop
cooperation with knowledge institutes and companies in Amsterdam
and from all over the world. What’s more, AMS facilitates and stimulates
cooperation with other cities that act as living labs.
COLLABORATION IN THE VALUE PLATFORM
The value platform is an open platform that parties and consortia can make
use of. It is set up as a collaboration itself, open to contributions by any
knowledge institute or company willing to invest in it. Several AMS partners,
including Amsterdam Smart City, City of Boston, KPN, TNO and Waag Society
have expressed interest in investing directly in the platform, and AMS
expects others to follow.
51
3.4 LOCATED IN AMSTERDAM
A PHYSICAL BASE
It is our intention to physically locate the institute in Amsterdam as soon
as possible, creating a home base and a place to meet for its students,
researchers and entrepreneurs, a gateway to the value platform, and a
hub for its global partner network. The location will be selected together
with the city in order to optimize the strategic impact of the institute on its
surroundings, its connection to relevant partners, and its use of the strong
brand of Amsterdam and everything it has to offer. The institute’s home
should be an example of “practice what you preach” – i.e. an innovative
sustainable metropolitan solution.
OF SUFFICIENT SIZE AND SCALE
The accommodation should be able to accommodate the required amount
of students, researchers and entrepreneurs over time. At capacity, it should
have about 50-100 flexible workplaces for students, a lecture hall seating
up to ~100 students at a time, around 30-70 flexible workspaces for
researchers, and offices for a small AMS staff. It should include meeting
rooms and shared spaces for interaction (e.g. lounges), and be able to
accommodate the facilities of the value platform. The location will require
a modular building method that can grow (and possibly shrink without
leaving vacant space).
STIMULATING ENVIRONMENT
The accommodation of the institute should be an inspirational application
of the theme of metropolitan solutions, and should appeal to talent coming
to Amsterdam. It should support and encourage interaction with the citizens
of Amsterdam and the international network of other midsized cities, and
be a meeting point for applied sciences in Amsterdam. The building should
enable integration between physical (e.g. lecture hall) and digital learning
(e.g. virtual professors, E-coffee room), and should allow for its own use
as a living lab itself.
BALANCED WITH EXPENSES
The accommodation must balance these requirements with minimal
expenses, so that as much of the resources as possible can be invested in the
actual education, research and valorization activities and unique data and
research infrastructure of the platform. To avoid losses due to vacancy of the
accommodation in the first years, AMS will only set itself up in a permanent
accommodation when it has sufficient students and researchers to fill it.
Before that, it will make use of temporary accommodations for students
and researchers, from partners or the City of Amsterdam, and at iconic
places in Amsterdam. It may act as a “pop-up” institute, accommodating
itself where the urban challenges appear, similar to the model of TU Delft’s
Studio Amsterdam (see box in section 4.1 below).
52
TWO PROMISING LOCATIONS
From the locations proposed by the City of Amsterdam, two come to mind as
attractive for AMS:
• Science Park Amsterdam: Close to the science faculties of Amsterdam
universities and other institutions. It is already home to many
researchers, students and high-tech companies, houses potential AMS
partners, and is located near the highway, with good connections to train
stations
• Strip Overhoeks: In the center of the Amsterdam living lab, at IJ
waterfront, directly opposite to Central Station, and next to the EYE film
museum. The city’s vision for the IJ waterfront, a functional mix of urban
areas with residential development, business and cultural amenities,
is in line with the vision of AMS
Science Park Amsterdam
Strip Overhoeks
Open structure along the IJ - river
13
53
mecanoo
The Amsterdam Institute of Advanced Metropolitan Solutions
4
“The prospect of having the brightest
minds - both students and researchers
- collaborating in AMS to tackle the
great urban challenges of our time is
tremendously exciting. With renowned
partners at the AMS core, it will be their
combined knowledge that drives the
design and setup of the institute and,
ultimately, makes it a success.”
Prof.ir. Karin Laglas
Dean of the Faculty of Architecture
and the Built Environment
TU Delft
“We need to transform cities that now consume energy,
water, and minerals, and produce waste into centers of the
new circular economy. The concept of Urban Harvest is a basis
to design cities that are sustainable and in balance with their
green environment. This requires new technologies for local
energy production and resource supply based on recycling and
harvesting from local sources.“
Prof.dr.ir. Huub Rijnaarts
Chair Environmental and Water Technology
Wageningen UR
54
4. Feasibility and roadmap for the initiative
AMS has a growth model that, in a four-stage roadmap, foresees: 1. A oneyear kick-start and design phase, in which activities are initiated and the
organization set up; 2. A four-year growth phase in which AMS matures, its
threefold operational model materializes, and AMS establishes itself firmly
in Amsterdam; 3. A four-year development period where AMS moves towards
becoming autonomous; 4. A full-scale autonomous AMS institute as of year
10. Risks have been identified, and measures for their mitigation will be
taken. AMS will be steered towards realizing its key success factors.
To achieve this, AMS partners will make key expert personnel available.
4.1 AMS WILL GROW ACCORDING TO A FOUR-STAGE ROADMAP
The AMS business model is a growth model. Over time, its students,
researchers and investments build up (figures 12, 13 and 14). This is
reflected in the roadmap for the development of AMS towards a selfsustaining institute in four phases (table 1, figure 15):
• Kick-start and design (year 1): Initiate education, research and
platform activities, building on the existing activities of the AMS
partners; design, implement and staff the AMS governance and reach
out to partners and financiers
• Growth (years 2-5): Grow the educational offer, portfolio and value
platform offer, leading to a sizeable (~50% of final size) AMS institute
with co-investments from the City of Amsterdam; evolve governance
into exploitation of value platform
• Development (years 6-9): Strengthen the offer and become increasingly
independent of financing from the City of Amsterdam, evolving
governance and staffing towards becoming self-sustaining
• Autonomy (as of year 10): Reach an autonomous AMS, while
maintaining the close connections and interrelations with its founding
fathers (see section 4.2)
55
250
200
150
100
50
0
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
MSc in Metropolitan Solutions students
(1st and 2nd year)
Thesis-based research project students
at AMS from other MSc programs
Summer school students
Researchers within the AMS research
and valorization portfolio [FTE]
Figure 12. AMS students and researchers over time [amount per academic year]
56
2020
2021
2022
40,0
9.0
9.1
8.2
30,0
7.3
5.7
4.5
20,0
13.4
13.9
11.5
12.1
4.9
4.5
2021
2022
12.1
3.6
10.0
10.9
8.3
2.4
7.1
5.6
6.7
10,0
1.2
2.6
0
0.4
1.7
1.2
0.8
1.0
3.5
2013
2014
Amsterdam
3.7
4.7
5.5
5.0
5.7
6.2
7.0
2015
2016
2017
2018
Other subsidy providers
8.0
8.8
5.9
6.4
2019
2020
Private parties
Knowledge institutes
Figure 13. Contributions (in cash and in kind) to AMS over time [EUR m per academic year]
40,0
4.5
4.6
4.1
3.5
30,0
2.8
2.0
1.2
20,0
28.9
29.4
26.2
0.9
21.7
23.6
17.5
15.2
10,0
0.3
12.3
5.1
0.2
2.5
0
3.5
3.6
2014
2015
4.7
4.9
5.0
5.0
5.3
5.5
5.6
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
0.7
2013
Platform
Research and valorization portfolio
Education
Figure 14. Costs of AMS over time [EUR m per academic year] – The contribution of public-private consortia
to the platform (platform fee) is excluded from research consortia to avoid double counting
57
Table 1. AMS roadmap
1. Kick-start and design
2. Growth
3. Development
4. Autonomy
Year 1
Years 2-5
Years 6-9
As of year 10
Kick-start education from
Realize and accredit new
Launch MOOC program
Have about 200-250 students
existing initiatives, including
MSc in metropolitan solutions
analogous to the theoretical
participate in the new on-site/
TU Delft’s Studio Amsterdam,
in Amsterdam as an on-site/
framework of the first year’s
online AMS MSc program; a
and initiate a minor in
online MSc, accommodating
courses of the new MSc
global AMS alumni network is
metropolitan solutions at Delft
about 50 students by year 5
fully up and running
and Wageningen
Launch electives and
Realize first summer school
Have >100,000 people
MSc courses and curricula in
research-based thesis
in year 7, with 20 students,
enrolled in individual MOOCs
metropolitan solutions
projects in Amsterdam in
linking the MOOC program
or in the MOOC program as
existing MSc programs at TU
participants to the second year
a whole
Delft and Wageningen UR
of the new MSc in Amsterdam
RESEARCH AND VALORIZATION PORTFOLIO
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
Start development of new
– having about 50 students
doing these electives and thesis
projects by year 5
Put courses online as
Develop executive courses
individual MOOCs
and vocational education on-
site and online
Bundle existing research ef-
Build up a portfolio of
Reduce contribution from
Continuously start new
forts of consortium members
public-private research and
City of Amsterdam to
projects/programs executed
(indicated number of staff: 20)
valorization programs/projects
project/program financing
without co-funding from the
of about EUR 15-20 m per
by initiating new projects/
City of Amsterdam and corre-
in year 5, on the basis of a
programs with smaller
sponding to a budget of about
~80:20% contribution of AMS
financial contribution from
EUR 25-35 m per year
partners: City of Amsterdam
the city
Start the first new public-
Establish living lab in
Connect projects/programs
private research project;
Amsterdam via projects/
in the portfolio to develop
several potential projects are
programs; realize first
interdisciplinary solutions
already in development (see
connections with international
to tomorrow’s metropolitan
appendix)
partner cities as living labs
challenges
Integrate first metropolitan
solutions in Amsterdam
and roll-out internationally
through existing companies
and/or spin-outs
58
Staff support functions in the
Realize essential data
Obtain self-sustainability for
Reach a self-sustaining value
value platform
infrastructure and capture
some of the key facilities in
platform as a whole, financed
data from city, partners and
the value platform through
from its use and independent
consortia
their exploitation
from financing from the City
of Amsterdam
Design the first elements of
Offer first unique research
Strengthen the offer further
Attract continuous
the data infrastructure and
infrastructures to public-
through investments of the
investments in extending
unique research facilities of the
private consortia
City of Amsterdam, AMS
the value platform’s offer;
partners and through the
integrated in the business
research and valorization
model where investments are
portfolio
“earned back” from use over
value platform
time
Initiate active outreach
Realize a structural
Establish a worldwide
in terms of partner search
physical location for AMS
network of partners
(network) and financing,
in Amsterdam in year 4,
(companies, knowledge
e.g. through meetings,
including educational facilities
institutes, cities, financiers,
presentations and marketing;
and workspaces
etc.)
a continuous function
throughout the lifetime of
AMS
VALUE PLATFORM
Create one or more incubator
facility in Amsterdam for
entrepreneurs with a taste
for metropolitan solutions,
building on existing incubator
facilities of AMS partners
Negotiate with City of
Evolve governance to secure
Evolve governance towards
Anchor governance and
Amsterdam on contributions
efficient exploitation of value
enabling self-sustaining
staffing in a way that is
to AMS
platform
operations
self-sustaining and which
maintains close connections
and interrelations with the
GOVERNANCE
AMS founding fathers
Design exact governance
Extend staffing in growing
Reorganize staffing and
structure with main
functions such as program
payment around growing
contributing partners,
and relationship management,
income stream from value
including City of Amsterdam,
technical support (for value
platform and reduced
adhering to e.g. partners,
platform infrastructure) and
funding stream from City of
legal, fiscal and financial
business development
Amsterdam
requirements*
Implement and staff first
governance bodies through the
main contributing partners
*This is deliberately postponed to after the negotiations with the city, to also take into account the
city’s legal constraints (e.g. public support regulations) and to be able to optimize fiscal, legal and
financial structures according to the final commitments of all parties that result from the negotiations.
59
4 to 8 Living Labs
in multiple world cities
Global
Connecting with
Other cities
Singapore becomes
city partner
Growing network
of Global industry
Partners
40,000 students
in MOOC
First MOOC
commences
Boston
Living Lab
50 Start-ups
in A’dam
Amsterdam
First Living
Lab projects
First Incubator
activities
Start new Msc
On-site and distance
learning
Expected 150
MSc students
AMS
Start of first Research-based
Graduation thesis
First Students
begin in Studio Amsterdam
2013
2014
Research
2015
2016
Education
Network
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
Start-ups
Figure 15. Illustration of the roadmap of AMS
Educational kick-start: Studio Amsterdam
The first education activities can kick off, almost literally, tomorrow. TU Delft has already developed plans for Studio Amsterdam – a
program for approximately 20 master’s students per year focusing on sustainable urban (re)design, starting in September 2013.
Studio Amsterdam is the new outpost of the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment in Amsterdam. Studio Amsterdam
establishes a reciprocal relationship between TU Delft and the City of Amsterdam. The design assignment concerns urgent issues of town
planning, mixed use and housing. The studio will investigate alternative scenarios for the current crisis.
Overhoeks is the first site of focus for Studio Amsterdam. Overhoeks is the new development on the north bank of the Amsterdam IJ
waterfront, famous for the new EYE film museum. The crisis has made the original master plan for high-rise development and massive
apartment blocks obsolete. Two new approaches have been proposed for more flexibility and for step-by-step development at a smaller
scale and with more variety. Studio Amsterdam will submit these new master plans to a stress test. Studio Amsterdam aims for the
development of residential buildings with additional programs. Overhoeks demands strong, appealing urban forms, public spaces and
high densities.
Every semester the studio will be hosted by one of the Architecture Department chairs and will be tutored by a visiting professor. The
first installment of Studio Amsterdam will be hosted by the Chair of Architecture and Dwelling. Students of Studio Amsterdam will
work in Delft, but will often find themselves in Amsterdam for instruction, information, presentations and debate with leading experts,
politicians and designers from the capital.
60
2022
4.2 AUTONOMY IS REACHED IN TEN YEARS
AMS aims to become self-sustaining in ten years, independent of the City
of Amsterdam as a funding source. This implies that after ten years:
• AMS has a unique educational program executed in and from Amsterdam
that is firmly rooted in the operations of TU Delft and Wageningen UR,
which secure long-term continuity of the program
• AMS manages a portfolio of public-private research and valorization
projects/programs in the Amsterdam living lab, financed through
contributions from companies, knowledge institutes and other partners,
and by subsidies from e.g. the EU and the Dutch government
• AMS hosts a value platform with a unique offering to talent and
businesses, which is maintained through its use – new investments
by AMS partners (and public subsidy providers, not Amsterdam) will
continuously be made to maintain and strengthen its offer, which are
earned back over time through its use
The business and operating model and roadmap of AMS are structured
around reaching this autonomous state of operation.
4.3 TAKING MEASURES TO MITIGATE RISKS
Investing in the development of a new institute has inherent, associated
risks for its investors. AMS will take measures to mitigate these risks
(see table 2).
Table 2. Risks and their mitigation measures
Risk
Mitigation of risk
Risks in educational program
Not enough interest from
• Brands: AMS will use the TU Delft, Wageningen UR, MIT and Amsterdam brands as
talent
well as those of industry partners to interest talent
• Building it up: AMS will build up its education offer step by step. This will prove/
disprove the interest of talent in the subject of metropolitan solutions and in performing
a research-based thesis project in Amsterdam. Investments in a physical location for
students in Amsterdam will await positive results from students
• Broad influx: The newly developed MSc will have a broad influx, from different
disciplines and BSc studies, generating a large talent pool. This is topped by the
combination of physical and digital worlds, making students and professionals from all
over the world able to become part of the educational program
• Educational excellence: The core academic AMS partners build on a large history of
educational excellence and the attraction of students from all over the world, which will
leveraged in AMS – the best students are attracted to the best education
• Amsterdam appeal: The City of Amsterdam, and all it has to offer, is expected to
appeal to talent, for the ability to work in a living lab and with companies on real-life
metropolitan challenges
61
Inability to accredit new
• Experience: The carriers of the new MSc, TU Delft and Wageningen UR, have ample
MSc
experience with accreditation
• Proving value: By starting with research-based thesis projects in the Amsterdam
living lab in existing MSc programs, AMS has the opportunity to prove the value of the
subject. Accreditation becomes easier when industry is behind it
• Separating accreditations for the new, 2-year on-site/online MSc and the
pathway through the MOOC program: The first step for the new MSc is accreditation
of the two-year on-site (partly online) MSc program. Only thereafter will AMS accredit
the MOOC program pathway towards an MSc, which is expected to be more
challenging as models for education through MOOCs are still emerging. Even if the
MOOC program and summer school cannot be accredited as an entrance to the MSc
program, it will serve its purpose in attracting talent to Amsterdam
Inability to develop and
• Not from scratch: By no means is the curriculum built from scratch. The core
execute curriculum
academic partners already offer courses of high value for the AMS education program
that can be used in developing the curriculum
• Pool of lecturers: The core academic partners already have a pool of lecturers that
are experts in metropolitan solutions. The distance between Amsterdam, Delft and
Wageningen is feasible for on-site education. The combination of digital and physical
worlds at AMS also enables the use of lecturers from all over the world
After their studies, talent
• Engagement: The AMS culture and environment will support the retention of talent.
will move away from
In their thesis project, students will work in the Amsterdam living lab with potential
Amsterdam
employers (companies, government and knowledge institutes), creating a natural flow
from education into employment
• Housing: Their living in Amsterdam for their studies (at least the research-based thesis
project) helps students create a home in Amsterdam
• Facilitating legal procedures for students: Through the existing offers of TU Delft
and Wageningen UR in this area
Risks in public-private research and valorization portfolio
Inability to attract
• Stimulus funding: At the start of AMS, it will provide a financial incentive to partners/
partners in research and
valorization
consortia to participate in the research and valorization portfolio
• Existing partners: AMS already managed to interest a range of leading knowledge
institutes and companies in participating in the research and valorization activities –
proposals are already in development
• Existing network: The current partners boast an international network of potential new
partners for AMS
• Living lab: The proposition of using Amsterdam as a living lab will be available from
the start as a unique proposition
• Value platform: In time, the value platform will strengthen its offer and become the
primary reason to participate, not requiring stimulus funding anymore to attract partners
Inability to attract
• Commitments made: Several of the AMS partners have already indicated their
investments
intention to invest (in kind and in cash) in these activities
• Subsidy opportunities: Europe and the Netherlands have subsidy opportunities in the
area of metropolitan solutions, which is connected to the Dutch topsectors and the EU
grant challenges. Several consortium members have already proven they are able to
attract such subsidies, e.g. in the City-zen project (see box in section 2.3.2)
Collection of individual
• Portfolio management: AMS will perform active portfolio management, seeking
projects without
synergies
synergies between projects
• Value platform: Data, knowledge, infrastructure, network and/or results from the
projects/programs will be contributed as much as possible to the value platform,
working towards a value platform offer that has the strength to connect different
disciplines (from different projects/programs) into integrated metropolitan solutions
developed by multidisciplinary consortia
62
Risks in value platform
Inability to attract
• Existing partners: AMS already has several parties willing to contribute to the value
contributors to platform
infrastructure
platform
• Co-financing: Funding from the city will be used to co-finance the value platform
• Proposition: Parties benefit from their contribution; they can use the infrastructure
while obtaining co-investments and cheap access to the broader platform
Public-private consortia
• Proposition: AMS puts a priority on building a unique proposition in the value platform
do not want to use
• Experience: AMS partners have experience with developing infrastructure that is of
platform
value and open to companies and other parties
• Living lab: Access to the Amsterdam living lab through the platform is expected to be
a strong proposition itself
Public-private consortia
• Determined upfront: At the start of a project/program in AMS, the contribution of
do not want to contribute
the consortium to the platform (e.g. data, network, infrastructure) will be defined and
to the platform’s offer
agreed upon
• Stimulus funding: Consortia can only participate in AMS and have access to stimulus
funding if they contribute to the platform
Data in the platform
• City data: The data contributed by the city to AMS is by definition accessible for parties
is limited and/or
• Determined upfront: Accessibility of data from AMS partners or consortia for others
inaccessible due to
constraints of data
will be defined upfront when discussing contributions to the platform
• Independent: AMS is an independent host of the data, a trustworthy party to contribute
contributors
Platform is not able to
data and to make it accessible to others under solid agreements
• Preparation: The self-sustainability of the platform will be prepared over a long period
sustain itself after 10
years
of time, and will gradually build up
• Part of investment decision: Each investment in the value platform will be judged on
the merits of supporting the self-sustainability of the platform over time
• Safety net: The AMS partners form a safety net that has the strength to support the
platform in times of austerity if necessary
Financial risks for the City of Amsterdam
Investments do not
• Invest on par with partners: The city's contribution is used on par with co-investments
create a multiplier of 4
from AMS partners:
-Education: City funding is mostly used for an accommodation in Amsterdam, which
is only needed when the educational program has already proven value, students are
enrolled, and the academic partners have already made significant investments
-Research and valorization projects/programs: City funding is only used when a
consortium has secured about 80% of its budget as co-financing
-Value platform: City funding is only used when AMS has secured about 50% cofinancing
Investments only create
• Direct investments in value platform: Part of the funding from the city will be used to
temporary activities
develop infrastructure (e.g. data infrastructure, research facilities) which by definition
are long lasting and remain valuable
• Investments in projects/programs add to value platform: Funding from the
city used as stimulus funding for public-private consortia will directly contribute to
strengthening the value platform's offer
Losses due to vacancy
• Pop-up at start: AMS will only realize a dedicated accommodation in Amsterdam
of accommodation in
when up and running, having students and researchers to occupy the accommodation;
Amsterdam
until then, AMS will make use of temporary locations and the facilities of partners in
Amsterdam, making more efficient use of existing accommodations
• Modular building: The permanent accommodation that AMS wishes to realize
in Amsterdam in time (expected from year 4) will have a modular design, able to
incorporate growth and shrinking
63
4.4 SECURING THE DEVELOPMENT OF AMS KEY SUCCESS FACTORS
Table 3 lists the key success factors for AMS to become a leading institute in
the field of metropolitan solutions (see section 2.2.2) and for its successful
operation (see section 3.1).
Table 3. Summary of key success factors and their realization
Key success factor
Achievement
To become a leading institute
Consortium that
• In place: Leading academic and industrial parties are already AMS consortium
integrates the strengths
members: TU Delft, Wageningen UR, MIT, Accenture, Alliander, Amsterdam Smart City,
of internationally leading
Cisco, City of Boston, ESA, IBM, KPN, Shell, TNO, Waag Society and Waternet
universities and mobilizes
• Open to others: AMS is open to cooperation with other leading partners in its research
leading international and
and valorization portfolio and platform
regional partners (private
and public)
Holistic approach that
• Ingredients are there: All ingredients for a holistic approach are already there thanks
integrates (i) engineering
to the multidisciplinary consortium and its experiences with all required subjects and
and design, (ii) physical
tools
and digital worlds,
• Integral to the AMS model: The AMS business and operating model secures this
and (iii) the city and its
integrated approach in education, research and valorization, as well as the value
citizens
platform
The institute itself, the
• Solid point of departure: Connections of current partners already sum up to a readily
Amsterdam living lab,
accessible international network; partners have experience with using Amsterdam as a
and an international
living lab and in setting up comparable institutes/partnerships
network of cities as living
• Core to the AMS model: The platform that captures the facilities is integral to the AMS
labs and leading partners
business and operating model
For successful operations
Education: number of
• Excellence and experience: AMS' new MSc offering builds on excellence and
students
experience in education at TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT
• Appeal: The brands of the consortium partners and Amsterdam have a strong appeal
to students
Research and
• Strong offering from the start: Consortia are offered stimulus funding, access to
valorization:
attractiveness of AMS to
leading partners and their networks, and the use of the Amsterdam living lab
• Stronger offering over time: The value platform will increase its offering over time
consortia
Platform: building a
• Head start: The use of the Amsterdam living lab and knowledge/network that already
unique offering that can
sustain itself over time
resides in the current partners give it a head start
• Commitment: Several AMS partners are willing to invest in building unique
infrastructures for the platform
• Use = contributing: Public-private consortia that use the platform contribute to it at the
same time
64
4.5 KEY PEOPLE TO DO THE JOB
CONTENT
AMS will be staffed by expert personnel, mostly from the AMS partners.
It will be led by a director who is an expert in the field of metropolitan
solutions, overseen by a board (figure 16). A Scientific Advisory Committee
guarantees excellence in content and a Recommending Committee is
established for outreach and networking. Each function will have a small
coordinating staff, mostly experts from AMS partners. The bulk of staffing
will be researchers, technicians and lecturers in the educational program,
research and valorization portfolio, and value platform.
- Lecturers and
experts from TU
Delft and
Wageningen UR
- Guest lecturers
from MIT and
private partners
- Educational
support functions
- Integral part of TU
Delft and
Wageningen UR
Curriculum
/course
(~ 15 FTE)
COORDINATION
EDUCATION
Educational
program
advisory
committee
Illustrative sketch of
the AMS organization,
to be detailed in
the design phase
(indicative staffing in
2022)
City staff
and
planning
office
Platform
operational
staff
(~ 4 FTE)
Seasoned operational
experts, mostly from
AMS partners:
- Business developer
- Living lab
coordinator
- Data manager
- IT & technician
- Coordinate the AMS
educational offer
set-up and operation
- Guide/advise
students
- Part-time experts
from TU Delft and
Wageningen UR
Continuous contact
with city officials
concerning use of living
lab, data and other
contributions to AMS
VALUE PLATFORM
- Opportunity
identification
- Networking
- Highly regarded
opinion leaders
- Led by one or more
Principal
Investigators from
consortium partners
- Executed by
researchers (PhDs,
postdocs,
researchers,
technicians) from
consortium partners
- Tailored
governance for
each consortium
Research/
valorization
project/
pogram
(~ 150 FTE)
(~ 2 FTE)
- Admin, secretary, front office,
financing & control, IP/legal,
marketing, communication
- Mostly support staff from AMS
partners
Figure 16.
(~ 5 FTE)
VALUE PLATFORM
EDUCATION
Recommending
Committee
Infrastructure
Education
coordinator &
study advice
- Advice on
curriculum content
and set-up
- Contect experts
from TU Delft,
Wageningen UR and
MIT
- Technicians and
experts to set up
and operate
infrastructures
from AMS
partners
- Tailored
governance
structure per
infrastructure
RESEARCH AND
VALORIZATION PORTFOLIO
Portfolio
managers
(~ 2 FTE)
- Coordinate portfolio
management process
- Connect parties,
people and projects
- Entrepreneurial
content experts driven
by connecting others
RESEARCH AND
VALORIZATION PORTFOLIO
Support
(~4 FTE)
Director
(1 FTE)
AMS Board
- Day-to-day management
- Face to outside world
- Networked expert, highly
regarded in the field
- Highest governing body
- Decision making and
strategic guidance
- Representatives of main
contributing partners
Scientific
Advisory
Committee
- Advice on content of AMS
- Advice on portfolio
management decisions
- Panel of independent and
internationally renowned
experts from within and
outside TU Delft,
Wageningen UR and MIT.
The staffing will be dynamic, and tailored to the specific phases of AMS. In
the design phase of AMS, an experienced, entrepreneurial director (possibly
interim) will take the lead. He/she will gather a dynamic team from the
AMS partners to giving AMS a fast start. During the growth phase, a more
dedicated staffing of AMS will be realized.
The leading figures in the design of this proposal will remain closely
involved in AMS: Karin Laglas, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and the
Built Environment, TU Delft; Kees Slingerland, Director General, Alterra,
Wageningen UR; and Carlo Ratti, Director, SENSEable City Lab, MIT.
They will support the direction and are available to participate in AMS’
governing bodies.
65
“To create a sustainable future,
we’re obliged to create sustainable
leaders. Development of young
professionals skilled along futures
biggest city challenges is crucial
to improve the world we work
and live in.”
Joost Brinkman
Lead Sustainability Services
the Netherlands
Accenture
5
“Reliable supply of clean water is a central challenge to
metropoles around the world. The partners in the proposed
institute have the knowledge as well as the culture of
interdisciplinary cooperation needed to generate innovative
solutions in this field.”
Prof.dr. Marten Scheffer
Chair of Aquatic ecology and water quality management
Wageningen UR
66
5. Commitment to the initiative
A strong, committed consortium is already in place; all current partners
have expressed their commitment in a letter. AMS’ core academic partners,
TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT, will contribute to AMS by carrying the
educational program, participating in the research and valorization portfolio,
and contributing to the AMS platform. Their commitment is for the long term,
and has been expressed in letters of commitment on the board level of TU Delft
and Wageningen UR, and on the vice president level of MIT.
Amsterdam Smart City, City of Boston, KPN, TNO and Waag Society will
play a major role in the value platform and participate in projects/programs.
AMS partners Accenture, Alliander, Cisco, ESA, IBM, Shell and Waternet
have expressed their intent to participate in and contribute to the research
and valorization portfolio. Boston has expressed its intention to act as a
partner city. The open model of AMS will bring many more leading parties
to participate in AMS in the (near) future. Finally, AMS foresees potential
cooperation with the integrated beta faculty of UvA and VU and, if opportune,
with complementary initiatives such as the THNK consortium.
5.1 CORE ACADEMIC PARTNERS COMMITTED TO THE INITIATIVE
AND FOR THE LONG RUN
The core academic partners of AMS, TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT, are
committed to the success of AMS. They carry the educational program as a
whole, play major roles in the research & valorization portfolio and in the
value platform, staff its governance, and secure the continuity of AMS for the
long run.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO AMS
The core academic members contribute in kind to AMS and participate in/
execute a large part of the activities, for which they will be reimbursed, in
whole or in part (table 4).
67
Table 4. Contributions (in kind donation) and participations (reimbursed activities)
from TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT
Educational program
TU Delft & Wageningen UR
MIT
• Contribution of existing courses, and new course and
• Contribution of existing courses
curricula development
• Contribution of lecturers for courses and guidance for
the research-based thesis projects
• Participation through guest lecturers
• Participation through advisory
function
• Contribution of support staff and functions to
coordinate, organize and execute education
Research and valorization
• Participation in certain projects/programs of the
portfolio
research and valorization portfolio
• Contribution of people, knowledge or infrastructure
to certain projects/programs
• Contribution to support staff, including scientific
• Participation in certain projects/
programs of the research and
valorization portfolio
• Participation in scientific advisory
committee
advisory committee
Value platform
• Participation in the value platform offer
• Contribution of existing infrastructure, data,
• Participation in the value platform
offer
expertise, people
• Contribution of support staff
Contributed or participating staff from the universities will reside in
Amsterdam and/or at the locations of the universities in Delft, Wageningen
or Boston; optimized to the specific activities at hand.
COMMITMENT FOR THE LONG TERM
TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT are committed to a long-term
cooperation in the area of metropolitan solutions, and to do that through
the AMS initiative. These core academic partners are thus able to offer
AMS continuity. This is exemplified by the contribution from TU Delft
and Wageningen UR to the educational program: they will integrate MSc
education on metropolitan solutions in Amsterdam in the long-term
educational offer of their own institutes. The long-term goals of the core
academic partners are fully aligned with those of the City of Amsterdam:
to create an internationally leading institute in metropolitan solutions in
Amsterdam that educates talent, performs ground-breaking research and
valorizes results in the Amsterdam living lab.
COMMITMENT ON THE BOARD LEVEL
The commitment of TU Delft and Wageningen UR goes up to their highest
levels. They have expressed commitment through a letter on the board level
of the institutes. MIT expressed commitment through a letter on the vice
presidential level.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AMS AND THE MAIN ACTIVITIES OF THE CORE
ACADEMIC PARTNERS
TU Delft is a Dutch university of technology with over 17,000 students and
2,500 academic staff. In the 2012-2013 Times Higher Education ranking, TU
Delft ranked among the top 40 worldwide in engineering and technology,
and among the top 100 worldwide overall. The university explicitly aims at
68
developing solutions for societal problems, creating value for the economy,
and improving the quality of life of citizens. TU Delft is one of the main
education centers behind the internationally acclaimed Dutch tradition of
urban design. While maintaining a wide range of research in engineering
and design, it has defined specific focus areas on energy, environment,
transport & mobility, and health – important areas for the AMS institute.
Besides its scientific abilities, TU Delft’s innovation activities are outstanding
and can be of substantial benefit for AMS. For example, together with the
municipality, it runs a very successful high-tech business incubator which
won the national incubator competition in 2012, and which currently
hosts over a hundred companies, with an invested capital of EUR 70
million. Furthermore, TU Delft manages a patent portfolio of 170 patent
families, with entrepreneurship stimulated at all levels (e.g. more than 400
companies have been created by the staff).
Wageningen UR consists of a Dutch applied university and a contract
research center working in the field of life sciences. Wageningen UR has
about 9,000 students and 6,000 faculty and staff divided over approximately
30 branches and offices (worldwide) and is in the top 3 in its domain. The
university and the research center have joined forces to make a significant
contribution to solutions for the most important challenges in healthy food
and the living environment for the twenty-first century. Wageningen UR is
experienced in initiating transitions towards sustainable agriculture and
food chains in (peri-)urban areas. Major themes are: 21st century agroproduction, water, sustainable use of space, bio-based systems and products,
food & health and behavior. Its unique integrated and multi- and transdisciplinary approach to problems (including natural and social sciences)
are at the heart of the organization.
Wageningen UR’s innovation capabilities are also valuable for the AMS
initiative. The primary route for valorization of knowledge developed in the
university is through its applied contract research organization. However,
Wageningen UR has also started an entrepreneurial initiative, offering
services to encourage and support researchers to start their own business.
Furthermore, Wageningen UR has extensive experience in collaborating with
SMEs and smallholders in the Netherlands and abroad, contributing to its
trans-disciplinary work.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private university based
in the USA. The institute has over 10,000 students and more than 1,750
academic staff. The institute ranked fifth globally in the 2012-2013 Times
Higher Education ranking. In addition, 87 current and former members of
the institute’s community have won the Nobel Prize, including 9 current
faculty members. It has a strong emphasis on scientific, engineering, and
technological education and research. Its SENSEable City Lab is a scientific
leader in a new approach to the study of the built environment through the
deployment of sensors and hand-held electronics.
MIT’s pre-eminence in entrepreneurship and its problem-solving approach
are rooted in its founding. A study based on data from 2001 and 2003, for
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instance, suggested that 25,800 companies founded by alumni were active
as of 2006, employing 3.3 million people and producing annual revenues
of USD 2 trillion. Hundreds of new companies are started each year, and
41% of alumni founders are serial entrepreneurs, having started multiple
companies. In addition, currently over 700 companies are working with
faculty and students in institute-wide programs. Research sponsored
directly by industry totaled USD 133 million in the fiscal year 2012, or 20%
of all of the institute’s research funding.
5.2 PLATFORM PARTNERS COMMITTED TO SUPPORT AND CARRY PART OF THE
VALUE PLATFORM
Several parties have committed to co-investing in the value platform:
Amsterdam Smart City, City of Boston, KPN, TNO and Waag Society. These
“platform partners” will carry and execute part of the offer of the value
platform. At the same time, these partners intend to participate in the
research and valorization portfolio.
AMSTERDAM SMART CITY
Amsterdam Smart City is a partnership between businesses, authorities,
knowledge institutes and the people of Amsterdam with the goal to develop
the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area into a smart city. Initiated in 2009, it
has grown into a broad platform, with more than 90 partners involved in
a variety of projects focusing on energy transition and open connectivity.
Examples of multiparty coalitions include:
• Bottom-up sustainable renovation of 1000+ households in Amsterdam
West
• Real time information on multimodal transport to and from the city
• Private companies’ cooperative production, purchase and exchange of
energy
The holistic and the networked approach, the use of living labs and the
ambition to connect physical and digital worlds at the AMS institute match
well with the way Amsterdam Smart City is organized and Amsterdam
Smart City’s attitude towards urban challenges. Amsterdam Smart City
sees specific possibilities for collaboration with the AMS institute in the
development of the public-private research & valorization portfolio and
the creation of the value platform of knowledge, infrastructure and network.
By bringing in the partners already active in the Amsterdam Metropolitan
Area and aligning projects that are currently being executed, Amsterdam
Smart City will contribute to AMS.
Amsterdam Smart City has expressed its commitment to AMS in a letter
from Saskia Müller, program manager of Amsterdam Smart City.
CITY OF BOSTON
Boston is the capital city of the US state of Massachusetts and anchor of
the larger metropolitan area of Greater Boston (population of 4.5 million).
The city is known as a tech, innovation and academic hub, with the highest
concentration of students in the US and 58 places of higher education, 9 of
which are globally renowned research universities (MIT, Harvard, etc.).
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Over the past several years Boston has become a leader in developing and
deploying cutting edge experimental solutions to many pressing urban
challenges. The city is fostering a culture of innovation that is having
profound impact on the urban fabric. Boston’s initiatives to make the city
an even smarter city include (i) the New Urban Mechanics office, serving as
Boston’s innovation incubator by building partnerships to pilot projects in
Boston that address resident and business needs, (ii) the Innovation District,
in which 1,000 acres of the South Boston waterfront is being transformed
into an urban environment that fosters innovation, collaboration, and
entrepreneurship, and (iii) public-private initiatives together with IBM
and Massachusetts, such as the water resource authority which uses IBM’s
predictive software to reduce unnecessary maintenance.
Through the partnership Boston intends to:
• Make available the tools, initiatives and services developed by the New
Urban Mechanics, in conjunction with the Office of the Mayor
• Share the experience and knowledge gleaned from the Boston Innovation
District project and contribute valuable insight of best-practice as
Amsterdam embarks on a similar initiative
• Establish and maintain a trans-city network that acts as a conduit for the
emerging global innovation ecosystem of startups, open data, creative
districts and institutes
In the long term, the partnership will be focused on the core activities of
simultaneous “Living Labs,” and the innovation network, forming a mirror
city to the Amsterdam living lab. The City of Boston has similar experience
with the city of Philadelphia in setting up the New Urban Mechanics office
in Philadelphia, mirroring the same office in Boston. The City of Boston has
expressed its commitment in a letter.
KPN
As the incumbent integrated telecom-ICT provider in the Netherlands, KPN
is perfectly positions to witness the rapid development of the digitalization
of Dutch society and thus of people’s lives. This rapid development is
primarily driven by the combination of improving telecom networks, the
ongoing “internet of things”, and the growing availability of disruptive
innovative applications. KPN believes it plays an important role in this
process as an integrated telecom-ICT provider and it has set the following
strategic themes that will serve as a guideline: best ICT infrastructure,
healthcare of the future, The New Way of Living and Working (The ‘Good
Life’), energy-efficiency, and security and privacy.
KPN has expressed its intention to provide the AMS institute with its
capabilities and knowledge to build a dynamic value platform:
• Integrated data platform, including Active connectivity layer, VPN and
managed data services, cloud services (Cloud NL, where data stays in the
Netherlands),and big data services (Discovery Platform)
• Data available from the KPN network such as mobile devices, set-topboxes, towers and M2M. This is subject to regulatory approval
• Participating in research projects with AMS, in the field of Big Data,
focusing on a number of key themes: smart mobility, smart living, smart
events, and smart economy
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KPN has confirmed its commitment in a letter from Erik Hoving, Chief
Strategy, Innovation & Technology Officer at KPN Group.
TNO
TNO is an independent research organization that aims to drive innovation
by connecting people and knowledge within three expertise areas: (i)
technical sciences, (ii) earth, environmental and life sciences, and (iii)
behavioral and social sciences. It does so through a number of cooperative
instruments aimed at defining problems/demand, transferring knowledge
and developing knowledge. Instruments include dedicated services for SMEs
(through Syntens), organization of challenges and technology clusters, cofinancing possibilities, and research programs.
TNO performs services for a broad number of parties, ranging from (local)
governments to SMEs, to large corporations, to public or social institutes.
As a result, its experience includes studies (e.g. industry), agenda setting,
monitoring and evaluations, covering the full spectrum of the strategic/
policy level of an entire industry to the (small) company level.
Based on TNO’s vast knowledge, network, and available services in the field
of research and innovation, a partnership with AMS has been formed. TNO’s
contribution includes:
• Taking the lead in setting up a proof of concept living lab infrastructure
within the AMS platform
• Access to innovation instruments currently executed by TNO for research
participants (companies, researchers, etc.), students, and start-ups
within AMS. This includes advisory, participation in events/ challenges,
and access to financing
• Network and knowledge in the field of innovation, metropolitan
solutions and connection to other initiatives for the AMS platform.
This includes city connections (i.e. Shenzhen), and connections to other
infrastructure/knowledge centers (i.e. the big data value center in
Almere)
• Participation in research projects within AMS
• Provision of co-financing of research projects within AMS
TNO foresees an average annual contribution of EUR 1 m per year to AMS for
setting up a proof of concept living lab. TNO confirmed its commitment in a
letter from Erik Fledderus, Managing director TNO lnformation Society.
WAAG SOCIETY
Waag Society, an Institute for Art, Science and Technology, comprises a
research and development program, a public events program, an academy,
and several facilities including the Amsterdam Fablab and the incubator
Media Guild. It aims to achieve social and cultural innovation by developing
products, services and practices through a strong cultural and creative
approach. Waag Society designs for the real needs of real people by bringing
together artists, designers, scientists and prospective users, operating
from a strong belief in societal involvement and co-creation (the “users-asdesigners” philosophy). By involving prospective users in the design process,
the results bring meaningful perspectives and options into the hands of
people. Waag Society focuses on the domains of healthcare, civil society,
culture and education, bridging virtual and real world experiences.
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Waag Society is a valuable AMS partner in Amsterdam with an extensive
experience in using Amsterdam as a living lab and working with its citizens
on real solutions. Waag Society is a founding partner of Amsterdam Living
Lab and, by way of the Amsterdam Economic Board, participant in the
European Network of Living Labs. In addition, it advocates open data (e.g. in
Open Cities, Commons 4 Europe, Apps for Amsterdam and Apps for Europe)
and has developed an open data platform (CitySDK) that enables the linking
of (real-time) data sets and city services.
Waag Society is committed to the AMS initiative and to leveraging its skills,
knowledge and facilities within this partnership:
• Fablab Amsterdam and incubator Media Guild as facility for students,
researchers and entrepreneurs within AMS
• CitySDK platform software and development experience and software,
to be linked to the data platform of AMS
• Living lab set up and usage experience
• Users-as designers methodology and experience
• Outreach and experience in bringing together organizations and
individuals
At the same time as contributing knowledge and infrastructures to the
value platform, Waag Society intends to participate in research and
valorization projects/programs at AMS. Waag Society foresees a total in
kind contribution to AMS of about EUR 250 k per year. Waag Society has
substantiated its commitment in a letter from its director, Marleen Stikker.
5.3 RESEARCH AND VALORIZATION PARTNERS COMMITTED TO PARTICIPATING
IN THE PORTFOLIO
Several parties have committed to participating and co-investing in publicprivate consortia in the research and valorization portfolio of AMS. Next to
the core academic partners and platform partners, these include: Accenture,
Alliander, Cisco, ESA, IBM, Shell, and Waternet.
ACCENTURE
Accenture is one of the world’s leading organizations providing management
consulting, technology and outsourcing services, Combining unparalleled
experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business
functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies,
Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance
businesses and governments. Accenture has approximately 266,000
employees operates globally and has offices in more than 200 cities in 54
countries.
Accenture has a long running partnership with the city of Amsterdam.
Accenture has developed, initiated and managed the Amsterdam Smart City
program, developed the sustainability strategy for the Amsterdam Economic
Board and is closely working with the Department of Spatial planning
of Amsterdam on the EU-program TRANSFORM, in which we develop a
transformation agenda to become a Smart Energy City for 6 European cities.
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Accenture has expressed its commitment as a partner in AMS, offering:
• Access to the global Accenture network and especially the Accenture
Intelligent City Network
• Active support in leveraging innovations towards applicable companies
• Access to pool off innovators fostered by the annual Accenture
Innovation Awards
• Participation in research programs and definition of research thesis,
actively leveraging its global research capability
Accenture has confirmed its commitment in a letter from Manon van Beek,
CEO Netherlands.
ALLIANDER
Alliander is a utility company providing the development and maintenance
of more than a third of the Dutch energy network and specialized in
complex private energy grids and installations. Alliander is dedicated to
contributing to new development within distribution of gas and electricity.
This is reflected in its involvement in various innovation projects, such
as developing systems to charge electrical vehicles and developing smart
energy meters. Liander, part of Alliander, is one of the founding fathers of
the Amsterdam Smart City initiative.
Alliander has expressed its commitment as a research partner in the AMS
institute. Their prime interests are research projects relating to energy and
securing of energy provision, covering all areas in which energy is a major
consideration, such as transport and construction. In addition, Alliander
intends to introduce projects from its EG Infra research program to kickstart the initiatives.
Alliander will contribute to AMS by sharing knowledge and skills in the
field of energy provision and by participating in the development of
new solutions in this area through research projects. Alliander foresees
a potential contribution to AMS amounting to EUR 5 m for the first 5
years, which could be in cash and/or in kind. Alliander has expressed its
intentions intentions in a letter from Pallas Agterberg, Director Strategy,
Alliander N.V..
CISCO
Cisco is a multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells
networking equipment. Cisco has been a leading player in a large variety of
smart community initiatives around the world, at the forefront of smart grid
and the internet of things to the more human-centric areas of smart work,
learning hubs and immersive video communications. Over the past several
years, the City of Amsterdam has been one of its prime partners and one of
the communities where Cisco has consistently pursued innovations.
Cisco views that network technologies have dramatically changed and
will continue to change the way people work, play, learn and live. The
impact of the network is such that it can determine the resilience of entire
communities, redefine what successful learning means, facilitate the
“greening” of cities, alter how work gets done, change the way innovations
come about and is core to successful urban regeneration. Many of the
themes touched upon in the above are intrinsically linked to AMS.
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Cisco intends to contribute to AMS and to help facilitate AMS in testing and
incubating innovative business models and technology architectures that
will make Amsterdam’s communities smart and connected. Testing solutions
in the living lab is one of the interests of Cisco. Its ambition is to eventually
scale successful architectures and solutions, in coordination with the City
of Amsterdam, to cities all over the world.
Cisco will contribute its knowledge and experience in developing technology
architectures for smart cities, and intends to participate in research
project. Cisco has expressed its commitment in a letter from Cisco Systems
International BV.
ESA
The European Space Agency (ESA) is responsible for the development
and execution of the European space program, and it ensures that the
investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe
and the world. Its European Space Research and Technology Center
(ESTEC) is located in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, housing an operating
and environmental test center for spacecraft supported by engineering
laboratories. At this location, most of the ESA projects are born and guided
through the various stages of development, as all managerial and technical
competences and facilities are based here.
ESA intends to participate in the research and valorization projects and
programs of AMS and contribute to AMS as a platform partner through its
knowledge and experience. ESA has already identified the MELiSSA project
as a potential project to be integrated into AMS. The MELISSA project on
developing closed loop systems, is highly relevant for Earth, and within AMS
the acceleration of such applications (and vice versa: knowledge from Earth
applied to space) could be investigated and researched through a shared
research project or program within AMS.
In addition ESA intends to leverage the ESTEC facilities in Noordwijk,
including laboratories and incubator, the knowledge and skills on themes
and topics related to metropolitan solutions and the technologies used
in space. Moreover, ESA is willing to contribute knowledge, skills and
experience on running research projects and the necessary facilities,
bringing together organizations and individuals and managing and analyzing
big data. ESA has expressed its intentions in a letter from Franco Ongaro,
ESA Director for Technical and Quality Management and Head of ESTEC.
IBM
IBM is a multinational technology and consultancy cooperation. Through
integrated solutions that leverage information technology and knowledge of
business processes they are dedicated to creating business value and solving
business problems. IBM is a front runner in the theme of smart cities, which
materializes for example in the IBM Smarter Cities Technology center, a lab
conducting research in the themes of energy, transportation, city fabric,
risk, exascale computing, and marine environments. IBM also launched its
IBM’s Smarter Cities Challenge, a three year grant program in which IBM
is donating USD 50 million worth of its employees’ time to help cities get
started on ambitious projects.
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IBM has the intention to become a research partner in the AMS institute,
participating in project ranging from research in which IBM professionals
and researchers have access to a test bed in the city of Amsterdam to joint
projects with graduate students from AMS. IBM has expressed its intentions
through a letter.
SHELL
As a world-leading player in the oil and gas industry, Shell is concerned with
meeting global energy demand in a responsible way. By using advanced
technologies and taking an innovative approach, Shell helps to build a
sustainable energy future. Energy is vital to our daily lives; it helps us to
produce food, fuel transport and power communication channels across the
world. Over the coming decades, more people will gain access to energy and
enjoy higher standards of living. Shell operates at the forefront of unlocking
energy and making energy accessible to a growing number of people and
uses.
Shell has expressed its interest in being involved in research projects at the
AMS institute, especially those in the field of future energy technologies,
smart energy systems and transportation systems. Moreover, Shell is
interested in participating in projects within the Amsterdam Living Lab
that fit with its own technology portfolio, and has the intention to seek
collaboration in joint projects with the academic partners as well as other
AMS partners.
Shell intends to contribute by sharing of knowledge and expertise, along
with contributions as participant in research projects. Shell has confirmed
its intentions in a letter from its CTO Gerald Schotman.
WATERNET
Waternet, being responsible for drinking water supply, the sewer and water
management in the region of Amsterdam covers the entire water cycle:
from the treatment of waste water and provision of drinking water, to
cleaning and maintaining levels of surface water. Waternet has an innovative
approach and continuously strives for sustainable solutions and new
sources of energy with the goal to become climate-neutral by 2020. In doing
so Waternet cooperates closely with a range of research organizations, such
as TU Delft, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam University of Applied
Sciences, Wageningen UR, and KWR Watercycle Research Institute.
Waternet intends to collaborate with AMS on research projects and
programs and has identified Clean Capital as a potential program to be
executed within the AMS platform Clean Capital focuses on challenges at the
intersection of the water, energy, waste/raw materials and resources cycles.
The program is a shared initiative of Waternet, Afvalenergiebedrijf and the
Port of Amsterdam, which intend to join forces with the academic partners
of AMS and i various other parties (e.g. private parties), ranging from local
SMEs to multinationals. Clean Capital is not yet formally established or
approved by its shareholders (City of Amsterdam and Waterboard Amstel,
Gooi and Vecht).
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Waternet has expressed its intentions through a letter signed
by Roelof Kruize, Managing Director of Waternet.
5.4 OTHER POTENTIAL PARTNERS OF AMS
Other parties have expressed their interest in potential future cooperation
with AMS. In addition, there have been verbal discussions with other
consortia in the Amsterdam Design Contest about potential future
cooperation.
SCHIPHOL
Schiphol Group is an airport company with the Amsterdam Airport
Schiphol as its core asset. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is an example
of an AirportCity: a leading, efficient airport that provides its visitors
and businesses those services that they require on a 24-7 basis; shops,
restaurants, business centers, playgrounds, hotels, leisure facilities,
and even a museum.
Schiphol believes in a future of its airport as part of a circular economy
and views the efficient use of all resources on and around the airport as a
prerequisite. As part of this ambition, theGROUNDS was established as an
independent organization within Schiphol Group to facilitate the transition
of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol towards a sustainable airport. theGROUNDS
propagates and stimulates innovation and sustainability by (i) initiating
projects and events, (ii) offering a breeding ground through its incubator
facilities with work spaces for companies and institutes, and (iii) providing
a testing ground at the airport for pilots and experiments. In addition, TU
Delft, KLM and Rabobank jointly set up the seed investment fund Mainport
Innovation Fund (MIF) to support promising technology companies that
improve the sustainability, safety and efficiency of the sector.
Schiphol does not want a partner status in AMS at this stage. However,
Schiphol is opening its incubator facility theGROUNDS to spin-outs in
metropolitan solutions from AMS. Furthermore, it has presented the
opportunity for such companies to obtain seed capital from its MIF. Schiphol
has expressed this in a letter from Jonas Stekelenburg, Managing Director
at theGROUNDS Schiphol.
INTEGRATED BETA FACULTY OF UVA AND VU
The University of Amsterdam and VU Amsterdam are in the process of
integrating their beta faculties, strengthening the position of Amsterdam
in the exact sciences. AMS focusing on engineering and design, believes that
it is highly complementary to this Amsterdam beta faculty. AMS foresees
an opportunity to work closely with the UvA/VU beta faculty; in research
and education. The open structure of AMS is expected to facilitate such
cooperation, as well as the ties that TU Delft and Wageningen UR already
have with UvA and VU.
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CONSORTIUM THNK
Within the chain of education, research and valorization, AMS considers
THNK complementary to AMS: AMS overlooking the entire chain but with
centers of gravity in research and education, from which valorization
resides, and THNK is geared more towards valorization. AMS considers
THNK as a potentially valuable partner in strengthening and accelerating
the valorization ambitions of AMS. Conversations between AMS and THNK
have confirmed the interest of potential future cooperation from both sides
if opportune.
CONSORTIUM NEXUSLABS
What holds for THNK, also holds for the consortium Nexuslabs. AMS
considers Nexuslabs complementary as well, and as a potentially valuable
future partner in valorization activities. Conversations between AMS and
Nexuslabs have confirmed interest from both sides to investigate potential
cooperation in the future, if opportune.
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“Designing and testing integral
metropolitan solutions in the Amsterdam
living lab and its local infrastructure,
provides a great opportunity to study and
tackle contemporary socio-technological
challenges in their full complexity.
This is scientifically extremely challenging,
but more importantly of great public
and economic value.”
Prof.dr.ir. Paulien M. Herder
Engineering Systems Design
in Energy & Industry
TU Delft
6
“Amsterdam is an excellent living lab for double
complex urban environments. Its continuing
transformation, economic-technological innovation
and changing tasks in the public sector regarding
urban engineering, fosters scale-free thinking and
permanent insight in ecological, spatial, technical
and social backgrounds.”
Prof.dr.ir. Arjan van Timmeren
Environmental Technology and Design
TU Delft
“Climate change and the implications for energy, food
and water are driving innovation. There is a key role for
AMS in these fields. Amsterdam, it‘s intellectual capacity,
its cosmopolitan culture and it‘s rich tradition provide an
excellent setting to make this happen.”
Prof.dr.ir. Pier Vellinga
Climate change and adaptive land and water management
Wageningen UR
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6. Fit with the goals of the City
AMS is fully aligned with the goals of the City of Amsterdam. AMS attracts
and retains talented engineers to the Amsterdam region. In time, 200250 engineering students will participate in its MSc program and 100-150
researchers will be employed. AMS creates sustainable connections in
Amsterdam and on a global level, and firmly roots itself in the city. AMS
multiplies the investment from the city by four, creating an influx of funding
to the city and stimulating Amsterdam’s economy. Through AMS, Amsterdam
will be the first to benefit from metropolitan solutions that improve the quality
of life for its citizens and creating economic opportunities for its business
community. As a leading engineering and design institute for education,
research and valorization, AMS fills a clear gap in the Amsterdam knowledge
and innovation infrastructure.
AMS requests that the City of Amsterdam commits EUR 50 million to
AMS for a ten-year period. AMS proposes a model in which the AMS partners
and the City of Amsterdam co-invest: financial resources committed by the
city will only be spent if sufficient co-financing from public and private AMS
partners is secured. Furthermore, AMS requests the City of Amsterdam to
support housing, facilitate the city’s use as a living lab, provide insight into
urban challenges, contribute city data, open the city’s network, support use of
the Amsterdam brand and create publicity, support the acquisition of external
funding (e.g. Horizon 2020, ERDF, “topsector” policy), support through various
centers of expertise like the Amsterdam Economic Board and Amsterdam
Expatcenter, and act as a launching customer for new metrmetropolitan
solutions. AMS will be a collaborative venture.
6.1 STRONG FIT WITH THE GOALS OF THE CITY
AMS is fully aligned with the goals of the City of Amsterdam. AMS creates
new educational research and valorization offers and assets in Amsterdam,
attracting students, realizing investments and creating research jobs, which
would otherwise not have resided in Amsterdam. Table 5 below provides a
summary of this alignment. The table considers all goals of the City and the
associated detailed questions as described in the Contest notice for round 2.
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Table 5. Summary of AMS’ alignment with the goals of the City of Amsterdam
It overlaps with the text in chapters 1-5, and thus is a summary of the answers to the city’s contest
questions.
1
Question
Answer
1. Attract and retain talent in the field of applied technology to the Amsterdam region
A. Education
I. What educational
• Two-year MSc program in metropolitan solutions, including a research-based thesis project in
programs will be set up?
the Amsterdam living lab with two paths:
- Two-year (on-site/online) MSc in Amsterdam
- MOOC program, summer school in Amsterdam and year two of MSc in Amsterdam
• MOOCs will be set up that can be taken as separate modules not leading to an accredited degree
• Electives in metropolitan solutions in existing MSc programs at TU Delft, Wageningen UR and
MIT, including an elective research-based thesis project in the Amsterdam living lab
• PhD positions in the research portfolio, making full use of the graduate school expertise of the
core academic partners
I. What is the duration of
• Two years for all MSc programs
the programs?
• 6 months to 1 year for the research-based thesis project in Amsterdam living lab
• 4 years to a PhD
I. How many students and
• MSc in metropolitan solutions students on-site program: 200-250 in academic year 2022, 40-60
at which level (undergrad,
grad, postgrad) are expected
in 2017
• Research-based thesis students from other MSc programs in Amsterdam: 40-60 in academic year
for each of these programs
2022, 10-20 in 2015
at the different points in
• MOOC participants: >100,000 in academic year 2022
time?
• PhD students/junior researchers: 50-60 in academic year 2022, 20-30 in 2015
I. How many faculty and
~15 FTE faculty for lecturing in Amsterdam in academic year 2022
staff will be attracted?
I. How many of these
• ~25% foreign students in MSc in metropolitan solutions
people are from abroad?
• ~10% foreign students from other MSc tracks at TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT in
research-based thesis
• ~90% MOOC participants outside the Netherlands
• ~50% foreign PhD students
• ~20% foreign faculty
II. How will the project
• AMS will attract students by offering a unique program that connects a broad range
attract and select students
of backgrounds (students and professionals) from different institutes and professions,
and faculty members for the
and combines physical and digital education to create an enormous international reach.
educational programs?
Furthermore, it will be able to tap into a pool of TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT students
• AMS will select:
- Two-year (on-site/online) MSc students through an application procedure that focuses on past
performance and motivation, using existing procedures at TU Delft and Wageningen UR
- MOOC participants for the summer school on the basis of previous education, results,
motivation and work experience (MOOCs themselves are open to all)
- MOOC/ summer school students for the second year on-site MSc upon their successful
completion of the summer school
• MOOC/MOOC program participation is open to all; no selection
• The project will primarily attract faculty members from the existing faculties of TU Delft,
Wageningen UR and MIT on the strength of the unique possibilities that AMS offers – and select
on expertise, excellence and experience in relevant disciplines as well as their experience and
abilities in setting up and expanding new initiatives
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II. How high-quality are
• Students are expected to be at the top of their field and are selected (insofar as national
these students and faculty
regulations allow for this) through an application process. As an indication, AMS aims for an
members?
application selection ratio of 5:1 or higher. Quality will be determined based on an applicant's
ability to operate as an "expert integrator" – i.e. be proficient in specific topics and able to grasp
the full complexity of (real-life) systems – and their entrepreneurial drive to convert academic
results into action
• Faculty members are already part of internationally leading universities and should be among
the top performers
III. How do the suggested
• The educational program builds on the programs and experience of TU Delft, Wageningen UR
educational programs fit
with the experience of the
and MIT, and will become part of these institutes' educational offers
• Each university already has a strong offering in relevant disciplines within the area of
participant?
metropolitan solutions (MIT in digital engineering, new technologies; TU Delft in physical
engineering and design; Wageningen UR in life sciences, ecosystem engineering and
design), and combined they cover the full spectrum for developing an integrated program in
metropolitan solutions
III. How will existing
• TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT will design, set up, execute and govern the entire AMS
experience be leveraged in
this initiative?
educational program in full compliance with their high standards and quality controls
• The partners will draw key staff and faculty from their own ranks and thus "infuse" the institute
with their experience, such as in the emerging field of online education, studio-based learning
and industry collaboration for internships
IV. How will degrees be
For electives TU Delft and Wageningen UR degrees are granted, for the new MSc a joint degree is
granted for the educational
granted, in accordance with the existing procedures of these universities
programs?
IV. Which accreditation for
Existing accreditations of either TU Delft or Wageningen UR (to be determined which) will be
the educational programs
used for the educational program overall, and a joint accreditation will be pursued for the new MSc
will be utilized?
in Metropolitan Solutions
B. Employment
I. How are students
• By requiring all MSc students to carry out a research-based thesis project in the Amsterdam
stimulated to stay in
living lab
Amsterdam once they
• By encouraging them to live in Amsterdam and continue their studies and/or careers there
finish their degrees or have
• By actively introducing them to Amsterdam companies and institutes (AMS partners, etc.) as
worked for a period at the
institute or an affiliated
potential employers
• By helping entrepreneurial talent found, fund and grow their own businesses in Amsterdam
organization?
I. What kinds of programs
• The research and valorization portfolio enables talent to carry out research-based thesis projects
are set up to ensure this?
in the Amsterdam living lab – AMS thereby actively connects talent to the research portfolio and
to the participating companies and institutes
• AMS will provide incubator facilities and support to start-ups
• A student housing program will need to be developed in collaboration with the City of
Amsterdam, since housing is a major factor in both national and international talent retention.
Furthermore, a program or service providing necessary legal aid (e.g. visa, permits) for
international talent will need to be set up, making full use of existing expertise in this realm
I. What partnerships exist
Employers are AMS partners that participate in the research and valorization portfolio and are part
with employers for this goal
of the actively-managed AMS network
to be achieved?
83
II. What programs are set
• The AMS value platform creates unique open infrastructure in Amsterdam in the field of applied
up to attract employment
technology: research, data acquisition, storage and management, Amsterdam as living lab,
in the field of applied
knowledge, funding support, network, etc.
technology to the
• At the same time, AMS offers access to top engineering talent
Amsterdam region?
• Infrastructure, partners, talent and funding will attract companies to Amsterdam, create
employment, and give companies already in Amsterdam a competitive edge that accelerates
growth and subsequently employment
II. How will this attract
Engineering and design talent will be drawn to Amsterdam by the prospect of top education, top
talent?
research, top jobs, the international reputation of the core academic partners and industry leaders,
and by the opportunity for experience, experimentation and entrepreneurship – in a dynamic and
cosmopolitan setting
II. How many employees
• 100-150 FTE in direct employees in public-private consortia in research and valorization
will this attract, with which
portfolio in the academic year 2022: mostly high value jobs for researchers at university-level for
tasks/responsibility and at
which salary levels?
functions in applied technology
• 30-40 FTE in AMS value platform, educational program and general staffing in the academic
year 2022: mostly university-level in applied technology
• Indirect employment from R&D investments in Amsterdam: throughout the city economy and
at each level of employment
II. How many of these
• ~25% of direct employment from abroad
people are from abroad?
• >90% of direct employment from outside Amsterdam (many of whom are TU Delft and
Wageningen UR MSc graduates)
III. What research programs
AMS will host a public-private research portfolio in which different consortia of knowledge
will be set up?
institutes and companies work together in the Amsterdam living lab to develop metropolitan
solutions
III. What are the key
The great challenge of our time is to maintain a sustainable and high quality of life within cities.
challenges in the proposed
To sustain prosperous urban conditions in the face of global and local climate change and ever
field?
growing populations, cities must secure and green essential flows, including clean water, energy,
food and waste, ensure mobility and logistics, and protect the air quality, temperature and natural,
public spaces essential to a healthy environment, where citizens can live, breathe and work.
Addressing these challenges implies the integration of many technology and design disciplines, and
the understanding and real-time measuring of the city flows and metabolism. This requires the link
between the city as a physical construct and its digital data networks
III. How will tangible
Within the theme of metropolitan solutions, consortia of knowledge institutes and companies will
research topics be
define and detail promising, tangible research topics together, and in close consultation with the
determined?
City of Amsterdam and its citizens. Research topics will be geared towards the actual challenges
faced in the urban environment. Research topics will thus bring together the priorities of science,
business, government and society
III. How will research into
Research will be a collaboration between knowledge institutes and companies, and will use
these topics be conducted?
Amsterdam as a living lab. Research consortia will both benefit from and contribute to the AMS
value platform and its unique research infrastructure of data, knowledge, funding support,
networks, etc.
III. What outcomes are
• Fundamental understanding of the city and its flows, and a better grasp of the true challenges
envisioned and what impact
will that have?
and solutions needed
• Metropolitan solutions designed and tested in the Amsterdam living lab, ready for largescale roll-out in Amsterdam and cities all over the world by the private AMS partners and
entrepreneurs
• Research will directly lead to 1,000-1,500 scientific papers in the first 10 years, 100-150 research
FTE of sustainable employment, hundreds of millions in investments, patents, reputation, a
network of dozens of leading parties, and the increased attraction of businesses to Amsterdam
84
III. With which other
• The three core academic partners TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT
organizations or institutions
• The 12 other international and regional AMS partners that have already expressed their
(local or worldwide) will
commitment
there be cooperation in
• Amsterdam-based knowledge institutes, especially the new beta faculty of the VU and UvA
these research programs?
• Other internationally leading knowledge institutes in the Netherlands and abroad
• (Local) SMEs as participants in the research portfolio and benefiting from the value platform
• Other leading (international) companies as participants in the research and valorization
portfolio in the Amsterdam living lab
• A network of cities as living labs around the world, set up by AMS, including Boston and
Singapore
III. How will existing
• The research portfolio will build on the knowledge and experience of the core academic partners,
experience be leveraged in
this initiative?
at least one of which will participate in each public-private consortium in the portfolio
• Parties will also contribute in kind – people, data and infrastructure – to research projects/
programs and thus share and leverage these resources and their experience
• The value platform will capture the experience gained in research projects/programs and make it
available to other projects/programs where possible
III. How will this flow from
• Public-private consortia in the research portfolio balance discovery, development and
fundamental research to
applied research and then to
deployment, connecting fundamental research, applied research and valorization
• Core academic partners secure fundamental research and participate in applied research
valorization (e.g. start-up,
technology transfer)?
together with other AMS partners
• Companies that participate in applied research can test and perfect their solutions in the living
lab (valorization), in close collaboration with Amsterdam and its citizens
• The public-private consortia thus create a natural flow from first idea to implementation and
back to idea generation
• Entrepreneurial talent from the educational program wil also pick up results/ideas (valorization
through start-ups)
III. How are these research
• Funding will vary for each public-private consortium in the research portfolio and can range
programs financed?
from fully private funding to largely public funding. A typical consortium in the first years of
AMS will have a financing structure of:
- ~20% in cash contribution from the City
- ~30% in cash contribution from other subsidy sources (e.g. national and EU)
- ~40% contribution from companies, in kind and in cash
- ~10% in kind from knowledge institutes
• The contribution from the City of Amsterdam to a public-private consortium will typically be
20% in the first years of AMS and over time decrease to zero
• The value platform hosts a variety of infrastructures and support functions, with tailored
financing. To build up the platform's infrastructure, initial investment and costs will be covered
up to ~50% with funding from the City of Amsterdam, depending on the specific part of the
platform; other funding will come from AMS partners (and other subsidies they obtain). Over
time, the value platform’s offering will increase in value and fund itself from project-based
payments for its use, without matching from the City of Amsterdam
III. How much of this
An estimated 60% of the research funding and 25% of the value platform funding comes from
financing comes from other
parties other than current partners in AMS or the City of Amsterdam
parties than the participant?
85
IV. How is technology
• Technology transfer is organized for each public-private consortium in the research and
transfer organized?
valorization portfolio, tailored to the composition, activities and financing of the specific
consortium (flexibility is a prerequisite for success, e.g. a Horizon 2020 grant demands different
IP arrangements than an STW grant)
• As a ground rule, all public-private consortia in the portfolio must have governance and IP
arrangements that stimulate valorization of research results by consortia partners and/or by
entrepreneurs that valorize results through spin-offs
IV. What models will
Multiple models will be applied, depending on the partners, financing and activities. AMS will
be used for technology
support IP arrangements by providing standard models and contracts that consortia can use and
transfer (e.g. equity stake,
adjust to their specific needs and characteristics
licensing)?
IV. How does this
• The academic core members are highly experienced in technology transfer to start-ups through
approach fit with the
their Technology Transfer Offices, and in the participation in public-private consortia with a
existing experience of the
participant in technology
wide range of IP arrangements that can serve as models
• Other AMS partners also have vast experience with research and valorization projects/programs
transfer?
with different technology transfer procedures
V. How is entrepreneurship/
Entrepreneurship is ingrained in the educational program and through the start-up support offer
start-ups encouraged?
provided by the AMS value platform
V. What is the
AMS cooperates with existing incubator facilities in Amsterdam to offer entrepreneurs in
proposal’s approach
metropolitan solutions the room they need to grow. At the facilities, AMS will coordinate
to entrepreneurship
dedicated support for metropolitan solutions start-ups, including access to the knowledge,
(incl. culture, training,
data and infrastructure at the value platform and entrepreneurial support activities at the AMS
mentorship, incentives,
partners. In addition, entrepreneurs will gain access to a network of potentially relevant partners,
incubators/accelerators,
venture capital companies and consultancies in the AMS network. AMS’ culture of engagement
access to venture capital,
– in Amsterdam, with partners, and with citizens – will further stimulate entrepreneurship.
cooperation with existing
Furthermore, the educational program includes (elective) courses in entrepreneurship
organizations in the
Amsterdam region, etc.)?
V. How does this
Schiphol and Waag Society already have incubator facilities in the Amsterdam area available to
approach fit with the
spin-outs from AMS. The core academic members are also leading in the area of entrepreneurship
existing experience of the
and stimulating start-ups. For example, study on MIT alumni suggest that 25,800 companies
participant in encouraging
founded by alumni were active as of 2006, employing 3.3 million people and producing annual
entrepreneurship, start-ups
revenues of EUR 2 trillion. With such strengths at its core, AMS can readily build on the experience
and acceleration?
and facilities of its partners
VI. How will the program
Existing businesses in Amsterdam will be able to participate in the research and valorization
lead to expansion of
portfolio, make use of the AMS value platform, and gain access to an engineering talent pool. This
existing businesses in the
will give them a competitive advantage over businesses outside the region, which will support their
Amsterdam region?
growth and success. Moreover, an internationally reputable AMS institution will help position
Amsterdam within the metropolitan solutions market – to the benefit of Amsterdam-based
companies
VI. How are these
Amsterdam-based companies are involved in AMS through participation in the research and
companies involved in the
valorization portfolio. Some may also participate in the educational program or co-invest directly
programs?
in the value platform
VI. How many FTE will this
These are included in the answers to questions B II above on employment
add and in which fields?
VI. How are students/
Cooperation with companies is one of the pillars of the education program. Students carry out their
faculty encouraged to
research-based thesis projects in Amsterdam, together with, on the premises of and/or supervised
cooperate with companies?
(partly or fully) by companies, and private company guest lecturers and cases are included in the
curriculum
86
VI. What is the approach
• Many students are supervised by a company employee in their thesis projects – AMS will actively
(incl. culture, training,
mentorship, incentives,
connect students with these companies
• AMS fosters a culture of engagement with society and business and of applying engineering to
cooperation with existing
organizations in the
practical issues, often proposed by companies
• Faculty staff must raise co-investments (in cash or in kind) for research activities, and a
Amsterdam region,
etc.) and how does this
significant part from companies
• Companies contribute to research not only in cash, but also in kind – as a result, academic and
approach fit with the
corporate scientists work side by side on a single project
existing experience of the
participant in realizing
these links with companies?
VII. How will the institute
• AMS fosters a culture of excellence. To stay at the top of its game, it must continuously raise
continuously strive to
its game. It achieves this by building on the strengths of its internationally leading partners,
improve itself?
continuously creating new connections, and recruiting international top talent. Continuous
improvement is a responsibility of the AMS director and board
• The value platform at the core of AMS is designed for continuous improvement. Its use by
public-private consortia requires (and is itself) a contribution to the platform. With use, its
experience, network, knowledge, facilities and data will grow and its value and appeal will
increase. Eventually, it will become financially self-sustaining from user fees alone. To do this, it
must constantly increase its value
VII. How will new areas of
• Demand driven: AMS' research and valorization portfolio will have a strong demand-driven
interest be identified and
approach, connecting the questions, investments and resources from companies, citizens and
how will opportunities be
government to a knowledge base in public-private consortia
captured?
• Scientific insights: The sensing of the city and its flows will lead to new insights in the urban
metabolism and metropolitan challenges, and from that to new research opportunities captured
by new public-private consortia and projects/programs in the AMS portfolio. These, in turn, will
generate new questions for sensing the city
• Evolving offer: Strengthening over time, eventually the platform will have sufficient scope
and scale in different fields to effectively support the development and delivery of integrated
metropolitan solutions, combining many fields of research and flows in the metropolitan
metabolism. The AMS research focus will gradually evolve from individual flows and topics to
integrated, holistic metropolitan solutions
87
2
Question
Answer
2. Create sustainable connections to ensure that the initiative of the participant is embedded both in
the Amsterdam region as well as internationally
A.
Which connections exist
Close connections exist with:
between the envisioned
• Companies with R&D activities in Amsterdam: Shell
institute and existing
• Companies with a presence in Amsterdam: Accenture, KPN, Cisco, IBM, Waternet, Alliander
strategic assets and/
• Research institutes in Amsterdam: Waag Society
or organizations in the
• Research infrastructure in Amsterdam: FabLab and CitySDK (Waag Society), Big Data Value
Amsterdam region?
Center (TNO)
• Valorization infrastructures in Amsterdam: incubator (Schiphol and Waag) and financing
(Schiphol) facilities
• Urban infrastructure in Amsterdam: mobile network (KPN), utilities infrastructures (Waternet,
Alliander)
• Amsterdam citizens and living lab: Amsterdam living lab initiative (Waag Society and
Amsterdam Smart Cities), outreach and co-creation programs (Waag Society)
Which new connections
• New connections with companies, knowledge institutes and cities will be created through the
will be created and how will
open research and valorization portfolio and platform of AMS, building on the network of AMS
this be done?
partners and making use of all AMS has to offer
• AMS foresees close collaboration with the UvA and VU, especially with their new beta faculty
How will all of these
• AMS will have dedicated staff for managing the relationships in the value platform
connections be maintained
• Connections will be strengthened by performing joint research and valorization activities within
and further strengthened?
the AMS portfolio
• Through the value platform, existing connections of AMS partners will become available to other
partners, growing and strengthening the network over time, and connecting many common
interests
B.
Which connections exist
• AMS is a cooperation between leading public and private partners from all over the world
between the envisioned
• The broader global network of these leading partners will be captured and leveraged through the
initiative of the participant
and other initiatives
value platform
• AMS will be connected to a worldwide network of cities that act as living labs, including Boston
worldwide?
and Singapore, creating a unique infrastructure not available today
Which new connections
• AMS itself is a new connection that will be shaped in the start-up and growth phases
will be created and how will
• New connections will be continuously created through the open research and valorization
this be done?
portfolio and value platform of AMS, building on the network of AMS partners
• AMS foresees development towards a dense network of cities as living labs all around the world
in which it will cooperate as an anchor point, and in which projects are executed simultaneously
and data is shared
• AMS foresees new connections with many other companies and knowledge institutes around the
world during the development phase. These companies/institutes will participate in the research
and valorization activities and benefit from the value platform and the pool of talent generated
by AMS
How will all of these
• Connections will be strengthened by performing joint research and valorization activities within
connections be maintained,
leveraged and further
the AMS portfolio
• Through the value platform, existing connections of AMS partners will become available to other
strengthened?
partners, growing and strengthening the network over time, and connecting organizations with
common interests
88
3
Question
Answer
3. Have a positive economic impact for the Amsterdam region (besides attracting talent and creating
sustainable connections)
A.
What are the total one-
The AMS partners (current and future, including other subsidies obtained) provide one-off
off investments of the
participant?
investments for the first 10-year period of a total value of:
• ~EUR 0.5 m in the development of the educational program
• ~EUR 6.5 m in the development of the infrastructure of the value platform
What “second-order” or
Investments have a multiplier effect that is difficult to measure and predict but experience suggests
multiplier effects will take
that it lies between 2 and 10 times the investment8
place (e.g. investments by
others, “trickle activities)?
For which job categories
• Direct investments create work in education, the setting up of R&D infrastructure
will this create work?
• Indirect investments will create jobs throughout the economy, at service providers and other
companies
B.
What are the recurring
The AMS partners (current and future, including other subsidies obtained) commit to recurring
investments/costs of the
investments/costs during the first 10 years for a total value of:
participant?
• ~EUR 19 million in the educational program
• ~EUR 152 million in research and valorization projects/programs (excluding fee payments by
consortia)
• ~EUR 22 m in the value platform
What “second-order” or
• Investments have a multiplier effect that is difficult to measure and predict but experience
multiplier effects will take
place (e.g. investments
suggests that it lies between 2 and 10 times the investment
• Students and researchers living in Amsterdam are expected to create an indirect recurring
by others, “trickle down”
investment in the Amsterdam economy (rent, goods, etc.) of an estimated EUR 1-5 million per
activities)?
year (based on typical living expenses of EUR 500-1000 per month for ~200-400 people)
For which job categories
• Direct investments create work in education and R&D
will this create work?
• Indirect investments will create jobs throughout the economy, at service providers and other
companies
8. BiGGAR Economics, Economic Impact of Research & Commercialisation at Leiden University & Leiden
University Medical Centre, 2011; Ministerie van Economische Zaken, Berenschot, Buitenlandse investeerders:
groeiversneller voor de Nederlandse economie!, 2007; EFPIA, The Pharmaceutical Industry in Figures, 2012;
MIT Sloan Management Review, The Multiplier Effect of Innovation Jobs, 2012; Stichting Brainport, Maatregelen
voor de technologische industrie, 2009
89
4
Question
Answer
4. Develop and market metropolitan solutions to create economic value and improve the quality of
living and working in Amsterdam
A. Development of solutions for metropolitan challenges
How will the activities
• Directly: within the educational program and research and valorization portfolio (supported by
under goals 1 and 2 lead to
the value platform), talented engineers develop solutions for metropolitan challenges that they
development of solutions
test and implement in the Amsterdam living lab
for metropolitan challenges? • Indirectly: the pool of talented, highly trained engineers educated in Amsterdam will find
employment at companies (existing or new), knowledge institutes and government, from R&D
to manufacturing, M&S and consulting to policymaking – and from this employment develop
and contribute metropolitan solutions
B. Testing these solutions in the “living lab” in Amsterdam (pilot city)
What kind of solutions are
A range of metropolitan solutions at the intersections of engineering and design, including
envisioned to be tested?
applications, will be tested in the Amsterdam living lab. These solutions will target:
• Smart infrastructures and smart systems engineering for essential urban flows (energy, water and
nutrients) and urban mobility (people, materials and information)
• Circular economy and integrated resource management; urban metabolism and urban mining;
(sensor-based) waste recycling, material recovery and reuse and recycling of oriented supply
chains
• City dynamics, mimesis technologies and constructive feedback loops
• Urban resilience (resilience engineering and social innovation) and support for empowerment
and self-organization
• Emerging urban themes: urban agriculture (food production, logistics, tracking and security,
changes in food intake), smart retrofitting, climate adaptation, regenerative design and
e-novation
What impact (both
• Amsterdam citizens and organizations participating in the testing stand to gain from:
positive and negative) will
- Being the first to benefit from solutions
this have on citizens and
- Learning about the latest technologies and designs, and how to use them
organizations?
• Amsterdam citizens and organizations may perceive a negative impact on:
- Their privacy, affected by the measurements taken via the living lab
- Public infrastructure (e.g. roads, traffic lights, streetlights, etc.) that may be temporarily
interrupted or scaled down diminished during the preparation and/or execution of a study
How will any negative
• In general, citizens and organizations will participate in living lab experiments voluntarily
impact be mitigated?
• Any data collected from citizens will be handled with the utmost care, taking privacy legislation
into account
• Use/adjustments of public infrastructures that impact daily life will be planned in close
consultation with the City and all stakeholders, and during time/days/periods that minimize the
impact on citizens and organizations
Which organizations/assets
This may include but is not limited to:
are required for testing?
• Transportation infrastructures, public transportation organizations and data (rail, road, water)
• Utilities infrastructures and data (energy, water)
• Mobile networks, operators and data
• Waste disposal infrastructures, operators and data
• Public infrastructures in the street and any organizations or data associated (e.g. streetlights, etc.)
90
C. Roll-out of successful solutions in Amsterdam (roll-out city)
What are the criteria for
• Moving from a successful test to a large/larger scale roll-out has proven challenging, especially
success in the testing
for metropolitan solutions that need a wide array of stakeholders and public infrastructures, and
leading to a desire to roll-
associated investments, for successful roll-out. There is no easy way to bridge this gap. AMS will
out?
design and choose its testing activities to encourage and ease roll-out upon successful testing by:
- Having parties upon which the roll-out relies (often companies, the city and infrastructure
providers) take a leading role in the testing phase and in defining the research questions
- Ensuring the scientifically sound and independent setup of testing studies, supported by
academia, to prevent/counter skeptical reactions to positive results
- Involving users actively in the testing and development and enlisting them as ambassadors
(positive testing results include positive users)
- Developing and validating a viable business case in the testing phase
- Providing the opportunity to test solutions in multiple cities as living labs around the world
• At the same time, AMS will gain experience with success factors for roll-out and its relation
to the testing phase. This experience will be captured and made available through the value
platform, supporting others in their study design and in establishing the key success factors for
roll-out
What impact (both positive
• AMS aims to improve the quality of life and environment for Amsterdam citizens and
and negative) will this have
on citizens or organizations?
organizations by developing and delivering metropolitan solutions that contribute to, e.g.:
- A more sustainable city – cleaner air and streets, reduced greenhouse gas emissions
- Improved transportation within and around the metropolitan area, including public as well as
private (e.g. cars) transportation
- Improved resource security and affordable resources, e.g. water, energy and food
- Greener city environment
- Safer city – less crime, protection against/preparation for major incidents
- A more convenient city – accessible apps and information for making life easier
• Amsterdam citizens and organizations may perceive a negative impact due to:
- Public infrastructures being temporarily interrupted or scaled down during roll-out
- Unforeseen complications in large-scale use
How will any negative
• Use/adjustments of public infrastructures that impact daily life will be planned in close
impact be mitigated?
consultation with the City and all stakeholders, and during time/days/periods that minimize the
impact on citizens and organizations
• The risk of unforeseen complications during or after roll-out is mitigated by a comprehensive
and scientifically sound testing stage
Which organizations/assets
(see answer to 4B)
are required for roll-out?
D. Marketing and roll-out of these solutions across the world
To which other world cities/
In principle, solutions can be rolled out to any city in the world. This includes cities in the
metropolitan areas are the
developed world, with challenges comparable to those of Amsterdam (for example Boston - Boston
solutions envisioned to be
has already signed an LOI – and Singapore). However, AMS will also explicitly connect to cities
rolled out?
in the developing world and emerging economies (for example Shenzhen); although often facing
different urban challenges, cities can learn a lot from each other’s challenges and solutions, and in
this way AMS will open large and growing markets (for products and technologies/knowledge) in
upcoming countries
91
What approach will the
• AMS will develop a global network of cities as living labs. Solutions will often be developed/
participant take to achieve
tested not only in Amsterdam, but also in partner cities, preparing different cities for roll-out and
this?
testing the solutions in different environments. Even if solutions are only tested in Amsterdam,
AMS provides a gateway to important connections in cities all over the world
• It is up to the party (private or otherwise) with a positive business case (defined before and
during the testing phase) to achieve international roll-out of solutions developed in AMS. First
and foremost, the AMS industry partners that operate globally will see any business opportunity
within the context of their international playing field, and may roll out solutions accordingly
How will this benefit
Amsterdam stands to gain from international roll-out of solutions developed in Amsterdam
Amsterdam?
through:
• Income for Amsterdam-based organizations that perform/support this international roll-out,
strengthening the city’s economy
• Amsterdam – and Amsterdam-based organizations – worldwide branding and reputation
improvement
5
Question
Answer
5. Contribute to innovation or fill in the gaps (e.g. in the field of applied technology education) while
complementing existing strategic assets and/or organizations
A.
How does the proposal
AMS fills a clear gap in Amsterdam. Amsterdam lacks an engineering and design institute of
complement existing
international fame at the university level. None of its current institutions can grant an MSc in
strategic assets and/or
engineering. In the area of metropolitan solutions, TU Delft, Wageningen UR and MIT highly
organizations?
complement each other and do not compete with institutions based in Amsterdam. With AMS,
Amsterdam would be the only city in the Netherlands that can boast leading general universities
(with medical centers) as well as a leading engineering institution. At the same time, AMS will use
research infrastructures available in Amsterdam and only add complementary infrastructure
How does it fit into the
AMS is an excellent fit to the existing ecosystem in Amsterdam. It includes Amsterdam-based
existing “ecosystem” in
partners, like Waag Society, that are already an integral part of this ecosystem and the city (and
Amsterdam?
citizens) of Amsterdam. At the same time, AMS fills a clear gap in the current ecosystem as an
international leading engineering and design institute. AMS is open to other organizations in the
Amsterdam ecosystem as participants in its research and valorization activities. For example, AMS
foresees fruitful cooperation with the new, integrated beta faculty of the UvA and VU, which is
highly complementary to the core academic partners of AMS
92
6.2 CO-INVESTING IN AMS
AMS proposes a model in which the AMS partners and the City of
Amsterdam co-invest. While the city is asked to commit financial resources
to AMS, these financial resources will only be spent if sufficient co-financing
from public and private AMS partners is secured. This model holds for
the educational program, the research and valorization portfolio, and
investments in the value platform:
• Education: The City of Amsterdam shares several start-up costs with
AMS, and finances facility costs in Amsterdam, which is only necessary
when the educational program fully materializes and has students. All
other costs are carried by the core academic partners of AMS. Upfront
investments are thus limited
• Research and valorization portfolio: Public-private consortia can obtain
up to ~20% co-financing from AMS, but this is only spent when a
consortium has secured the other 80% of financing
• Value platform: The City of Amsterdam finances up to ~50% of a
platform investment, but this is only spent when AMS partners have
secured the co-financing
Co-financing is proposed to be the primary metric for contracting with the
City of Amsterdam.
SCENARIOS OF INVESTMENT
In AMS’ co-investment model, the City of Amsterdam will only spend money
when the bulk of financing is secured by the institute’s partners. To illustrate
this, two scenarios have been developed from the base scenario (which is
defined in the Excel model included with this proposal):
• Low scenario: In this scenario, it is assumed that the number of students,
public-private consortia in the research and valorization portfolio, and
investments in the value platform are half of that in the base scenario –
all other variables are the same as in the base scenario
• High scenario: In this scenario, it is assumed that the number of
students, public-private consortia in the research and valorization
portfolio, and investments in the value platform are 50% higher than that
of the base scenario. The city’s contribution is fixed at the level of the
base scenario
These scenarios show that if AMS attracts half of the students, realizes only
half of the amount of public-private consortia, and half of the co-investments
in its value platform with respect to its ambition (the base scenario), both
the spending of the City of Amsterdam and the AMS partners will be lower
and a multiplier of about 4 is still achieved (figure 17). If AMS achieves 50%
more students and investments in research, valorization and its platform
than in the base scenario, the multiplier on the investment of the city
will be 6.4.
93
400
60,0
300
50,0
250
40,0
200
30,0
46.2
36.5
52.4
53.8
150
41.6
29.9
20,0
319
Multiplier: 6.4
350
100
25.4
19.7
10,0
High scenario
0
50
9.6
50
4.0
1.0
3.4
4.9
5.5
6.1
7.0
6.0
6.5
5.1
4.7
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
0
Amsterdam
Others
Cumulative
300
40,0
200
30,0
150
20,0
22.4
15.4
26.2
29.2
33.9
35.0
100
18.2
11.8
50
5.4
Base scenario
0
50
2.4
1.0
3.5
5.0
5.7
6.2
7.0
5.9
6.4
4.9
4.5
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
0
Amsterdam
Others
Cumulative
30,0
150
20,0
100
104
10,0
6.3
Low scenario
0
8.2
9.6
11.7
13.6
15.1
17.6
18.1
1.3
0.6
2.9
1.9
2.7
3.1
3.3
3.7
3.2
3.4
2.8
2.6
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Amsterdam
Others
Figure 17. Investment scenarios for AMS and the City of Amsterdam
[EUR m, fiscal year starts in September]
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50
27
0
Cumulative
Multiplier: 3.8
10,0
200
Multiplier: 4
250
WORKING TOGETHER
At the start of AMS, an adaptive financial agenda for a period of 10 years
will be established together with the City of Amsterdam. This agenda will
be monitored closely. Each year, an annual financial plan will be detailed
and approved within AMS by its board, in close collaboration with the City
of Amsterdam. The details of this procedure and roles will be determined
together with the city.
6.3 PROPOSED CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE CITY
The proposed contribution from the City of Amsterdam consists of a
combination of financing, infrastructure, data, support and expertise. The
success of AMS depends on the city’s strong commitment, for the long term.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
AMS requests a financial commitment from the city of EUR 50 million for a
10-year period. AMS will multiply the city funding during the first 10 years
with a multiplier of 4, creating a total budget for AMS of EUR 250 million
(see figure 7 in section 3.1 and the associated Excel document).
LAND OR BUILDINGS
AMS will ground itself in a permanent location in Amsterdam as of year 4.
Before that, it will use existing facilities of partners and of the city, in and
around Amsterdam, for housing purposes. The City of Amsterdam is asked
to contribute to the eventual permanent location as part of its financial
contribution. Furthermore, the City of Amsterdam is asked to participate in
the finding and designing of the optimal permanent location for AMS (see
section 3.4). In addition, the city is asked to facilitate student and researcher
housing.
LIVING LAB PROCEDURAL GUIDANCE AND FACILITATION
A key success factor for AMS is its ability to use Amsterdam as a living lab,
for which it requires the commitment and support of the City of Amsterdam.
AMS requests the City of Amsterdam to create a permanent link to the
AMS value platform, and assign a single contact person from the city to the
AMS value platform. Furthermore, the city is requested to create a dedicated
team of experts to support AMS, covering all relevant areas of expertise
ranging from urban planning, communication, the Amsterdam economy,
city data and policy on PPS and financial/tendering expertise.
This team will support the design and implementation of living labs in terms
of e.g. determining the best locations, mobilizing and informing citizens
as participants, creating proper testing conditions, installing physical
apparatuses and/or making implementation and roll-out of prototypes/
solutions possible.
INSIGHT INTO CITY CHALLENGES
AMS requests the City of Amsterdam to work together to incorporate
the major metropolitan challenges in Amsterdam in the research and
valorization portfolio and the educational curriculum. This includes not just
the initial definition of the challenges, but periodic discussions on how they
are being addressed and on new and emerging city challenges.
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USE OF CITY DATA
Opening access to city data is key to and vital for research on metropolitan
issues at the Amsterdam-scale, and is therefore crucial to the success
of AMS. The institute envisages a neutral role in providing data and its
exchange among members of the global network. AMS requests the city to
organize a close working relationship (i.e. dedicated staff) between the AMS
value platform and the relevant city departments that manages city data and
makes it available to AMS.
USE OF THE CITY’S NETWORK
AMS is set up in a growth model, and is open to the participation of other
parties. AMS requests the city to link existing global and local networks to
the networks of the AMS partners in the value platform. These include:
• Local: industry, research institutes, universities, municipalities,
communities
• National: industry, municipalities, national government, data
organizations (city, etc.)
• International: twin cities, global industry
Existing partnerships between Amsterdam and other cities/regions, both
formal and informal, are valuable. Aligning or expanding the global network
of cities that act as living labs and the international Amsterdam twin cities
is especially powerful, enabling the exchange of city data, potential students
(e.g. complementing the MOOCs) and so on. AMS requests the city to use
trade missions for this purpose.
The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs has indicated his interest in and
possible support of the AMS initiative. It goes without saying that his
endorsement could provide a valuable contribution in terms of international
exposure and connectivity.
USE OF THE AMSTERDAM BRAND AND ASSISTANCE IN PUBLICITY
“Amsterdam” is a world-famous brand. It can be a tremendous carrier for
AMS when it begins to market, showcase and export applied technological
discoveries and inventions. AMS requests the city to facilitate the use of the
Amsterdam brand, and cooperate in determining and executing the most
effective marketing and communication strategy for AMS. Execution support
includes deploying the city’s publicity channels for AMS. In this way, the city
and AMS work together to build an international profile in metropolitan
solutions.
SUPPORT IN ACQUIRING EXTERNAL FUNDING
Much of the funding for research and valorization projects/programs
will come from national and international subsidy providers (e.g. the EU
through Horizon 2020). AMS requests the City of Amsterdam to support the
identification of and application for funding opportunities. This includes
deploying the city’s network to lobby regional, national and EU bodies, and
to send letters of commitment for using Amsterdam as a living lab when
necessary.
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SUPPORT FROM THE AMSTERDAM ECONOMIC BOARD
The Amsterdam Economic Board’s main focus is to seek and establish
collaboration with the city, companies and knowledge institutes in the
Amsterdam region in order to boost the innovative and economic power
of the region. The AMS institute can benefit greatly from the Amsterdam
Economic Board, and with its intersecting and interconnected activities,
the AMS institute itself may benefit the Amsterdam Economic Board and
its activities. AMS requests the city to forge a link between AMS and the
Amsterdam Economic Board.
SUPPORT THROUGH VARIOUS CENTERS OF SUPPORT/EXPERTISE
Various centers of support/expertise in Amsterdam will be of great help
to AMS in areas such as legal matters, immigration and housing. The
Amsterdam Expatcenter, for instance, would be very helpful in offering
international AMS personnel and students information, services and support
in settling in Amsterdam. AMS requests the city to support access to such
support centers.
ACT AS LAUNCHING CUSTOMER
Large-scale roll-out of metropolitan solutions is challenging. AMS requests
the city to, wherever possible and applicable, act as a launching customer
for metropolitan solutions, supporting the access to capital and reducing
the risk profile for companies/organizations that perform the roll-out.
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Appendix
98
Appendix: project examples for AMS
AMS will develop and manage a portfolio of research and valorization
activities in the area of metropolitan solutions. These projects/programs
are defined and executed by public-private consortia that bring together
leading knowledge institutes, companies, and the City of Amsterdam and
its citizens.
This appendix describes examples of projects that can be executed within
AMS, benefiting from the knowledge, living lab, other infra-structures and
facilities, and network of the institute. The projects, each of them with
one of AMS’ partners in the lead, are either ready to be commenced, or are
research ideas and/or approaches that are still in development. The level
of detail of these examples therefore differs, and further development
and detailing will be required in the next phases. These examples serve
as an illustration of future AMS-projects and are the intellectual property
of the academic partner(s). Since these are new project proposals, the
information in this Appendix should be treated confidentially.
PROJECT EXAMPLES:
1. Clean Capital initiative: creating a livable metropolitan area by working on
challenges at the intersections of the water, energy, waste and raw materials,
and resources cycles
2. Summer in the City: forecasting human thermal comfort in urban areas at
street level, enabling urban weather forecasting and impacting urban planning
efforts
3. Amsterdam Foodlinks: building locally embedded and globally connected
urban food systems
4. PolyArch: contributing to a more sustainable city by deploying polymer
technology for management of daylight in buildings
5. Old Amsterdam Transformation: changing the dairy chain through
modernization of agriculture in the framework of global urbanization
6. Big data initiative: developing big data services and solutions contributing to
smart mobility (e.g. real-time traffic visuals), smart living (e.g. real-time air
quality measurements), smart events (e.g. solutions for crowd management)
and smart economy (e.g. job vacancies) applicable in Amsterdam
7. Biocycle initiative: performing biobased resource production via metropolitan
farming and the development of resource management solutions for the
Amsterdam area
8. MELiSSA: creating life support systems based on microbiological ecosystems,
enabling the recovery of food, water and oxygen from waste, carbon dioxide
and minerals in a closed loop system
9. Hybrid urban development strategies: obtaining insight into the process of
public-private sector coalitions, creating resilient delta regions
10.Society in Times of Crisis: studying cascade effects and human behavior in
urban crisis events to prepare for and manage such situations in cities
11.Urban Europe: studying the relationship between infrastructure planning by
public authorities and urban area development by private players
12.PowerWeb: integration of disciplines and technologies in the specification and
design of robust and reconfigurable smart grids
This appendix also provides a description of the proof of concept living lab.
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1. Clean Capital initiative: creating a livable
metropolitan area by working on challenges at
the intersections of the water, energy, waste and
raw materials, and resources cycles
FOCUS
Natural resources become finite and the global climate issue manifests itself
in regional and local problems. To develop sustainable water, energy and
waste/ raw material cycles, integrated innovations and solutions in these
fields are needed. Not the individual cycles, but the interaction between
these cycles provides the opportunity to develop innovative solutions
in this progression to sustainability. Three organizations, Waternet,
Afvalenenergiebedrijf and the Port of Amsterdam, active within the fields
of water, energy, waste / raw materials and logistics, aim to develop the
much needed solutions by combining their expertise, focusing on new
business opportunities and exporting these. Their ambition can be put
to realization within the Clean Capital initiative as a research program
of the AMS institute. The Clean Capital program is still under development
and not yet formally approved by its shareholders.
Universities and research centers specialized in the field of water, energy,
waste/raw materials and resources all work to overcome the challenges
within their respective area of expertise. However, developing truly
integral solutions require these world-leading institutions to combine their
knowledge in the various fields and to translate their R&D results into
economically feasible business models with realization in practice. In order
to do so, other parties should be involved, for example waste, water and / or
energy companies searching for integrated solutions on a metropolitan level
and wanting to implement the concepts developed by the universities and
knowledge centers. Within Clean Capital these parties will jointly realize the
transfer of ideas into innovative solutions that can be implemented in the
Amsterdam metropolis. By combining knowledge, practical experience and
cash, the gap between R&D and implementation can be bridged.
CONSORTIUM PARTICIPANTS
Waternet, AEB and the Port of Amsterdam are the lead partners for the
Clean Capital program, in their aim to combine, align, and jointly achieve
their sustainability goals. They work in close cooperation with the academic
partners of AMS. The lead partners will focus on involving various (private)
parties, ranging from local SME’s to multinationals. These parties can
participate in different ways, for example by co-financing, co-venturing or
contributing know-how to the projects. Clean capital would like to involve
partners such as Sita, Orgaworld, or Inashco.
ACTIVITIES & ACHIEVEMENTS
Within Clean Capital, universities, research institutes and various AMS
partners work together in projects within the themes of water, energy,
waste/raw materials and resources. The Clean Capital program will consist
of projects in different stages of development, requiring different partners,
support, and resources: research projects, development and implementation
projects, and marketing projects.
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Research projects
In Research projects universities and knowledge institutes contribute
their latest insights and expertise to projects provided by industry partners.
Example focus areas of such projects are (i) new techniques and methods
to convert waste into energy and raw materials, (ii) cellulose as a resource
for the paper industry, (iii) protein production out of waste, (iv) new water
treatment techniques, (v) heating and cooling from water distribution
systems, and (vi) recycling techniques for phosphate.
Development and implementation projects
Promising projects will be brought into the development and
implementation phase. While existing partners will lead the management,
operations and maintenance of the projects, private parties and investors
are invited to join and co-finance the project in order to drive actual
development and implementation of solutions. Solutions will typically
be realized within the Amsterdam metropolitan region, making use of
the living lab.
Marketing (international)
The most successful projects will be showcased and marketed
internationally, leveraging the network of the participating partners.
OPERATIONAL AND FINANCING MODEL
It is foreseen that lead partners will second staff to Clean Capital and Clean
Capital can also fall back on a flexible layer of lead partner employees
per project or business case. Knowledge institutes/ universities and
private companies work together on a project basis. In addition, private
sector employees will be engaged to leverage their market expertise and
entrepreneurial skills.
The lead partners will bring in a number of projects and investment
money in order to be of to a flying start. Funding will be provided by
knowledge institutes and the Dutch TKI or top sector policy on innovation.
EU funding (Horizon 2020) and regional funding will also be sought. The
private sector is envisioned to finance a substantial part of the investment
related to project realization, based on economic feasibility of the business
cases. Other sources of income will emerge on the longer term, these can
include: patents, profits from project development and sales of knowledge,
experience and consultancy.
ROADMAP
The aim is to introduce two to four projects from the lead partners and
involved knowledge institutes/ universities in 2014. A number of running
projects, including partners described above, has already been identified
and will be assessed.
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2. Summer in the City: forecasting human thermal
comfort in urban areas at street level, enabling
urban weather forecasting and impacting urban
planning efforts
FOCUS
The trends of climate change and urbanization evoke questions regarding
human thermal comfort and health in the city, especially for vulnerable
groups such as the elderly and people with health issues. Adverse urban
weather also influences mobility and choices for transportation devices, and
affects the tourism sector. Therefore the development of an assessment tool
for future urban weather and climate is desirable. The Summer in the city
project, aims at developing a novel prototype of an hourly forecasting system
for human thermal comfort in urban areas at street level. The system can be
exploited by weather and health agencies for urban weather forecasting and
heat wave warnings. Apart from the short term weather forecasting efforts
dedicated to urban areas, the forecasting system also allows for longer term
assessments of urban planning efforts, as well as a detailed investigation of
the energy demand planning, covering air conditioning in summertime and
building heating in winter.
The projects aims to shift the forecast from a regional scale towards a
neighborhood and street scale. In addition, dissemination of results via the
internet and social media will be explored. Wageningen and Amsterdam will
function as testbed cities where field observations will be executed. The aim
is to prolong the activities within the current Summer in the City project
and extend the scope from meteorology to a wider range of physical and
economic topics
CONSORTIUM PARTICIPANTS
The current research project is executed by WUR’s Meteorology and Air
Quality Group in cooperation with NWO’s E-science center (Science park
Amsterdam). The broadening of scope also requires a broadening of the
consortium. The project builds on an existing collaboration on the theme
of urban climate with TU Delft (e.g. group of Herman Russchenberg)
and MIT (e.g. group of Berthold Horn). The project intends to connect
its research to public health institutes in Amsterdam (such as the GGD)
that also operate a network of temperature, humidity and air quality
measurements. Further cooperation with public and private partners in
the building, public health, energy and urban planning industries will be
explored, as these sectors all benefit from the knowledge and techniques
to quantify current and future weather and climate.
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ACTIVITIES & ACHIEVEMENTS
The project will encompass field measurements by fixed measurement
stations and mobile devices, modeling efforts and dissemination of the
results via social media, and an App, as such combining the physical and
digital world.Tthe project aims to extend the activities from meteorological
research to a wider scope. Moreover, education will be provided through
courses integrating urban meteorology, building physics, and managing
social-economic aspects related to urban climate.
Key achievements of the project are to:
• Obtain insight in the occurrence of adverse urban climate,
• Develop of tools to assess measures aimed at avoiding adverse human
comfort on the short term – by weather forecasting – and on the long
term – for questions on urban planning and transportation.
• Attract a variety of companies in the tourism, building isolation, energy
and horticulture sector, as well as public institutes which can participate
in and build their activities on the outcome of the results
• Develop education on urban meteorology and climatology that is
connected to urban planning and energy demand planning (within the
AMS framework)
The urban climate research and forecasting effort will be executed on the
AMS platform and in the Amsterdam living lab, setting up and benefiting
from:
• A grid of measurements systems and support from public works
departments in installing these systems
• A network of synchronous observations and studies that cannot be
achieved by a single discipline
• Physical research facilities to prepare, execute and analyze field
measurements
• Computing facilities to create and disseminate urban weather forecasts,
and technical infrastructure to evaluate provided forecasts
• A partnership that extends current activities and uniquely brings
together the physical and socio-economic conditions in Amsterdam with
the diversity of expertise in meteorology, building techniques, urban
planning, hydrology, tourism, and transportation,
ROADMAP
The existing project lasts until June 2015. From June till October 2013
measurements and modeling of the urban climate of Wageningen will
be done, from March 2014 till March 2015 measurements in Amsterdam
are conducted. From January 2014 until the end of the existing project a
forecasting system for weather and climate in Amsterdam is developed.
Broadening and extension of the project will start in October 2013 with the
formulation of proposal for continuation of measurements and additional
research. From June 2015 the measurement and forecasting project will
be extended with activities in the private sector, as well as in education.
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3. Amsterdam Foodlinks: building locally embedded
and globally connected urban food systems
FOCUS
As a result of globalization in food trade, food supply in cities as Amsterdam
has become export oriented while food demand is served from all over
the world. Although this is a technological and logistical achievement,
the environmental and social impact of this new reality causes a need for
cities to reconnect with its food origins and reclaim its food identity. The
Foodlinks project aims to bring a new balance between the global and
the local food system in Amsterdam, reconnecting the city with its rural
hinterland – the urban dwellers with farmers around Amsterdam – and to
raise awareness of food related social and ecological issues – improving
food literacy, encouraging innovative supply chain relations, and promoting
healthy lifestyles.
Amsterdam Foodlinks specifically aims to connect established,
commoditized and internationally operating food chains with locally
oriented, innovative, alternative food chains with the goal to foster
innovation, improve regional resilience, and exchange best practices.
CONSORTIUM PARTICIPANTS
The project will be a collaboration of various stakeholders in the Amsterdam
food industry, such as (urban) farmers, processors, logistic and retail
organizations (e.g. farmers markets, consumer buying groups, specialty
retail, out of home, etc.). The consortium will also include parties that have
a stake in the non-food aspects of farming, for example in tourism,
education, social care, recreation, or waste recycling. The program will
leverage on the network of urban farming initiatives within the Green Deal
Urban Agriculture
ACTIVITIES & ACHIEVEMENTS
This project uses Amsterdam as a living lab in which old and new food
trends will be mapped, studied and recharged, as such providing answers to
questions like:
• Which urban waste streams can be used to grow food (nutrient water,
compost, substrates, etc.)?
• What is the effect of (edible) green spaces on urban heat islands and
storm water buffering?
• Where and when exist blockades in fresh food logistics and what
solutions can be offered
• Which non-edible crops can be grown in the urban environment
for the use fiber and color dye production (i.e. for the Amsterdam
fashion industry), renewable energy, bio-based materials (paint oils),
pharmaceuticals (etheric oils), etc.?
• How to design wholesome and environmental friendly foods that can
compete with fast food in terms of taste, convenience, price/quality, etc?
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Amsterdam Foodlinks will leverage AMS’s network supporting the
interaction between the variety of parties already active in the Amsterdam
foodscape and bringing in expertise from other disciplines, such as housing,
waste recycling, and logistics. In addition, Amsterdam Foodlinks will
benefit from the knowledge and experience on real time data gathering and
monitoring. Much of the food planning today is not consistently informed
by empirical data or based on national averages rather than local and daily
insights. Yet these daily fluctuations and locational differences determine
to a large part the efficiency and effectiveness of the urban food system.
The goal of the project is to build locally embedded and globally connected
urban food systems, while developing new urban planning and design skills
to do so. Activities are developed to achieve:
• New short food supply chains, directly connecting urban customers
with farmers. The project will map the initiatives in and around the
city, organize a community of practice to accelerate mutual learning
and development, and reflect on the gaps and opportunities in the
continuously evolving Amsterdam foodscape
• New relations between established food industry parties and innovative
food start-ups, such as food waste reduction initiatives
• New institutional arrangements between urban and rural parties in the
Amsterdam metropolitan region, focusing on, for example, education,
biodiversity, landscape maintenance, or urban waste flows recycling
4. PolyArch: contributing to a more sustainable
city by deploying polymer technology for
management of daylight in buildings
FOCUS
One of the biggest challenges in building technology is minimizing energy
consumption of buildings, while maintaining an optimal comfort level in
the interior. The European Directive 2010/31/EU on energy performance
of buildings even requires energy neutral buildings from the year 2020
onwards. This can only be achieved by a number of measures, such
as insulation in combination with technical systems to control energy
streams into and out of the building. The PolyArch project aims to develop
façade concepts and products that save energy by introducing polymer
technologies to the field of Architecture.
In other industries, such as the electronic industry, polymer technologies
have already led to successful new applications, such as the development
of LCD displays. Within a few years, polymer technologies propelled a new
generation of TVs and computer screens, as well as new products like mobile
navigation systems. In the context of façade technology and in particular
daylight management, polymers can deliver a range of completely new
functionalities that will help solving current problems and creating new
market opportunities.
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The focus of the PolyArch project is to improve the management of
daylight by applying polymer technology. Daylight is a dominant factor
that determines the design of building envelops, and affects architectural
qualities such as visual and thermal comfort. At the same time daylight has
a large influence on the energetic performance of buildings. While a
maximum of natural lighting is desired to minimize the need for artificial
lighting energy, which in today’s buildings accounts for approximately
30% of the total electricity demand, daylight also contains a lot of energy.
Blocking sun radiation in summer is needed to prevent overheating, whereas
in winter this energy is desired to reduce the need for heating energy.
This divergence requires adaptive control systems. The existing daylight
management strategies, such as external static metallic coatings and sunshading devices, do not fulfill as they are inefficient or involve considerable
constructive effort, high investment costs and high maintenance and
cleaning expenditures.
CONSORTIUM PARTICIPANTS
Two universities are involved in this PolyArch research project: the Façade
Research Group of the Faculty of Architecture from the TU Delft and the
Department of Functional Organic Materials and Devices of the Faculty of
Chemical Engineering from the Eindhoven University of Technology. The
latter is expert in the field of developing new polymer technologies. It is
extremely well equipped to develop the materials that perform these new
functions and is linked to world class academic groups and companies in
polymer science. The Façade Research Group maintains excellent contacts to
the entire delivery chain of the national and international building industry.
The group is founding member of the European Façade Network and
maintains strong international contacts.
ACTIVITIES & ACHIEVEMENTS
In order to deploy the full potential of polymer technology for daylight
management, research will be conducted through two types of research
activities:
• Activities with a focus on new polymer coatings on glass and opaque
surfaces, which can significantly contribute to the reduction of the
operational energy of buildings by switching from reflective to absorbing
states, either blocking or allowing energy streams into the building;
• Activities that help to understand the implications of polymer technology
for the design and energetic behaviour of buildings and to translate
the developments in a new form of architectural design and building
processes. This combination will finally lead to the development of a
whole range of new applications, from pigments and coatings to façade
products and systems.
The PolyArch project contributes to the development of more sustainable
buildings. As such, it eventually provides the city of Amsterdam a solution
to the challenge of becoming a sustainable city. In order to reach that
point, the AMS institute will facilitate the further development of research
outcomes into applicable solutions, which can be tested in the living lab of
Amsterdam.
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5. The Old Amsterdam Transformation:
changing the dairy chain through modernization
of agriculture in the framework of global
urbanization
FOCUS
The traditional dairy landscapes will undergo radical transformation,
affecting the dairy industry in which Holland has been one of the leaders
since the 15th century. Global demand for dairy products will continue
to rise, leading to an expected expansion of Dutch dairy production with
20-25%, while mitigation of climate change will force dairy farmers into
radically different production technologies. Abolition of current EU politics
will lead to radical modernization in dairy business models and dairy farms
will become integrated parts of the agroparks that are at the heart of the
intelligent agrologistic networks that we call metropolitan food clusters.
The core of the Metropolitan Food Cluster approach is that food production
in essence has changed from a predominantly rural into an urban function.
Modern food production is consumer driven, answering diverse food
requirements and quality demand based on increasing purchasing power
of the urban population all over the world. It is a network of industrial
agricultural producers and processors, energy providers, waste and water
managers, making optimal use of logistics and knowledge flows that all
concentrate in a metropolitan environment. Metropolitan food clusters are
a significant contribution to sustainable development of the metropolis
itself.
The Old Amsterdam Transformation project focuses on the future of the
dairy chain. It will encompass a number of activities to encounter the
upcoming changes in order to maintain and develop the global leading
position of Dutch knowledge in the dairy industry. The project will also
create knowledge valorization through research, development, innovation,
training and education.
CONSORTIUM PARTICIPANTS
The consortium will be formed from the existing international Community
of Practice on Metropolitan Food Clusters (COP-MFC) that has been
developed through international projects focusing on modernization
of agriculture in the framework of global urbanization that Wageningen
UR has conducted since 2004. In COP-MFC, cooperation exists with
knowledge institutes, entrepreneurs, non governmental and governmental
organizations in growth economies, the so called KENGi-partners, in
growth economies like Mexico, The Philippines, South Africa, South Korea,
India and China. These partners experience a growing demand for modern
food products, one of them dairy, and simultaneously an inability to meet
this demand. They wish to join forces with Dutch knowledge institutes,
entrepreneurs and governmental organizations, in innovation projects.
Those projects aiming at dairy innovations, will be incorporated in the
Old Amsterdam Transformation program.
107
ACTIVITIES & ACHIEVEMENTS
The following activities will be elaborated in the program,:
• Advanced agrologistics and urban planning to improve the efficiency
of transport in the chain
• Urban design to develop agroparks with large scale dairy farms
• Closed dairy stables that enable dairy farming in high temperature in
high humidity climates and that can capture methane, the greenhouse
gas that makes the global dairy industry worldwide one of the biggest
causes of climate change
• Manure processing and feed design technology aiming at better
environmental performance within the chain
• Precision agriculture
• Landscape design and ecology to manage the dramatic changes to come
in traditional dairy landscapes, part of which are inside Amsterdam
• New business models for vertical chain integration in which production
and processing of dairy are merged into one company
The acquired knowledge will be applied to educate dairy managers through
on the job training – partly in Dutch dairy farms and the processing industry
and partly in the knowledge center.
For the city of Amsterdam the Old Amsterdam Transformation project has
great added value: it has the potential to incubate the modernization of
the dairy industry in the whole province and as such will effect land use,
traffic flows, food provision of Amsterdam and the province north of the city.
Within the city boarders 21 dairy farms use 1884 ha of land, milking 1151
cows. The before-mentioned changes will also affect these farms, and they
will benefit in equal manner from the project. Within the Old Amsterdam
Transformation project the city of Amsterdam can play a vital role in the
innovation process of food, food trade, food production, agrologistics and
agriculture.
ROADMAP
The current projects that are executed within the COP-MFC may offer
opportunities for projects to be integrated into AMS or from which new
projects will be developed that can be executed within AMS. The aim is to
commence the first projects mid-2014.
6. Big data initiative: developing big data services
and solutions, contributing to smart mobility,
living, events and economy
FOCUS
This year KPN has founded a Data institute with the ambition to develop
Big data services / solutions which will create value for society, companies
and individuals. Within the scope of the ambitions of the AMS institute,
KPN’s Data institute can develop Big data projects to create value for the
Amsterdam society. Both location based Big data services (i.e. based on
crowd and mobility management) as other Big data services are included.
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CONSORTIUM PARTICIPANTS
KPN’s Data institute, assisted by KPN’s departments SIT, IT Solutions,
NetCo and Legal.
ACTIVITIES & ACHIEVEMENTS
With respect to the AMS initiative, KPN has two goals:
• As a telecommunications provider, KPN has by nature the possession
of much location data which can be applied for Big data projects. These
projects can solve structural mobility issues in the city as well it can be
of great value to private and public companies to use crowd / mobility
visuals to improve their services / products
• KPN aims to deliver Big data services to society to solve structural
problems within verticals (sectors) and to solve trans-sectoral problems
Various projects can be executed within the field of big data, themes include:
• Smart mobility: create real-time visuals of the flow of traffic in
Amsterdam: waterways, bicycle tracks, roads, pedestrian tracks. This to
optimize the flow of the growing number of citizens in the Amsterdam
area
• Smart living: offer Amsterdam citizens (real-time) insights into living
parameters within Amsterdam (air quality, smart parking, water quality,
usage of sustainable energy etc.)
• Smart events: offer solutions to Amsterdam and its population / visitors
during events (crowd management and crowd safety)
• Smart economy: create insights into Amsterdam’s current economic
health, job vacancies within AMS’ area, housing market opportunities,
but also use the platform to give SME companies an innovation boosts
in developing new services and creating new job opportunities
ROADMAP
Roadmap and timelines are very dependent on the topic and availability
of data. Location based Big data projects generally can be delivered at a
regular pace as a generic platform is sufficient to deliver the insights, if data
is available. More complex Big data projects logically will consume more
time (i.e. more than 1 year).
7. Biocycle initiative: performing biobased resource
production via metropolitan farming and the
development of resource management solutions
for the Amsterdam area
FOCUS
The focus on energy efficiency issues, has been extending to the supply of
resources and resource efficiency in general to be able to meet the needs
of the growing population. This circular economy model is concerned
with using less resources while maximizing their use and added value,
eliminating waste and pollution, managing the flow of resources and
collaborating in beneficial relationships in the circular chain.
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This development is accompanied by the emerge of the “bio age”, which aims
at production and use of natural resources and a move towards greener and
more sustainable cities. In this context, the Biocycle initiative focuses on two
themes:
1. Metropolitan biobased resource production via metropolitan farming:
local production and consumption of resources within city boundaries,
turning disused sites and underutilized public space into productive
landscapes and community gardens
2. Resource management solutions aiming at fundamental changes in waste
management and adaptive re-use of resources: Change our wasteful
consumptions and waste utilization manners beyond current trends,
considering recycling and organics recovery, and focus on organic waste
or waste streams containing natural materials (such as green waste, food
waste, wood, paper, etc.) to allow for better re-use of resources
In this way the challenges of streamlining resource management, such
as rapidly increasing quantities and diverse characteristics of waste, the
undesirable consequences of conventional methods of waste management,
and failure to tap the resource value of waste will be addressed, while
stimulating local production of resources will provide a more sustainable
strategy in resources flow. By combining the experience of various
innovative fields and fostering the cross-disciplinary collaboration, Biocycle
will promote the generation of innovative concepts, technologies, processes
and full value chains for efficient and sustainable resources production
and use in the Amsterdam area. This will create an innovation friendly
ecosystem and sustainable partnerships that develop and deploy innovative
knowledge and high resource efficient technologies for the sustainable
production and valorization.
CONSORTIUM PARTICIPANTS
Apart from key partner Wageningen UR, many other regional stakeholders
will be involved: R&D institutions with expertise in life sciences, resource
management, biorefinery, biotechnology, and biobased products, and
industry partners from the Amsterdam region in, for example, agriculture,
fisheries, food, textile, paper, wood, building, packaging, plastics, and
chemicals industries. In addition the port of Amsterdam, being one of the
world’s key international logistics hubs, could play an important role in
exploitation and marketing of the new innovations. Naturally, municipalities
and communities/associations in the region and the province of North
Holland should be involved.
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ACTIVITIES & ACHIEVEMENTS
The following activities are foreseen in the scope of this project:
1. Definition of the current state of the art and definition of specific
objectives for local production of resources as well as biobased resources
management and utilization for the Amsterdam area
2. Creation of the Cluster BIOBASE Amsterdam
3. Formulation of a regional approach in identifying particular solutions
to meet the objectives, gain efficiencies through economies of scale,
promote consistency in biobased resources production and management,
and develop a research agenda
- Metropolitan farming strategies
- Resources flow management via reduction of waste streams and
maximizing value creation
4. Development of new innovations and their implementation
- (Small scale) biorefinery development enabling value maximization from
biobased resources (valorization of local waste streams as well as new
biomass that is locally produced)
- Biobased products and market development
5. Provision of community and business education
In addition, the project puts attention to education and effective education
curricula to introduce a holistic understanding of the existing challenges
and teach practical and affordable solutions and policies to consumers,
researchers and industry.
The Biocycle initiative benefits from being part of the AMS institute in
several ways. First of all, AMS will allow for interaction and networking with
the on-going initiatives, both through the physical location and through
stimulating information exchange. AMS is leveraged to (ii) identify specific
(local) challenges and current applied strategies, and (ii) collect data and
quantify and qualify resource flows. The project involves students and
researchers linked to AMS and aims to host specific education programs.
Biocycle will provide insights in short, middle and long term resource
management strategies which can subsequently be further studied and
developed within AMS and Amsterdam.
Biocycle is expected to provide a competitive advantage for Amsterdam
and partner cities by delivering significant steps in greening the city of
Amsterdam and boosting economical development through new products,
markets as well as new private and public investments.
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8. MELiSSA: creating life support systems based
on microbiological ecosystems, enabling the
recovery of food, water and oxygen from waste,
carbon dioxide and minerals in a closed loop
system
FOCUS
The objective of MELiSSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative)
is to create life support systems based on microbiological ecosystems
for enabling long-term space missions (e.g. to Mars), and to enable these
technologies for applications on earth in places where population is dense
and resources and space are limited.
The driving element of MELiSSA is the recovering of food, water and
oxygen from waste (faeces, urea), carbon dioxide and minerals in a closed
loop system with an external energy source. Based on the principle of an
“aquatic” ecosystem, MELiSSA is comprised of 5 compartments that are
colonized by different types of bacteria, plants, and the crew.
Unwanted waste products and air pollutants are processed using the
natural function of plants which in turn provide food as well as contributing
to water purification and oxygen for air revitalization. MELiSSA already
operates a pilot plant based on its models in Barcelona.
Cities face challenges and require solutions that are in many ways related
to the MELiSSA loop. As a smart city is a city that masters its loop,
the objective of linking the existing MELiSSA project to AMS would
be to apply built-up expertise to the city, and at the same time use results
from experiments in Amsterdam to benefit the development for space.
CONSORTIUM PARTICIPANTS
The current consortium consists of 11 European partners that signed
a Memorandum of Understanding, and 10-15 additional partners who
regularly participate in MELiSSA projects. The partners jointly employ ~70
staff members to work on MELiSSA activities. On request of the partners,
ESTEC (the technical center of the European Space Agency, ESA) acts as
a project manager. ESTEC envisions a closer relationship with leading
industrial players to achieve MELiSSA’s goals, and is looking to building a
network of organizations that jointly create a loop, e.g. from water and waste
treatment organizations, to those in the agrofood sector and in biofuels
ACTIVITIES & ACHIEVEMENTS
MELiSSA’s participation would bring space expertise to address city
challenges. E.g. the improvement of efficiency and effectiveness of waste
water treatments, to the local generation of biofuels, and urban farming.
These solutions would make the city less dependent on others, reduce
inefficiencies due to transportation, and significantly increase sustainability.
The international profile of MELiSSA could attract leading researchers in
relevant fields to use Amsterdam as their preferred city to test in real life
their latest scientific findings.
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MELiSSA would use the AMS platform particularly as a living lab in all steps
of the cycle. It would for example work with water and waste treatment
organizations to test its predictive models, taking measurements at several
stages of the process. Another example would be the use of the AMS building
as a test farm for urban farming based on the knowledge of the project.
The other way around, MELiSSA would offer a broad network of expertise
related to several important aspects of a smart city. The expertise ranges
from water treatment solutions to highly efficient growth of edible crops.
The project is highly data-driven and based on mathematical models to
predict the outcome of process steps. These models would become available
for the AMS platform as well for project consortiums, as would the research
facilities (spread over Europe and Canada), the pilot plant in Barcelona and
facilities of ESTEC in Noordwijk.
9. Hybrid urban development strategies: obtaining
insight into the process of public-private sector
coalitions, creating resilient delta regions
FOCUS
Delta regions are the most urbanized and challenging places on the planet.
Home to the highest concentrations of human enterprise and diversity, delta
regions offer the best conditions for cities and industries to develop and
create economic and social wealth. However, cities and industries in delta
regions currently face challenges. Climate change issues and the effects of
the economic downturn in Europe impede the resilient capacity of both
public and private sectors. Building this resilient capacity is important
because delta regions – and especially urbanized waterfronts therein –
are magnified intersections of trade and transport with high vulnerability
to the effects of climate change.
This research project aims to study, generate and evaluate urban
development strategies for public-private sector coalitions (so-called hybrid
strategies) that fuel the resilient capacity of delta regions. These strategies
often demand intense local business and social community involvement.
The challenge is to create insight into the process and outcome of these
hybrid strategies, and to design tools and concepts that stimulate effective
actor coalitions and resilient results.
CONSORTIUM PARTICIPANTS
The research project is strongly related to a cross-disciplinary research
agenda that has been emerging from diverse fields, such as geography,
management, real estate, and urban governance, planning and design.
The team leading the project will be build from the existing network of
leading academics in the above fields and public and private sector partners.
Next to researchers from TU Delft, collaboration between academics at
universities in Rotterdam, Utrecht, Amsterdam and Nijmegen is likely.
In other EU countries, the academic network extends to the universities
in Antwerp, Hamburg, Paris, Luxemburg and Glasgow.
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ACTIVITIES & ACHIEVEMENTS
The scientific insights and tools that could support the hybrid urban
development strategies pursued are scattered across diverse disciplines
and fields of research. A cross-disciplinary research effort is required, that
supports delicate but promising urban development coalitions, and helps
to overcome frequently felt tensions between highly specialized fields of
business and expertise.
The AMS institute provides an ideal platform to initiate public private
partnerships which can be studied and evaluated for the project. Such
hybrid consortia focused on urban development issues can even be expected
to evolve without any effort. For Amsterdam, the resulting improvements in
urban development strategies will contribute to becoming a more resilient
city.
ROADMAP
This research project is expected to take four years. The first year will focus
on building coalitions with academic and societal partners, recruiting PhD
candidates, and selecting cases. The second and third year will be concerned
with the execution of the research. In the fourth year, the research results
will be drawn together, discussed with peers, and published.
10. Society in Times of Crisis (SITOC): studying
cascade effects and human behavior in urban
crisis events to prepare for and manage such
situations in cities
FOCUS
The devastating effects of the 2012 post-tropical cyclone Sandy amply
demonstrate the multiple cascading effects that a crisis situation can
impose on cities and regions. Intensive urbanization has vastly extended
the reach of crisis events because of the multiplication of interdependences
in physical, social and economic networks. Interdependency presents
a challenge to crisis managers, planners, designers, and infrastructure
and service providers. So far science has not addressed this multifaceted
problem with the required interdisciplinarity. The SITOC project will
address this challenge and will greatly enhance a region’s or city’s capacity
to prepare for, and respond to, crisis events.
CONSORTIUM PARTICIPANTS
SITOC will be a joint effort of scientists, SMEs and end users. Participants
are: the TU Delft, the University College of London, the Universität Konstanz,
the Technical University of Lisboa, the Tel-Aviv University, the Bar Ilan
University, HKV Consultants, XLab Software, and the Federal Office of Civil
Protection and Disaster Assistance in Germany.
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ACTIVITIES & ACHIEVEMENTS
SITOC will empirically investigate crisis evolution and governance
responses from previous events in highly urbanized areas. The goal is
to provide a stronger conceptual understanding of interdependencies in
networks and of human behaviour and governance. The findings will be
used to design innovative models explaining and simulating urban systems
interrelationships, vulnerabilities, and the consequent cascading and crossborder effects. ICT Networks are specifically emphasized as they both
increase vulnerability to cascading effects, and offer potential to manage
crises through the smart society concept.
Simulation models will be used to create a practical toolbox for crisis event
management to be used in capacity building for managers in decisionmaking. The tools will be piloted and validated in simulation exercises of
two very different crisis situations: the hypothetical crisis of major flooding
in the cross-border Rijn-Maas-Schelde Delta in North-West Europe, and the
continuing crisis on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The study
will provide a training module and a novel and leading edge platform for
long-term theoretical developments in the field.
AMS provides a perfect platform for SITOC to execute its research and to
access the relevant persons and institutes involved with crisis management
in Amsterdam. Benefits of research results are evident, and will range from
insights into decision making processes relevant for other urban processes,
to the city of Amsterdam becoming better prepared and better able to
respond to crisis situations.
ROADMAP
The project is expected to take four years. In the first four months,
a roadmap is detailed and after one year frameworks are developed
for typologies of interdependencies, crises effects, networks and models
of behavior. In the second year, the effects of interdependencies and
algorithms and conditions for urban multi-level networks are delivered.
In the third year simulation models and tools are developed and tested
in two simulation exercises. In the last year, a training module and
accompanying reflection reports are delivered.
11. Urban Europe: studying the relationship
between infrastructure planning by public
authorities and urban area development by private
players
FOCUS
The economy and the culture of Europe was and is dominantly an
urban economy and culture. Until recently economic and demographic
development in cities resulted in large scale extensions of cities. The process
of urban growth, which has been characteristic for Europe, will decrease and
come to an end.
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Urban transformation, intensification, re-use and the development of strong
urban networks will be the key issues for urban vitality in European cities.
In many urbanized areas in Europe, the vitality of urban economy and
culture depends on three factors:
1. The planning and implementation of new regional infrastructures which
contribute to an improvement of the linkage between cities in the same
region
2. The freedom for private actors to start new activities, especially by the
re-use or transformation of buildings and urban areas for new economic
activities and residential use
3. The possibility of a fruitful and mutual influence from these two factors
to each other
During the recent past, infrastructure planning and urban development have
been developed as separated disciplines, resulting in a lot of ineffective landuse and infrastructural corridors which are considered as spoiling elements
of the urban landscape. The question is how infrastructure planning and
urban development can be connected to each other more intensively, while
simultaneously the responsibilities for both aspects are increasingly in the
hands of different actors: infrastructures by public authorities, urban area
development increasingly by private actors.
This research project will deliver new knowledge concerning the
relationship between the planning of large scale infrastructures by public
authorities and the development of urban areas by private actors, and will
result in proposals for the transition of regional city clusters into coherent
and vital metropolitan regions.
CONSORTIUM PARTICIPANTS
The project requests collaboration between various disciplines: datasciences – develop knowledge on changes in land-use, real estate prices,
building stock –, planning and design – use and develop new methods of
planning and design in order to combine the development of infrastructure
and urban areas –, and governance (create new relationships among
public and private actors). Participants are TU Delft (planning & design),
London Bartlett School (planning & design), London School of Economics
(data sciences), Erasmus University Rotterdam (governance), Vereniging
Deltametropool, IBA Germany, and the Technical University Berlin.
ACTIVITIES & ACHIEVEMENTS
Urban Europe contains three lines of research:
• Retrospective: gaining knowledge on the interaction among
infrastructures and urban areas in several European urban regions
in the recent past;
• Best practices from outside Europe: gaining knowledge on the
interaction among infrastructures and urban areas in several nonEuropean urban regions;
• Prospective: developing recommendations for improving the interaction
among infrastructures and urban areas in several European urban
regions.
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12. PowerWeb: integration of disciplines and
technologies in the specification and design of
robust and reconfigurable smart grids
FOCUS
The European electricity infrastructure is under pressure due to increased
distributed (renewable) power sources and an increasing number of local
peak demands, due to, for example, electric vehicles and heat pumps.
Smart Grids can intelligently integrate the behavior and actions of such
energy generators, consumers and those doing both. As a result Smart
Grids are able to match the demand and supply of electricity in an efficient,
sustainable, and secure way. This will facilitate integration of renewables,
maintain high levels of reliability, and allow for self-reconfiguration to
maintain quality of service in case of local failures.
Although Smart Grids research is booming, in disciplines ranging from
energy markets and regulation, to psychology, game theory, and privacy
and security. The merging of the disciplines is still in its infancy. The
objective of this research project is to integrate the contributions of several
disciplines and technologies in the specification and design of a robust
and reconfigurable Smart Grid. Disciplines to include are transmission and
distribution engineering, networking, engineering physics, power systems,
energy conversion, systems theory & control, algorithmic & software
technology, markets, economics and public policy.
CONSORTIUM PARTICIPANTS
TU Delft has already taken concrete steps through its interdisciplinary
PowerWeb research consortium, involving multiple research groups at
various departments. Other partners are the KU Leuven (ESAT/ELECTA),
the University Pontificia Comillas Madrid, JRC Petten and MIT.
ACTIVITIES & ACHIEVEMENTS
The integrated approach will take into account the underlying physical
infrastructure, the intelligent energy management systems and the study
of Smart Grids in relation to their socio-economic environment.
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Proof of concept living lab
THE CONCEPT
The proof of concept living lab is a trans-sector systems that allows data to
flow freely. The difference between a testing residential area and the proof
of concept living lab is that the setting of the latter is in a controlled
area. New concepts can be tested under pressure and science can come
alive in a demo and experience center. It is to become an innovative and
open environment where stakeholders can collaborate, meet, generate,
experiment and test ideas and metropolitan solutions before testing and
implementing in residential areas. The proof of concept living lab is foreseen
to connect to facilities that are already available at other AMS partners
and e.g. the Big Data Value Centre in Almere.
BACKGROUND
The majority of the broadband networks (FttH, Cable, Copper, LTE) are
designed and dimensioned to serve the triple play services market (internet,
television, telephony). But these broadband networks could and should
facilitate any other sector or market, such as health, energy or water.
Open networks increase the (social) value of existing and new broadband
infrastructures in a city or region.
Open access broadband infrastructures create the possibility to efficiently
build virtual domain or sector specific networks. This creates the possibility
for new service providers (e-health, smart grids) to offer their services
to the home gateways of end-users on separate (managed) lanes. It also
provides opportunities to create city sensor networks (mobility) in an
efficient manner. Networks from an increasing variety of domains will be
interconnected, such as utility networks, telecommunication networks,
home network, car networks, and hospital networks, whilst supporting
end-to-end structural stability, open access to the various stakeholders
and a high level of quality of service.
Domain specific virtual networks will be filled with data. This data will be
able to flow freely across and over sectors, so that it can be shared, reused
and linked in order to create multisided trans-sector data markets. Markets
where new values are to be discovered and new products and services to
be developed. This does not mean that all data has to be shared, but there
is an opportunity to combine datasets from different domains. Combining
data from the city, from domain specific networks and open data will create
an opportunity for entrepreneurs to tap in these datasets and create new
services and therefore new value.
The proof of concept living lab will create local value and involve SMEs,
which can perform research in a controlled environment. It will be able
to connect to other infrastructures in the region and in Netherlands and
of AMS partners. And it will become a stepping stone for cooperation with
international parties and cities, and attracting funding from the Horizon
2020 program.
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ROADMAP
A ten year roadmap is being developed to obtain full scale for the proof
of concept living lab. Since the first quarter of 2013, TNO, Siemens and
Waternet are (already) constructing an observatory for the full water cycle
in Amsterdam. For AMS it will be extended to allow e-learning, e-science
applications as well as to allow commercial development of apps. In
addition, the water observatory technology platform will be connected
to Amsterdam’s ICT and energy infrastructures, thereby creating
observatories for digital and energy flows. At the end of the second year
the construction of the City Flow Observatory is planned to commence that
integrates the other observatories. Besides water technologies, ICT and
electric power infrastructure education and R&D, the observatories will
foster sciences for which digital life and information societies are important
themes. The observatories also allow software development, e.g. by students
and companies.
Observatories can be connected to field/living labs. The water observatory
is already monitoring dikes in Amsterdam, UK, Germany, USA, China. A
telecommunication lab allows experiments, of students and companies
on ICT for mobility, e-health and telecommunications. It features an
experimental, yet public mobile telecommunication infrastructure in a
part of an Amsterdam suburb, and connects to (super)computing facilities
and big data facilities (e.g. the Dike Data Centre). The energy field lab is
envisioned to concentrate on the introduction of superconducting electricity
grids in cities and contains superconducting cables, superconducting
magnetic energy storage and connections to wind energy farms.
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ADVANCED METROPOLITAN SOLUTIONS
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