Transforming Rail in the North through Innovation

Northern Rail Industry Leaders Transforming Rail in the North through Innovation

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Innovation is a key driver of Transport for the North’s vision for a thriving north of England that is underpinned by a world class transport system. By learning from experience within transport and other sectors, Transport for the North can create the innovation ecosystem needed to transform rail in the north.

In spring 2019, the Northern Rail Industry Leaders (NRIL) published its Report Building the North’s New Railways, focussing on the five key areas of Decarbonisation, Skills, Value for Money, Digitalisation, and Innovation. From this the Co-Chairs sought volunteers from the industry to take forward the Innovation recommendations proposed in the report, and to build a northern community with extensive and diverse experience in delivering innovation.

Innovation is a key driver of Transport for the North’s vision to enable a thriving north of England through world class transport that supports sustainable economic growth, excellent quality of life, and improved opportunities for all1.

Drawing upon best practice, the objective of the NRIL Innovation working group was to suggest pragmatic recommendations for stimulating innovation in the north, with the aim of improving project delivery and creating a regional legacy.

SUMMARY OF INNOVATION RECOMMENDATIONS 1.

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Awareness: Develop a plan for identifying, defining, and prioritising TfN challenge statements and communicating these widely to solution owners.

Funding: Define an innovation funding strategy for TfN that specifies sources and means of accessing funding for solution owners.

People: Make innovation a key pillar of TfN’s people strategy, ensuring that the leadership and corporate behaviours support an organic culture of innovation.

Procurement: Embed procurement and contracting approaches in TfN that support and drive innovation, its exploitation and commercialisation.

Supply Chain: Develop a plan to harness the inherent capability of northern SMEs, consultants, and universities.

Over the course of a year, the working group has held numerous working sessions, culminating in a joint workshop with Transport for the North held at the Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre. This White Paper reflects the output of these efforts and acts as a call to action for enabling innovation within the northern transport sector.

The NRIL Innovation working group have agreed five overarching recommendations and a number of supporting actions that will support TfN in transforming rail in the north through innovation.

Figure 1 - Innovation Workshop with TfN, February 2020

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www.transportforthenorth.com

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FOREWORD Innovation is central to the work of rail suppliers across the North of England. With planned investment from Transport for the North, there is the opportunity to turbocharge the innovation the industry delivers, benefiting passengers, freight users, the economy and the taxpayer.

In Building the North’s New Railways, NRIL’s 2019 Report, setting out key recommendations for rail investment in the region, we highlighted the resources and potential the North had at its fingertips, in terms of rail innovation.

Not only does the region contain some of the leading universities in this area – the Universities of Huddersfield, Sheffield and Newcastle, which are all key partners of rail businesses through the £92 million UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN), but there are also many businesses spread across the region working to bring new solutions to the rail market.

Since the publication of that paper, we have also seen a new Rail Technical Strategy published, the development of the Leeds Institute for High Speed Research and a renewed commitment to innovation from Network Rail, in the form of its Research and Development Portfolio.

Crucially, however, Transport for the North will need to consider how it can best catalyse innovation through its supply chain. Considering how it does this before contracts are awarded or money is spent is vital, as the relationships it develops with the supply chain, the culture it embeds and the procurement procedures it chooses will all ultimately have an impact on how much space for innovation there is.

This report looks to highlight and recommend some of the key ways TfN can ensure it is ‘open to innovation’, allowing for cost-efficiencies and better delivery.

With the Coronavirus pandemic changing significantly almost all aspects of the rail industry, ensuring the supply chain is able to innovate, deliver to time and budget and shows that rail improvements are value for money, will all be essential. If we are to bring passengers back to the next following the pandemic and help in restarting the

economy, we need to show we can deliver in an affordable and effective manner – something which will require new, innovative approaches.

Northern Rail Industry Leaders will always be ready to help support TfN’s work. There are some 300 rail companies in the North and as a sector, we support 58,000 jobs across a range of disciplines. Our 150 members are eager to support the levelling up of the region through new rail investment.

This White Paper is the second output of NRIL’s five workstreams, the first being a decarbonisation paper published in late 2020. NRIL’s five workstreams of ‘Delivering Value’, ‘Decarbonisation’, ‘Digitalisation’, ‘People and Skills; and ‘Innovation’ have all been working behind the scenes to explore the key issues facing rail in the region, so it is once great to have this new paper, a worthwhile and important contribution to the innovation discussion.

On behalf of NRIL and our members, thank you to the Innovation Workstream team who have worked tirelessly to deliver this report. In particular, we would like to thank David Taylor and Rhianne Evans of Thales who led this work. The time and effort taken by the group shows just how eager the rail community is to support TfN in getting the delivery of innovation right.

Co-Chairs, Northern Rail Industry Leaders

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CONTENTS 1.

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INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 5 AWARENESS.......................................................................................... 6 FUNDING ................................................................................................ 7 PEOPLE .................................................................................................. 8 PROCUREMENT ..................................................................................... 9 SUPPLY CHAIN .................................................................................... 10 WHAT NEXT? ....................................................................................... 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................... 12

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1. INTRODUCTION WHAT IS INNOVATION? Innovation is often associated with new technology, research and development, investment programmes, design, project management, finance, and procurement.

However, in practice, the softer aspects of innovation such as building networks and relationships, team working, people and stakeholder management, and early stage governance of projects are equally important.

Innovation can come in many forms and sizes: the advent of the railway, the motor car, the internet and the smartphone are all examples of innovation, and in particular of disruptive innovation that resulted in a step change in society. Such innovation brings huge benefits and is vital; after all, transformation can’t be achieved without significant change. However, disruptive innovation typically requires a large investment committed over long periods of time, with substantial uncertainty.

Innovation is not just about large-scale technological transformation. Experience shows that over time, the accumulation of small improvements in process, people, and technology – known as incremental innovation – can also have a significant positive impact. Incremental innovation is not necessarily expensive, risky, or about radical change, but can create a culture that seeks to deliver the best outcomes for all stakeholders.

Innovation is the creation and implementation of new processes, products, services, and methods of delivery which result in significant improvements in outcomes, efficiency, effectiveness or quality2

INNOVATION IS A KEY ENABLER FOR TFN Embracing an innovative culture can have a transformative impact on large-scale projects and is one of the key drivers that underpins enhanced outcomes across different types of projects. Innovation will be a key enabler of infrastructure and connectivity improvements in the north that are essential in reducing the northsouth divide and levelling up the British economy.

With passenger numbers decimated during most of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while freight continues to be the backbone of the country, innovation is needed not only to efficiently build Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), but also to rebuild and enhance public confidence in transport. It is also the opportunity of a lifetime to change the status quo for the better.

For TfN, innovation has an important role to play in the procurement of infrastructure and services, transforming passengers’ experience of transport; and improving business processes and ways of working. In each of these areas, innovation can help to deliver outcomes, reduce costs, improve the efficiency of supply, and create demand for a new way to deliver rail services.

This White Paper reflects the experiences of a crossindustry group of professionals in enabling innovation within rail. It is intended to offer insight and recommendations to support TfN in its journey of transforming rail in the north.

Figure 2 - Innovation is more than new technology Mulgary, G. and Albury, D. (2003) Innovation in the Public Sector. Strategy Unit, Cabinet Office, London.

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2. AWARENESS THE CHALLENGE For TfN to realise its ambitious programme, it will need to address a number of critical challenges. These include major engineering challenges, such as tunnelling beneath the Pennines, as well as broader industry priorities such as decarbonisation, decongestion, better passenger information and accessible and inclusive transport. For these critical challenges to be addressed as effectively as possible, TfN must be able to effectively articulate its needs to the supply chain.

A study into grassroots innovation in UK transport3 identified immersion in the problem space as a key enabler to innovation. Whilst engagement with small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) is continually improving, the challenge remains to improve engagement between grassroots innovators and public rail projects.

The north has significant technical and innovation capability across SMEs, consultancies, larger businesses, and academia. There is strength in the development of software, where grassroots innovation can add real value to the sector and new businesses are adding to the local economies.

In recent years, there has been a notable increase in events and initiatives designed to communicate rail industry challenges to potential solution owners. These initiatives have been invaluable in offering direct insight and in building new partnerships. However, their effectiveness can be limited by factors such as: •

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Insufficient internal engagement in the development of challenge statements, resulting in the oversight of less obvious challenges or a lack of buy-in from key internal stakeholders.

Requirements expressed in terms of solutions rather than outcomes, which can constrain the scope for innovation and may result in only traditional suppliers being able to respond.

A mismatch between the stated desire for innovation and key constraints, for example timescales being too short for the development of any significant innovation, or the client wanting a proven product.

Tracy Ross, Valerie A. Mitchell & Andrew J. May (2012) Bottomup grassroots innovation in transport: motivations, barriers and enablers, Transportation Planning and Technology, 35:4, 469-489 3

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The number and scale of engagement events, leading to a level of ‘challenge apathy’ among solution owners. This is particularly apparent where a low likelihood of success is perceived, due to illdefined challenges, a lack of funding, or a high ratio of innovators to challenges.

RECOMMENDATIONS Gaining a thorough understanding of the challenges facing transport in the north requires an effective stakeholder engagement programme. This should consider diverse perspectives from stakeholders including local transport authorities, infrastructure owners, operators, communities and grassroots groups.

This approach will uncover opportunities for change that are less obvious, stimulating a range of innovative solutions that deliver value to the north.

Once challenges have been identified, it is important to prioritise them so that there is collective agreement on where to focus effort. Success factors can be agreed, as well as constraints and the risk appetite towards the specific problem. Additionally, there should be alignment with other research and development networks, such as UKRRIN and the Catapults, to understand the capabilities of existing technologies and their roadmaps. To attract the widest range of innovative solutions, challenge statements should focus on the desired outcomes and avoid dictating the technical solution.

Once challenge statements are clearly defined, they can be disseminated via events and online communication or procurement processes. Ideally there should be a clear progression route for addressing the challenges, for example funding competitions or accelerator programmes. Where challenge statements are made available on an ongoing basis, they should be reviewed (such as annually) to ensure they remain fit for purpose.

Recommendation: Develop a plan for identifying, defining, and prioritising TfN challenge statements and communicating these widely to solution owners.

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3.FUNDING THE CHALLENGE

RECOMMENDATIONS

In the main, funding for TfN will be provided by central government and, to a lesser extent, local authorities. In a post-COVID economy, there is a strong possibility that overall available funds from the Government will be limited due to the economic challenges caused by the pandemic. The use of rail infrastructure investment as a tool to jump-start the economy may counteract the threats to the TfN programme. However, this is likely to focus on the need for a high cost-benefit ratio and demonstrable means of delivering to budget. The Department for Transport’s Transport Innovation Efficiency Strategy seeks to address this.

In the light of the changing landscape around COVID-19, and the governmental drive to support rail development in the north, there will be significant opportunities for solution owners over the coming years. To support this, TfN should define a funding strategy for enabling innovation, drawing upon best practice and experience from across the industry. This may include the consideration of a ring-fenced innovation fund, as well as identifying opportunities to secure external funding streams. The governance of any innovation funding should incentivise effective collaboration across different organisations in the rail sector.

Funding models are likely to look very different postCOVID, and access to private funding is expected to be more challenging. Looking forward, we will need to be commercially innovative in how we fund rail infrastructure projects. Business case metrics are important to the funding process. Choosing the right and balanced metrics to support business cases provides a framework to enable innovation, whereas unsuitable metrics, such as those based on minimum cost and shortest programme, can hinder it. The move to including wider economic and environmental benefits in transport appraisal is welcomed.

Consideration could also be given towards a model where the asset owner is prepared to share the operational outperformance from successful innovations with the innovators involved across the project lifecycle.

This would incentivise commercial scale up and ensure that investment in innovation is considered from a longer-term perspective. Collaborating with funding and partner organisations would enable cross-sector partnerships to be formed, focussing on the common goal of driving successful innovation.

Return on investment can be difficult to determine for inherently high-risk innovation projects. Again, this means that the prioritisation of funding can tend towards the status quo, where the business case is most robust.

To address this, organisations try to create a procurement environment that supports innovation and dedicate or seek distinct sources of funding for innovation projects. Ring-fenced innovation funds have been popular in recent years, with organisations allocating a specific amount of budget to projects deemed innovative, sometimes based on a percentage of revenue. There can, however, be drawbacks to this approach, such as difficulty in defining and applying the criteria for using the fund. Likewise, while ring-fenced innovation fund models are great at taking ideas towards ad-hoc implementation, they don’t incentivise long term scale up.

External funding for innovation within rail is available from a wide range of sources across government, including UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), dedicated innovation funds, private investors, industry funding sources, and accelerators. However, keeping abreast of all the different opportunities can be a challenge.

Mentoring for innovators should be made available, providing guidance on navigating the industry, identifying opportunities, and submitting high-quality proposals. Potential applicants can connect with the Knowledge Transfer Network, who can assist with awareness and discussion around how to submit a strong bid. Mentoring support should include new companies entering the sector and those developing a product or service in a new area, ensuring that the most innovative ideas from other sectors are given adequate support and access to available funding. Larger, established companies should provide mentoring support to newer entrants to the rail industry, creating further opportunities for collaboration that drives innovation.

Recommendation: Define an innovation funding strategy for TfN that specifies sources and means of accessing funding for solution owners.

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4.PEOPLE THE CHALLENGE

RECOMMENDATIONS

People are at the heart of innovation. With the right leadership, enabling behaviours, and diversity of thought, it is possible to achieve a workplace culture that organically embraces innovation. For the UK rail sector, however, there is still some way to go in making innovation business as usual. Despite bolstered efforts in recent years, the industry continues to suffer from major skills challenges, including an ageing workforce and lack of a diverse talent pipeline. These challenges, coupled with the low-risk appetite that accompanies high safety and performance standards, create an environment that does not always favour innovation.

A key enabler of innovation at TfN is to create a culture that welcomes new ideas and where failure is not penalised, developing a ‘fail fast, fail cheap’ culture which can ultimately reduce the cost of innovation. Having the resources and capabilities that act as innovation enablers across the business will help to achieve this. Encouraging an innovative mind-set begins at the top, with the involvement and support of the senior leadership, alongside comprehensive stakeholder, and community engagement to understand the needs on the ground. For organisations at the start of their innovation journey, a dedicated innovation team embedded across disciplines can help to build internal engagement and awareness about what it means to innovate, with an end goal of innovation becoming business as usual.

A common barrier to innovation within any organisation is the necessary focus on day-to-day delivery and operations. Many teams and individuals do not have the time or space to sit back and consider how to do things differently, leading to a tendency towards the status quo.

Within traditional engineering organisations there is a natural focus on productivity, meeting deadlines, and delivering to budget. Organisations that prioritise delivery to the detriment of creativity will fail to enable innovation; our industry needs a mind-set in which innovation can thrive.

Resourcing for innovation is part of a broader skills and talent challenge faced by the industry. UK rail has long been susceptible to a lack of continuity, fragmentation, and frequent changes in direction. This, driven by economic and political cycles has created an environment in which organisations struggle to commit resources and undertake long term planning. In turn, this can block investment in areas of research, technology, and innovation. The lack of a consistent rolling programme (outside major renewals) causes a loss of momentum and expertise, with the uncertainty often leading those working within rail to look for more secure employment options.

In recent years, there has been a notable trend in creating roles and entire teams with the distinct aim of driving innovation within rail. However, this is not without its own challenges. Such approaches can result in a perception of innovation as a separate discipline that is detached from the reality of managing and running an operational railway.

TfN should lead the industry in providing a visible pipeline of projects, giving confidence to those who work in the supply chain and supporting the case for innovation. A change of emphasis from multiple, interconnected delivery projects to more incremental change would support the development of resources that will deliver the transport outcomes needed for the north.

Resourcing for innovation in rail is intrinsically linked to the ongoing skills crisis in the industry. Involvement from groups such as the Professional Engineering Institutions, Young Rail Professionals and Women in Rail can provide opportunities for people to meet counterparts with a different perspective and novel ideas. It can also help to connect technical specialists with their customers and the economic realities for the passengers and freight customers they serve.

Recommendation: Make innovation a key pillar of TfN’s people strategy, ensuring that the leadership and corporate behaviours support an organic culture of innovation.

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5.PROCUREMENT THE CHALLENGE The scale of infrastructure works that will be required to deliver NPR, along with constrained timescales and finances, will create huge challenges in the north. There will be growing pressure on the operating railway to do more with less, while improving reliability and ensuring high safety standards are upheld. New ideas and ways of working will be needed to achieve these contrasting objectives. Developing and implementing the right procurement strategy is key to enabling and stimulating innovative progress.

Procurement that enables innovation will help the rail industry to achieve sustainable growth, create jobs, and adopt new technologies and ways of working. Procuring for innovation will also help SMEs and new market entrants to be more competitive in engaging with major projects and to form thriving partnerships, which will ultimately be helping to reduce costs. In recognition that procurement is a key enabler of innovation, there have been increased efforts in recent years towards outcomebased procurement within rail. However, overall, the industry still tends towards traditional procurement approaches that are designed around detailed technical specifications. Over-specifying the solution in this way is likely to result in a small pool of pre-defined solutions, a limited number of suppliers capable of delivery, and minimal pricing competition as a result.

Many infrastructure projects have still not embedded innovation into their governance processes, particularly during option selection stages. Procurement by nature is risk averse, and as a result, innovative solutions considered to be higher risk are less likely to be adopted, in some cases shifting the risk of failure back onto the supplier. Processes such as engineering assurance, product acceptance, and design assurance favour preconceived technical solutions and can stifle innovation before it has a chance to flourish.

RECOMMENDATIONS Alternative approaches to conventional procurement are available and should be considered as part of TfN’s procurement strategy. Learning from other large infrastructure projects can help to determine which approach will deliver the right outcomes for TfN. Collaborative arrangements, such as project alliancing and early contractor involvement can greatly increase the opportunity for innovation.

Dedicated processes, such as the Innovation Partnership Procedure4, enable the early selection of suitable partners with which to develop and innovate and by allowing purchase of the resulting product improves on the otherwise successful Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) used in Innovate UK competitions connect public sector bodies with innovative solutions, accelerating development, and supporting projects through feasibility and prototyping. Design contests and challenge statements are also excellent ways to stimulate innovation, provided there is a clear scope and outcomefocussed requirements.

Procurement mechanisms need to address the riskreward imbalance associated with undertaking innovation in the rail sector, to enable investment in innovation activities through its lifecycle and incentivise the scale up of successful innovations. The taking and sharing of risks should be accepted as an integral part of a future innovation procurement strategy with an increased tolerance for failure.

When procurement is focussed on innovation, more opportunities are generated for SMEs, companies and partnerships that are agile, creative and responsive in meeting specific needs. Tier 1 organisations should take a leading role in collaborating with SMEs, and clients should mandate this engagement as part of the procurement process, with measurable targets for the value delivered by SMEs. Consideration should be given towards adopting Project 13 principles 5, to ensure procurement activities lead to sustainable innovation.

An innovation strategy should be established to define the expected outcomes of the proposed innovations and a means of evaluating the benefits delivered. The progress of innovations should be regularly reviewed to establish if they are achieving their intended outcomes.

Brave decisions will need to be taken to either abandon or continue to support the innovation – commonly known as ‘fail fast, fail happy’. With the right monitoring and evaluation process in place, this should not present any undue risk or challenge to the organisation.

Recommendation: Embed procurement and contracting approaches in TfN that support and drive innovation, its exploitation and commercialisation.

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https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/102/regulation/31/made

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http://www.p13.org.uk/

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6.SUPPLY CHAIN THE CHALLENGE

RECOMMENDATIONS

Due to the ‘boom and bust’ demand cycle, the UK rail supply chain struggles to sustain and develop the resources to deliver the scale of work needed for the railway sector to renew, grow, and remain competitive.

Challenges including skills shortages, inconsistent funding, and competition with major programmes in other industries have historically impacted the industry’s ability to sustain capability, to innovate and deliver value for money. High costs and lack of competition in major schemes such as re-signalling and electrification are commonly referenced as an indicator of this failure.

However, this is not solely an issue of demand. The supply chain must also take responsibility for delivering differently, challenging convention, and looking beyond tradition.

The barriers to entry for new and smaller organisations in the UK rail industry are well recognised. Yet it is in our collective interest that the innovation value offered by SMEs, consultants and universities is rewarded and recognised. To support this, we recommend that TfN develops a strategic plan, like that developed by the Greater London Assembly and Transport for London, setting out how the inherent capability of smaller-scale northern suppliers will be realised and harnessed for the benefit of the north.

SMEs, consultants, and universities play a vital role in the development and continued existence of a vibrant, successful innovation ecosystem that delivers 'local solutions to local challenges6. With agile structures, working practices and decision-making systems, SMEs are often best placed to rapidly develop, deliver, and scale new ideas.

Historically, however, it has been challenging for SMEs, particularly start-ups and new entrants from other sectors, to become established in the UK rail market.

Programmes and their procurement processes are not always designed to enable organisations with new and innovative ideas to participate. Mechanisms for managing and controlling risk present a challenge in bringing new organisations and innovation into a programme, often favouring known solutions.

Common mechanisms employed by the industry for leveraging innovation, such as Accelerators, Incubators and Hackathons, are often aimed towards start-up companies. However, it is also important to remember that not all SMEs are start-ups. Such initiatives are not always attractive or beneficial to established small businesses that have developed structures and working practices that drive innovation. For these organisations, often already with a strong network within the sector, access to funding, knowledge from industry experts and the ability to enter into simple, mutually beneficial partnering agreements are more critical to their success in delivering innovation.

HM Government (2018) Industrial Strategy Rail Sector Deal, Crown Copyright 6

The plan should consider how to successfully engage smaller suppliers in early supply chain activities and include them in the larger contracting mechanisms ecosystem. One approach would be the establishment of a TfN or regional enterprise led support framework for high potential smaller business, focussing on facilitating partnerships with Tier 1 suppliers. This would build on the success of national schemes such as Open Doors and regional best practice, offering access to: • Opportunities for members to collaborate when bidding for new business • A regular programme of challenge led Accelerators/Incubators • Exhibiting collaboratively at trade exhibitions • Mentoring from industry experts and business advisors.

Steps should be taken for northern clients and Tier 1 suppliers to adopt 'Procurement Lite' processes, making it quicker and more efficient for SMEs to pre-qualify and submit tenders for opportunities in the north.

Defining Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to monitor the number and proportion of SMEs in the TfN supply chain can help to increase the value of regional spend with SMEs. Setting KPIs should also incentivise Tier 1 businesses to engage and collaborate with the wider supplier community, thereby creating an environment where innovation can be driven upwards to TfN.

Recommendation: Develop a plan to harness the inherent capability of northern SMEs, consultants, and universities.

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7.WHAT NEXT? The members of the NRIL Innovation working group have been delighted to contribute the thoughts and recommendations set out in this White Paper. Having created a productive innovation network in the north, we will continue to develop this community and are committed to supporting TfN in implementing the next steps to transforming rail in the north through innovation.

Following the publication of this paper, we recommend that TfN develop an innovation action plan, taking into account the recommendations made by the NRIL Innovation working group and defining the tangible next steps that will be taken to drive innovation in the north. We encourage TfN to identify individuals or teams within the northern network who can help to take forward the task of embedding an innovation culture within TfN. Examples of tangible next steps under each theme have been suggested by the Innovation working group below. NRIL are ready to support TfN in these next steps.

• Undertake a stakeholder mapping exercise to identify challenge owners across the TfN network and nominate innovation ‘champions’ to support engagement activities.

• Hold workshops with a wide range of internal stakeholders to explore and define the TfN challenge statements.

• Engage with northern UKRRIN partners and the wider rail innovation ecosystem to understand existing technology roadmaps and their potential relevance to TfN challenges.

• Engage with organisations that have created a ring-fenced innovation fund to learn from their experience and establish if this is a suitable approach for TfN. • Identify opportunities for TfN to contribute challenge statements to competitions and other funding streams.

• Establish a mentoring scheme that can be accessed across the range of businesses, especially by those outside of the current rail network.

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• Establish a TfN-led support framework for high potential SMEs, focussing on facilitating partnerships between SMEs and Tier 1 suppliers.

• Develop Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to monitor the number and proportion of SMEs in the supply chain.

Include these KPIs in procurement activities.

• Promote recent successes and thank new entrants to the industry.

• Engage with organisations that have established a dedicated innovation team to learn from their experience and determine if this is a potential approach for TfN. • Refer to Innovation Standard BS EN ISO 56002 to support the creation of an innovation framework and behaviours.

• Build links with groups such as Young Rail Professionals, Women in Rail, and the Professional Engineering Institutions to encourage different perspectives within TfN.

• Engage with Tier 1 suppliers to promote the understanding and sharing of innovation risks and benefits with greater tolerance for failure.

• Facilitate better engagement between government and Tier 1 procurement and supply chain down to grassroots levels.

• Ensure challenge statements are outcome focussed leading to increased inclusion from a wider business field and potential for cross-industry innovation.

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8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This paper has been produced by the Innovation working group on behalf of the Northern Rail Industry Leaders. This voluntary group of leading organisations is a showcase of the expertise and experience in the north. The working group is pleased to contribute to ensuring the success of TfN and the economic prosperity of the north.

The NRIL Executive would like to thank Innovation work stream lead, David Taylor, and the Innovation working group for their contribution in producing this paper. The team would also like to acknowledge the support and contribution of TfN, as well as the other NRIL work streams: Decarbonisation, People and Skills, and Value for Money.

Paper Authors Arcadis – Richard Fluin Classone Systems – Stirling Kimkeran Frazer Nash – Richard Wheldon Incremental Solutions – Gareth Biggins, Luke Powley, Daniel Lee-Bursnall KTN – Daisy Chapman-Chamberlain Network Rail – Janet Dunnett Skanska – Vaibhav Tyagi, Martin Leppard Thales – David Taylor, Rhianne Evans Waxwing Engineering – Louise Shaw Westermo – Phil Mounter, Mark Gibbs University of Sheffield – Michel Le Lerre, David Fletcher

Wider NRIL Innovation Working Group 3 Squared – Lucy Prior Atkins – Paul Hooper Costain – Bill Lomas DB Cargo – Kathryn Oldale Icomera – Maria Walker Make it York – Charles Storr Network Rail – Matthew Weingarth Northern – Tim Goodwin Thales – Ben Ting Transport for the North – Tim Wood, Jeremy Acklam University of Huddersfield – Simon Iwnicki

NRIL Executive Co-Chairs – Justin Moss (Siemens), Mike Hulme (Alstom) Work Stream Leads Decarbonisation – Julie Carrier (Systra) Innovation – David Taylor (Thales) People and Skills – Lucy Prior (3 Squared), Tracey Barber (XRail) Value for Money – Ken Kyle (Telent) Railway Industry Association – David Clarke, Max Sugarman With thanks also to Richard Gardiner and the staff of the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre for hosting our Innovation workshop in February 2020.

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