RMIT City North Activation Challenge 2025

The challenges facing contemporary cities – climate change, technological disruption, public health crises and social inequities – demand new models of collaboration and innovation.

One way in which RMIT’s Strategy to 2031, Knowledge with Action, acknowledges this rapidly emerging need is with a commitment to use key RMIT locations as platforms for common growth and civic partnership. RMIT’s vision for the skills-led urban renewal of an area in Melbourne’s city north and the realisation of a world-leading Social Innovation Precinct in this location is at the forefront of this commitment.

In 2023, RMIT submitted a proposal for the development of the City North Social Innovation Precinct (CNSIP) to the Victorian Government. The proposal describes a ‘skills and innovation-led urban renewal’ of a unique city block in City North, transforming it into a site focused on creating jobs, skills, enterprises and solutions for Victoria’s future, and strongly connected to key centres in Southeast Asia.

The RMIT City North Activation Initiative is using the City North ecosystem to test and develop new civic partnership practices that are deeply rooted in place and collaboration – demonstrating the potential of RMIT’s proposal to the State Government and delivering against Knowledge with Action Goal 3.4. The Activation Initiative is also building institutional awareness and capability around RMIT’s Place & Community Principles by connecting RMIT’s knowledge leadership and infrastructure, facilities and assets, and industry and global networks with community aspiration and need in critical areas.

What do we mean by ‘Activation’?

Activation is the purposeful, coordinated effort to use the real-world conditions, networks, infrastructure and environments of the City North Precinct as a living lab to re-imagine, co-create, test, pilot and prototype shared solutions and new alternatives together with industry, government, and community.

Activation draws different audiences and communities into the City North area through placemaking experiences and events that support knowledge exchange and promote community vitality and social cohesion.

Activation can provide ethnographic learnings and insights that help guide long-term planning, investment and infrastructure for the City North area into the future.

In short, activation can take the form of:

• Applied, active and authentic learning, training or professional development that uses the social or urban infrastructure of city north as a living lab.
• Piloting, prototyping or trialling a service, program, business idea or technology using the social or urban infrastructure of city north as a living lab.
• Inclusive and creative placemaking events, experiences, or tactical urbanism that transform city north spaces, streets and public realm.
• Knowledge leadership and/or knowledge exchange that engages and benefits local communities, businesses or organisations.

The City North Activation Challenge is a bold new ‘place-based’ initiative to tackle complex social, economic and environmental challenges using the ecosystem, networks and environments of the precinct as a dynamic living lab for testing potential solutions. 

The Challenge invites proposals from the RMIT community for exploring, co-creating and testing applied innovation solutions and ideas that will help to drive positive social change and shape the future of the precinct.

Proposals are invited to address any of the following challenges associated with the three social impact areas:

Social Care and Wellbeing

1. How might we stimulate and strengthen the adaptive capacity and capability of Victoria’s future social services and mental health workforces?
2. How might we uplift med-tech manufacturing capability and user adoption and position Victoria as a leader in health innovation?
3. How might we eradicate food insecurity for Melbourne communities using circular and inclusive practices?

Smart and Sustainable Cities

1. How might we accelerate the adoption of clean and renewable technologies by communities and industries across the Asia Pacific?
2. How might we strengthen the climate resilience of our urban communities using Indigenous knowledges, emerging technologies or regenerative practices?
3. How might we build shared civic data infrastructure that empowers communities and informs better city-making?

Trust and Community Cohesion

1. How might we embed truth-telling and responsible practice in our shared civic life?
2. How might we counter misinformation and disinformation and promote the ethical use of AI in everyday life to build civic trust & community cohesion?
3. How might we build trust and belonging through inclusive cross-cultural dialogue and international collaboration?
4. How might we support women’s economic participation and leadership in ways that are inclusive, community-led and culturally grounded?

Further to these ten Social Impact Challenges, proposals may instead address an alternative social impact challenge that is clearly articulated in the form of a ‘how might we?’ opportunity and directly related to advancing any of the three social impact areas listed above: Social Care & Wellbeing, Smart & Sustainable Cities, Trust & Community Cohesion.

All proposals must address a challenge using one or more of the following approaches:

• Applied, active and authentic learning, training or professional development that uses the city north ecosystem as a living lab.
• Piloting, prototyping or trialling a service, program, business idea or technology using the city north ecosystem as a living lab.
• Inclusive and creative placemaking events, experiences, or tactical urbanism that transform city north spaces, streets and public realm.
• Knowledge leadership and/or knowledge exchange that engages and benefits local communities, businesses or organisations.

**Please note all applications for 2025 are closed**

To see the kinds of projects that have been explored in the past, you can read about last year’s Challenge projects in the 2024 Activation Challenge Compendium.