Senior leaders, innovators and changemakers from across Wales came together at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on 14 July to celebrate the latest milestone of Cardiff Capital Region’s (CCR) Infuse Collision Space programme, showcasing bold new ideas designed to tackle some of the region’s most pressing public service challenges
The event marked the culmination of a four-month innovation programme that brought together participants from the public, private, academic and third sectors to explore how artificial intelligence could be used to improve outcomes across housing and homelessness, adult social care, and education and employment.
Throughout the day, three cross-sector innovation teams pitched a range of AI-enabled solutions to an audience of senior stakeholders, demonstrating how collaboration can unlock new approaches to complex social and economic challenges.
The ideas presented included tools to help predict and prevent homelessness, support more effective discharge planning and care coordination, improve access to personalised education support, and strengthen pathways into employment.
The event also provided an opportunity for participants to connect with potential supporters, partners and investors, helping to create momentum behind the most promising concepts as they move into the next stage of development.
Kellie Beirne, Chief Executive of Cardiff Capital Region, said: “The Infuse Collision Space programme demonstrates the power of bringing together people with different skills, experiences and perspectives to tackle shared challenges.
“The solutions showcased today highlight the huge potential of collaboration and innovation to improve public services, create better outcomes for our communities and help shape a more resilient and inclusive region.
“We are proud to support a programme that turns ambitious ideas into practical solutions with the potential to make a lasting difference across Cardiff Capital Region and beyond.”
The Infuse programme is designed to create the space for ambitious cross-sector collaboration, enabling participants to test new ideas and build the skills, networks and confidence needed to drive innovation within their organisations and communities.
Louise Harris, Associate Advisor to the Infuse programme, said: “What makes Infuse special is the willingness of people from different sectors to come together around shared challenges and work towards practical solutions.
“The ideas presented today are a testament to the commitment, creativity and expertise of the participants, as well as the support provided by volunteers, advisors and partners from across the region.
“By combining public sector insight with private sector innovation and academic expertise, we can create solutions that have genuine potential to improve lives and strengthen communities.”
Delivered with support from innovation consultancy PPL, the programme focuses on the challenge of how AI can be used to transform public services for all. Over the course of four months, participants explored key issues facing communities across the region before developing and testing innovative responses.
Robert Jamieson of PPL added, “What we’ve seen today is the power of collaboration in action. By bringing together expertise from across the public, private, academic and voluntary sectors, teams have developed innovative ideas with the potential to address some of society’s most complex challenges. The focus now is on taking the strongest concepts forward and turning promising ideas into real-world impact for the people and communities of South East Wales.”
