Meet Jack Lehane – Nominated by ADAPT Research Centre and Dublin City Council
People and organisations can go further together in ways that they never could alone. For me, this program is about building that collective capacity to create meaningful, measurable change
– Jack Lehane
Advancing healthier cities through data, collaboration and innovation
Jack Lehane is the Smart D8 Ecosystem Manager based in Dublin, Ireland – an engaged-research role supported by the Dublin City Council (DCC) and ADAPT Research Ireland Centre for AI-Driven Digital Content Technology. Jack is responsible for overseeing the successful delivery of the population health demonstrator ‘Smart D8’, a cross sector consortium initiative focused on demonstrating solutions to global challenges in population health and wellbeing.
“At its core, Smart D8 is about matchmaking community needs with actionable innovations and demonstrating evidence that can inform long-term city-wide change to scale locally and beyond,” he said.
Jack’s role also includes project collaborations such as supporting sustainable mobility and active travel as a driver of healthier urban living. He has contributed to initiatives such as the Data Insights for Active Travel project, co-led by DCC’s Active Travel Programme Office (AcTPrO) and Smart Cities. Supported by the Partnership for Healthy Cities, the project replaces ad hoc data collection with a more systematic and integrated process to evaluate the impacts of the city’s active travel investments for citizens.
“A lot of the time, we can measure success in kilometres of infrastructure, but without meaningful data before and after, we don’t truly understand how lives are changing,” he said.
Jack is particularly interested in how cross-sector collaboration and shared data can support more equitable, trusted and impactful interventions in urban health and wellbeing.
Healthy urbanism and sustainable mobility
Jack’s work sits at the intersection of population health, data governance and innovation, supporting projects that explore how urban systems can support and enable long-term behavioural change.
“There’s a huge opportunity in understanding how the relationship between transport infrastructures, systems design and community engagement in particular can help shape healthier habits and lifestyles over time,” he said.
He is also especially interested in exploring emerging concepts such as blue zones and how their principles might inform new approaches for city health and longevity.
“There’s something powerful about understanding what enables people to live healthier, more connected lives over the long term – and what cities can learn from that,” he said.
Developing through the Emerging Leaders program
Jack was drawn to the Emerging Leaders program for its focus on diverse voices that don’t typically sit at the same table.
“There’s real value in bringing together people who are facing similar emerging challenges in completely different contexts, sectors and scales,” he said.
Jack is particularly keen to develop skills in systems thinking, shared governance and cross-sector collaboration pathways, while also expanding his European and global applied research networks for healthier, more connected and more resilient urban environments.
“People and organisations can go further together in ways that they never could alone. For me, this program is about building that collective capacity to create meaningful, measurable change,” he said.
EIT Urban Mobility Emerging Leaders
Launched in 2024, the EIT Urban Mobility Emerging Leaders program is transforming the leadership landscape.
Submit an Expression of Interest for your organisation to join the next cohort of EIT Urban Mobility Emerging Leaders.
For any queries, please get in touch emerging.leaders@rmit.edu.au.