Shaping a Sustainable Future for Vienna: A Report on the Science for Policy Hackathon Pitch Day
How can young researchers effectively learn to communicate evidence-based, scientific recommendations to policymakers? This question was at the core of the Science for Policy Hackathon organized by the Innovation unit and the ECH of the University of Vienna in cooperation with the City of Vienna, the Urban Sustainability Living Lab, and SDG Watch Austria. At the final pitch event on Monday, February 10th, the groups showcased their ideas and the winners were celebrated.
The participants of the Hackathon could choose from four different challenges posed by the City of Vienna, taken from the city’s own research catalogue designed to achieve the 2040 sustainability goals while keeping Vienna affordable and livable (STEP 35). These challenges included: Climate and health, inclusive and sustainable mobility, designing green spaces, and embedding biodiversity in urban planning. Proposals were required to address the challenge, use an evidence-informed approach, consider stakeholders, communicate clearly, and be both relevant and feasible.
Spanning over three months, the Hackathon began with the kick-off event in November and followed by a webinar hosted by Chloe Hill, policy expert of the European Geoscience Union, in December. The central portion of the Hackathon took place on the 6th and 7th of February, when the seven teams comprised of students and early-career researchers finally had the chance to craft their proposals in correspondence with experts and city officials. As a last pit-stop, the groups pitched their ideas on Monday evening’s event, moderated by Clara Conrad-Billroth, member of the Innovation unit of the University of Vienna.
The organizers of the event stressed the urgency of translating research into real-world impact. Tobias Reckling, Head of the Technology Transfer, Knowledge Exchange, and Entrepreneurship unit at the University of Vienna, underscored the importance of supporting researchers in sharing their ideas with both society and industry, a goal his unit promotes through initiatives like the Hackathon. Similarly, Sabine Pahl, ECH Co-Director and professor of Urban and Environmental Psychology at the University of Vienna, pointed out the need for collaboration in tackling today’s societal challenges. She emphasized that the Hackathon process itself reflects the ECH’s mission to foster interdisciplinary research by bringing people together to collaborate.
Seven different teams pitched their ideas, followed by questions from the jury, which included Sabine Pahl (ECH @ UniVie), Katharina Eggenweber (Ökobüro, SDG Watch Austria), and Pia Minixhofer (City of Vienna). In the Climate and Health category, Group “Park Pals” proposed using quantitative tools to assess green infrastructure in Vienna, ensuring effective greening and cooling through geo-information system (GIS) based tools. Group “Grätzlrast” suggested opening public buildings like schools, that are usually closed during summer, to provide cool sleeping spaces for citizens during tropical nights, while Group “Alarmingly HOT” worked on improving Vienna’s heatwave warning system, focusing on vulnerable populations and enhancing communication and monitoring processes. For Inclusive and Sustainable Mobility, Group “Yes We Care” aimed to make public transport more inclusive by tying infrastructure subsidies to accessibility criteria, while Group “Transporters” proposed more flexible, multi-modal mobility options and the introduction of congestion pricing. In the Designing Green Spaces category, Group “Leave Leaves” called for the creation of unified guidelines for green space design to improve biodiversity, while Group “Green Space Justice” recommended the inclusion of “Focus Areas” in the city development plan to more fairly distribute green spaces.
Katharina Meissner-Schöller from the City of Vienna emphasised that Vienna’s path to climate neutrality by 2040 requires bold ideas and innovative solutions. She discussed this vision and explained that maintaining affordability and quality of life in the midst of the climate crisis requires both social and technical innovations. “To achieve this goal, we need ideas such as those presented this evening,” she said, referring to the creative solutions presented during the hackathon.
The jury returned for the award ceremony to announce the first and second place winners, who received cash prizes of €1.500 and €500 – provided by the ECH – respectively, as well as tickets to the EGU General Assembly. Of the seven groups, “Grätzlrast“ came in second with their idea to open up public buildings for citizens struggling to recharge during tropical nights. The jury praised the group’s suggestion that buildings in need of renovation to meet EU energy efficiency guidelines could be renovated with the possibility of summer occupancy in mind to create synergies.
The highlight of the evening was the announcement of the first-place winners, the team “Green Space Justice” – comprising Lara Seel, Julian Sonnleitner, Isabella Klebinger, Adrián Franco Rubio, and Sophia Hochauer. The group championed the transformation of greening processes throughout Vienna in a way that benefits vulnerable groups. Currently, green space is unequally distributed throughout the city, and vulnerable and socio-economically disadvantaged groups benefit less from street greening projects than others. The group proposed remedying this by implementing “Focus Areas” in the city development plan (STEP 35). Specifically, they suggested spatial prioritization of climate adaptation projects to target vulnerable areas using socio-spatial criteria. “Vulnerable groups need to be included in order to make our city truly sustainable,” summarized a group member.
Sabine Pahl, who presented the award, praised the group’s work: “We were impressed by your comprehensive analysis of the existing data and current situation. Your proposal and brief were exceptionally well thought-out!”
The evening wrapped up with lively discussions over food and drinks, as teams, jury members, and organizers exchanged ideas for future collaborations. Timo Bühler, ECH-Coordinator and event co-organizer, reflected on the event’s impact: “This was a great opportunity to showcase the resourcefulness of young researchers while also helping them learn how to translate their findings for policymakers.”
The event’s success set the stage for more to come. Tobias Reckling, Head of the Technology Transfer unit at the University of Vienna, hinted at future editions: “This Science for Policy Hackathon, with its focus on climate-related challenges, is hopefully the first of many.”