How can tech help manage traffic and road infrastructure used by commercial operations in rural and remote communities?

Description

In rural and remote Scotland, commercial operations in primary industries provide many jobs and benefits to local communities, their economies and way of life. But those rural and remote communities are often served by single track roads, and this can cause problems when the public road infrastructure is overwhelmed by peak or sustained commercial use, or by the flow of seasonal visitors. These can negatively impact not just the residents of those communities, but also visitors, customers, other businesses, and the provision of emergency services. They can also impact detrimentally on the environment. We want to make road use as effective as possible for all – efficient for the businesses involved, and also safer and less disruptive to the communities that support and rely on them, and the visitors that use them. Our use case is Balquhidder, a small community some 10 miles north west of Callander at the head of Loch Voil. Balquhidder’s main artery is a single track Class C road, and it – along with other roads around the community - needs to meet the demands of significant and sustained use from residents, farm machinery, hospitality businesses, visitors and large forestry haulage vehicles. In this regard, forestry activity involving heavy machinery is likely to be extensive and sustained for the next 20 years across multiple sites in the area, using all the roads. So how can tech help manage traffic and road infrastructure used by commercial operations in rural and remote communities? Please visit our website for information on CivTech and how to get involved https://www.civtechalliance.org/ About CivTech CivTech’s mission is to drive daring and innovation in the public sector by collaboratively solving challenges that make people’s lives better – and in doing so create generations of sustainable, high growth businesses. CivTech brings together public sector expertise and private sector innovation to solve real problems, develop new products, and deliver better, faster and easier services for everyone. Central to the approach is co-production with the citizen. Part of the Scottish Government’s Digital Directorate, CivTech’s approach is helping transform public sector engagement with tech and innovation, delivering significant benefits to public services, producing genuine uplifts for the Scottish economy - and along the way, making lives better. Across the country there are problems public sector organisations would like to solve and in the current environment the need for smart, efficient and effective products has never been greater. The Scottish Government is aware innovation is a good way to create them and is committed to ensuring a large part of its tech spend goes to smaller, innovative businesses. This is where CivTech comes in. The CivTech Innovation Flow is designed to create products as quickly and effectively as possible, and uses a true Accelerator model at the heart of its Innovation Flow model. For you – whether you’re an individual, team or company – it’s an opportunity to take on a Challenge, solve it, and win contracts with a blue-chip public sector organisation. You’ll build a product, and a business to take it as far as possible. Because here’s the kicker: the Challenges we issue aren’t ‘single organisation’ problems – most exist worldwide. In short: Open Challenges are set. Any organisation, team or individual can respond. Applications are assessed, and shortlisted proposals go into an Exploration Stage where they’re developed further [for which participating applicants are paid]. The best go through to the Accelerator – a period of intensive work to create the solution, and through CivTech’s unique business workshop system, a business capable of taking the product to the world. Please visit our website for information on CivTech and how to get involved https://www.civtechalliance.org/