EVENT APPLICATION
concept overview
» United States Special Operations Command’s (USSOCOM) Directorate of Science and Technology (S&T) Futures and UK Strategic Command (UKStratCom) seek to develop concepts under the theme, Smart Cities: Future Challenges for Special Operations Forces (SOF). The event seeks to explore the challenges of physical and remote SOF operations in a range of future complex smart cities scenarios. In support of those efforts, a Rapid Capability Assessment (RCA) will be conducted on the 16th – 20th of September 2024 in the UK and will require full-time participation (~0830-1700 UTC each day) from successful applicants.
A PRECURSOR EVENT
» Innovation Foundry (IF15) explored the rapidly changing nature of SOF’s future operating environment which will increasingly involve smart, interconnected cities. More than 50% of humanity resides in cities, and by 2030 there will be more than 60 cities globally with populations between 5 and 10 million. Many of these cities will be located within global resource hotspots in an increasingly multi-polar world order that challenges hegemonic legacies. These dense urban areas are becoming ever more complex; socially, physically, and technologically.