Clarity, consensus and community - the progression of UK CAM

Just over a year after its initial release, the UK Connected and Automated Mobility Roadmap to 2030: CAM Creators Update launched on 20 October 2020. This cross-industry collaborative tool, created by and intended for multiple sectors, has been contributed to by 200+ organisations and 300+ individuals. Tristan Bacon, Research Associate at Zenzic, explores how clarity, consensus and community are helping to overcome the complexities in the UK connected and automated mobility (CAM) ecosystem.

Navigating complexity  

As the global COVID-19 pandemic has unfolded, we’ve all, rightly, sought clarity, consensus and community (the three Cs) to chart our path forward and get a handle on our new, very different daily lives. What do the restrictions mean for me? When will there be a vaccine? Which family or friends can I visit? These questions do well to highlight the deep need and importance of order when something complex presents itself, bringing things into focus so we can plan what to do.  

These crucial three Cs allow us to make progress in the face of complexity. With many moving parts and cross-sector disciplines that make up the UK CAM ecosystem, we can, and should, be applying the same principles.  

The Roadmap one year on 

Just over a year on from its original release, the UK Connected and Automated Mobility Roadmap to 2030 has become an indispensable tool for businesses, investors and legislators worldwide. Through its rich, interdependent network of Milestones, spanning the full breadth of areas key to CAM deployment, the Roadmap provides clarity to those championing this mobility revolution in the UK, giving confidence to organisations as they develop and implement their strategies. Shaped by a myriad of experts from across the UK CAM ecosystem, the Roadmap provides a robust consensus, created by, and for, the community that is the UK CAM ecosystem, as well as for international organisations. 

Whilst the original release received resoundingly positive feedback on its articulation of what needed to happen, and when, to realise successful at-scale deployment of CAM in the UK by 2030, the next logical questions soon followed – Who? And How? Across the Roadmap’s 492 milestones, who is delivering them? How will they be delivered and how much progress have we made? These are important questions. Without an idea of how the Roadmap is being acted upon, how do we know if we’re making progress at the right pace? How do we know who is driving us towards the Roadmap’s 2030 Vision, ‘creating’ the future of UK CAM? 

CAM Creators Update 

These questions are addressed in the UK Connected and Automated Mobility Roadmap to 2030: CAM Creators Update. CAM Creators are those who are making the future of CAM in the UK happen, contributing to the development and eventual at-scale deployment of technologies, products and services. By mapping real-world activity onto the Roadmap, we can see how it is being reflected in reality, and vice versa. This unlocks a new layer of insights and context that can better inform Roadmap users from across the CAM ecosystem. 

This update provides invaluable context to a complex UK CAM ecosystem of interdependent and overlapping disciplines. But what are the tangible, marked enhancements from the original Roadmap release? How do “I”, the Roadmap user, really benefit from these updates? 

Identifying real-world opportunities through the new CAM Creator data 

Through the CAM Creator updates, Roadmap users can identify organisations who are contributing, or could contribute, to the delivery of Roadmap activity. Featured in this data is information about relevant projects and real-world activity, as well as the CAM Creator organisations involved. This provides the user of the online interactive Roadmap with a seamless interface to connect with organisations and forge collaborative relationships.  

Providing a clear view on early progress and opportunities to capitalise on 

Through the new roadmap progress data, users can see where early progress is being made, as well as opportunities where they could provide expertise and capitalise through forging collaborative relationships. In combination with the other CAM Creator updates, users are provided with an arsenal of new information to inform their organisation’s CAM strategy, especially regarding where their expertise could be most valuable in the larger context of the Roadmap. 

A more seamless and mature way to find relevant activities 

Through a new tagging system, users now have far more control at their fingertips to generate custom filters across the roadmap data. This brings significant benefits to identifying relevant activities for a particular organisation and discovering which organisations are working across the topics of the Roadmap. In combination with the benefits above, Roadmap users now have a richer and smoother user experience in identifying and pursuing opportunities across the Roadmap.   

The ongoing addition of CAM Creators 

Through periodic additions of new CAM Creators, organisations can get involved, joining the companies and organisations making the sector connections, forming collaborative partnerships and taking the commercial opportunities being part of the Roadmap offers. Becoming a CAM Creator allows organisations to showcase their activity in the Roadmap as well as raise their profile to investors, partners and government. Interested? Please fill in the form to become a CAM Creator here!

Remembering where we started 

As we develop and enhance the Roadmap moving forward, it’s important we remember what we’re trying to achieve, and the foundational principles to get there. CAM can unlock so many benefits, both societally and economically, but the realisation of them is not guaranteed unless we have the clarity, consensus and community to focus us towards them.  

This update doesn’t just plant more flowers in the garden bed but, more importantly, focuses on the soil from which they grow. Yes, there are multiple new enhancements at the functional level of the Roadmap, but more importantly, the core updates stem from a deep examination of the propositional foundations of the tool, crucial to ensuring robust longevity for the utility the Roadmap can bring. 

Download your copy of the Roadmap now.