Research contracts and specialist assignments

This study looks at third place requirements in Normandy, primarily in relation to changes in professional practice as a result of digitalisation. Companies are increasingly prioritising remote working, while some executives work off-site and only need a working space for one or a few days per week.
Researchers are studying “temporary” workspace needs in the Normandy region in order to support this trend, and to examine the future relationship between home and the workplace. The study forms part of a national and regional framework which aims to develop third places. Normandy launched its regional digital strategy in October 2017. The “Tiers-Lieux Normandie” (“Normandy Third Place”) label was created as part of this strategy. The scope of the study covers the Normandy region, which includes 12 medium-sized towns (under the French “Action Coeur de Ville” plan), and the region’s three major cities (Rouen, Caen and Le Havre). 

The project is based on a partnership between project leader EM Normandie, and Action Logement (French group taking action for greater access to social and more affordable housing).

This project analyses the links between port development and regional development, and proposes potential development areas for Norman ports based around the coordination of marine, port and logistics activities. Researchers have defined four main focus areas:

1. Resilience of the Norman port system
2. Positioning of ports
3. Port governance
4. Modelling of the logistics network   

The project is based on a partnership between the University of Le Havre Normandy (UMR IDEES research facility – project leader, the NIMEC facility, and the LITIS facility), EM Normandie, NEOMA Business School and INSA ROUEN Normandie.

Local food supply chains are changing. However, in Normandy and particularly along the Seine corridor, agricultural production primarily replies upon long supply chains. This project is particularly relevant in the context of the current health crisis, where the suggestion is to bring economic activity back to France.

The project examines links between short supply chains and long agricultural supply chains. Researchers have defined four main focus areas for the project:

1. Developing short supply chains in Normandy
2. Linking short and long food logistics supply chains at a regional level
3. Using the Seine corridor to develop both short and long supply chains 
4. How farmers can manage two types of supply chain within their farms

The project is based on a partnership between EM Normandie (project leader), the University of Le Havre Normandy , NEOMA Business School, the University of Rouen Normandy, ESIGELEC (Graduate School of Engineering) and the Institute of International Transport Law (Institut du Droit International des Transports).

The project is looking at the deployment of anaerobic digestion in different regions, with its purpose being to gain an understanding of both constraints and drivers in this area. It aims to analyse and provide closer links between the various stakeholders in the sector, and to suggest areas for development based on potential resources located throughout the region (green and agricultural waste, local council waste etc.). By using their work to spark interest in the circular economy and its sustainability, researchers hope to promote it as a driver of socio-economic regional development, with a strong environmental component.

The project is based on a partnership between EM Normandie (project leader), the Syndicat mixte du Point Fort (multi-party waste recycling union), the Mayenne Department and the Association of the Chambers of Agriculture of the Atlantic Area (AC3A).

The purpose of the project is to model the land movements of passengers arriving by sea at the ports of Le Havre (cruise stopovers) and Caen (ferries). They are tracked using anonymous geolocation data from mobile phones and social networks (primarily Twitter and Instagram). Tracing individuals via connected devices is now a vital source of information to better understand how urban spaces operate, whether in the context of our day-to-day lives or in how we behave during specific events. The theoretical framework set out by researchers is that movements recorded via social media should be considered as extremely complex, due to the many interactions between individuals and locations, and their multiple social time frames.  Based on complexity science, we know that despite individual mobility choices being unconcerted and partially unpredictable, they may result in collective behaviour which can be analysed at regional level, or even in different areas of a town or city.  Based on the interactions between sea passenger movements and urban spaces observed, the project will put forward proposals on how to model the movements of cruise passengers on land, the probability of future travel, and how to identify areas of interest based on passengers’ social and spatial behaviours.

The project is based on a partnership between the University of Le Havre Normandy  (UMR IDEES research facility), the University of Rouen Normandy (UMR IDEES research facility – project leader) and EM Normandie.