ADEPT Live Labs 2 is launching a series of collaborative workshops across the UK this autumn, helping local highway authorities turn the learning from the £30 million innovation programme into practical, business-as-usual change.

Beginning in Glasgow on 17th September 2026, the free regional workshops will bring together local authority decision makers, budget holders and highways practitioners to explore how the innovations, tools and approaches developed through Live Labs 2 can help reduce carbon, cost and delivery time in highways maintenance programmes.

The workshops underpin Year 4 of the ADEPT Live Labs 2 programme, which is focused on sharing and embedding learning following the completion of the programme’s deployment period.

Thanks to an additional £300,000 of funding from the Department for Transport (DfT), the programme is undertaking an extensive programme of engagement across the UK, designed to help the sector capitalise on the original £30 million innovation investment.

Giles Perkins, Programme Director for ADEPT Live Labs 2, said:

“Our ambition for Year 4 is not simply to tell people what Live Labs 2 achieved. The real value comes from taking what we’ve learned and helping the sector understand how it can work for them.

“Our regional workshops are about rolling up our sleeves and working collaboratively with practitioners. We’ll explore the learning from the seven Live Labs, signpost the strategic and practical tools, methods and solutions that have emerged and – importantly – listen to the challenges authorities face when trying to implement change.

The workshops have been deliberately designed as small, targeted sessions to encourage detailed discussion, peer learning and practical implementation.

Taking place across England, Scotland and Wales, they will give local authority officers and practitioners the opportunity to explore programme findings in greater depth, discuss shared challenges and identify practical ways of applying Live Labs 2 learning within their own organisations. Bespoke sessions for public bodies, alongside knowledge-sharing events with industry, academic and sector organisations are also being offered.

The seven Live Labs 2 projects are:

Devon County Council: A382 (including Jetty Marsh Link Road) – Carbon Negative Project
East Riding of Yorkshire Council: High visual efficiency for low carbon lighting – decarbonising street lighting
Liverpool City Council: ‘Ecosystem of Things’ driving a low-carbon economy
North Lanarkshire Council: UK Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads – North Campus
Transport for West Midlands: UK Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads – South Campus
South Gloucestershire Council and West Sussex County Council: Greenprint
Wessex Partnership: Net Zero Corridors

Click HERE to register for a workshop.

(Picture: ADEPT)