THE appointment of John Rundle as the interim director of Newcastle Science City will bring a sense of stability to the project in the wake of Dr Peter Arnold’s abrupt departure from the top job.

On the face of it, his CV seems well suited to the challenge of leading a scheme which is coming to terms with the impending demise of One North East, one of its three partners and funders. His practical experience of establishing and organising partnership structures is probably just what is needed, even if it may seem a rather mundane element of the overall Science City vision compared with, for example, the exciting (albeit rather costly) Innovation Machine so heavily championed by Dr Arnold.

The change in faces at the top of Science City reflects the new priorities of the project, however. The two key partners – Newcastle University and Newcastle City Council – remain committed to making it happen, but all involved have been forced to readjust to the economic circumstances of the moment.

And so, while the grandiose buildings promised for the Science Central site may well materialise at some point, we are now encouraged to see the Science City project in a much broader sense. For the university, that means its pioneering work in the fields of ageing, life sciences and sustainability – all of which have public health benefits and the potential for lucrative commercial spin-outs.

And for the city and wider region it means tapping into that world-leading expertise on our doorstep as well as developments such as the infrastructure for electric vehicles and the offshore renewables industries associated with the north bank of the Tyne, as well as making the most of Newcastle’s status as Britain’s most sustainable city.

Brought together under the Science City banner, it’s a compelling story and one which can justifiably be used to sell the region to the wider world – helping to attract bright students, entrepreneurs and inward investors.

In a national economy where every region proclaims to be at the forefront of emerging sectors such as renewables, packaging our star assets in this manner is a good move. But it does feel quite different from the Science City vision that we were sold at the outset and managing expectations will be one of the biggest challenges facing Mr Rundle.

He has a big task ahead of him. But he has the credentials to help guide this project through this tricky time.

:: Andrew Hebden is head of business at The Journal. Follow him on Twitter @andrewhebden