Good advice

Ten years ago, Professor AbuBakr Bahaj paved the way for stronger city-university relations when he became the first Chief Scientific Advisor to a local authority in the UK.

Professor AbuBakr Bahaj’s close working relationship with Southampton City Council has led to joint projects and opportunities.

Since instigating and taking up the role of Chief Scientific Advisor to the Council in 2012, AbuBakr has advised the authority on matters relating to the environment and energy, from housing and green spaces to resourcing and transport.

AbuBakr, Professor of Sustainable Energy and Head of the University’s Energy and Climate Change Division and the Sustainable Energy Research Group, has worked with the Council to secure funding to get projects off the ground.

One example is CareTeam, a joint project between the University, the City Council and data company NquiringMinds. CareTeam, part-funded by Innovate UK, developed digital support – an app and household and personal sensing technologies – to support independent living and to help carers to better support their loved ones.

AbuBakr also supported the City Council’s introduction of its Green City Charter, to which 72 organisations in the city have signed up. The Charter features five ‘decarbonising’ pillars for the city to work towards. As part of this, a team at the University developed an online tracker for Green City signatories to track their progress against the Charter’s green goals.

Establishing relations

AbuBakr joined the University in 1997 and has, ever since, worked with undergraduates on projects related to Southampton, how it operates and the facilities available to residents.

“I really focused on the fact that here is a city that’s surrounded by water, yet we don’t have a lot of water facilities for citizens to enjoy,” he said. “I have supervised group design projects in the past with students to try to unlock waterfront locations. I would regularly telephone the Chief Executive of Southampton City Council to tell him about the projects and encourage the Council to look at them.”

This early relationship with the Council developed until Labour’s Richard Williams was appointed as Council Leader and proposed to the Vice Chancellor, then Professor Don Nutbeam, that AbuBakr be appointed as Chief Scientific Advisor to the Council. Professor Nutbeam approved this and AbuBakr officially took on the role, half a day a week.

“I was on the Sustainability Committee and attended Council meetings, advising them on anything related to the environment and energy,” said AbuBakr. “I advised them on how the city could be improved in terms of housing, green spaces, resources and transport.”

Constant changes

As is the nature of politics, the Leader of Southampton City Council has changed several times – five, in fact – since AbuBakr’s appointment.

After Councillor Richard Williams, AbuBakr worked with leaders Councillor Simon Letts – with whom he investigated how to better link Woolston to the city; Councillor Chris Hammond – with whom he instigated the Solent LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership) Climate Commission to support businesses to decarbonise; Councillor Daniel Fitzhenry – with whom he concentrated on growth around the city; and now Labour Leader Satvir Kaur – with whom he has regular conversations about growth, carbon and the environment.

“The role of Chief Scientific Advisor has strengthened the relationship between the University, the Council, and the city,” explained AbuBakr.

The Leader of Southampton City Council, Councillor Satvir Kaur, said: “We really appreciate the expertise that Professor Bahaj brings to the table, particularly on a wide range of issues that we work together on. We look forward to working with him in the future as we work together towards our net zero and environmental goals for the city”.

Formalising the role

AbuBakr is now working with Professor Alan Penn from University College London, who is Chief Scientific Advisor to the Government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. “Professor Penn and I are working on formalising the role of Chief Scientific Advisor to local authorities and introducing the role to more areas of the UK,” said AbuBakr.

The success of AbuBakr’s work with Southampton City Council is already being recognised in other regions. In 2020, Professor Nick Eyre, from the University of Oxford, was appointed as Oxford City Council’s first Scientific Advisor.