Minutes:
A presentation was provided which set out a high level technological strategy to support the drive of Lincoln’s future inclusive growth, building on its tech-enriched assets. Initial guiding principles of the strategy were that it:
· was based on Lincoln’s core identity;
· gained a true understanding of the asset base and the gaps that needed to be addressed;
· included diversity, inclusivity, net zero and ethical use of data by design;
· found ways in which it could feed into improving and/or reducing delivery cost to citizens;
· consisted of a balanced portfolio of tech-driven actions to pilot and evaluate considering data-drive local policies;
· was future-proofed by considering technological trends and challenges, mapping them to ‘analogue’ actions.
Key stakeholder engagement included in-depth reviews, a two-part digital workshop to validate, booster and map and explore proposed pilot actions and a survey to prioritise and adjust the pilot actions with members of the Town Deal Board and Delivery Board. The strategy would also be aligned with other city strategies, including:
· the Lincoln Economic Evidence Base 2020;
· the Lincoln Transport Strategy 2020 – 2026;
· the Town Deal Survey 2020;
· The Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Local Industrial Strategy (Draft) 2019 and Evidence Base.
The principal aim of the strategy was noted as being ‘to drive Lincoln’s transition to a city that embraces the opportunities presented by the digital economy through a balanced portfolio of pilot actions that can be deployed, evaluated for impact and scaled to underpin renewal and sustainable growth, built around the framework of a Living Lab.
The strategy consisted of four objectives, as follows:
· to design and deploy a tech-friendly environment that built on Lincoln’s infrastructure, technological and data assets to attract key technology players and start-ups and increase Lincoln’s tech profile;
· to explore the value of technology and innovative approaches and source innovative solutions to policy and social challenges underpinning the growth of the Lincoln tech ecosystem;
· to raise the digital skills levels of SMEs and citizens, building in resilience in the transition to the new digital economy and enabling them to benefit from the opportunities it could bring;
· to invest in intelligent, connected infrastructure and technology to support productivity growth and the continued development of critical mass of skilled labour.
Three boosters had also been identified, as follows:
· tech and data – actions and pilots that strengthened Lincoln’s ability to become a tech hub and open its own data to the technological community to derive value for Lincoln;
· net zero and city – tech-enabled actions and pilots that supported effective delivery of public sector services and/or supported Lincoln’s journey towards a net zero and intelligent city;
· people and skills – actions and pilots that increased the digital skills base across Lincoln’s different communities, ensuring inclusiveness and diversity.
Pilot actions within each of the three booster groups had been mapped out in conjunction with the strategy’s four objectives.
It was noted that the strategy represented a tech-driven approach and built on Towns Fund proposals, turning physical capital proposals into tech-enabled assets and infrastructure whilst also being holistic and building or capitalising on the interests and outcomes that each action would generate. It was a high-level document with the overall timeline being relatively broad and subject to further discussions with lead organisations, with the respective budget also being indicative.
An essential element of the strategy was the Programme Management Office as this would ensure alignment with what may already exist and facilitate redirection where necessary. It would also ensure alignment between pilot actions and that they were able to build on each other’s achievements to create a strong, credible and inclusive technological narrative for Lincoln, as well as undertake a key scouting role for funding and resourcing opportunities.
Further details were included as part of the presentation in relation to the Pilot Action Roadmap, setting out a summary of proposed projects and indicative costs within each of the four objectives of the strategy.
The budget associated with the strategy was indicative at this stage and would require further refinement to understand costs, co-funding, match funding and leverage as projects further developed. It was noted that some pilot actions should generate either revenue or offer efficiency gains.
Leo-Scott Smith said that this strategy was about how to attract talent into Lincoln as a city and that the last two months had seen organisations perform huge levels of digital transformation in response to the coronavirus outbreak. People had demonstrated very successfully that they could work from home or work remotely. It would therefore be critical for Lincoln to offer co-working space, similar to that of the mosaic hub. He also believed that there would now be little demand for contained office space.
Ursula Lidbetter noted that there had been a high level of recruitment in the digital economy throughout the pandemic. Areas in this sector had continued to be successful and grow significantly, with Mary Stuart citing Zoom as an example of an organisation whose share price had rapidly increased over the last two months.
Mary Stuart added that the original concept around the digital work stream and associated projects was based on Lincoln being known as a place where new digital ideas could be tried, tested and developed. The strategy effectively sought to create an environment to make this happen and was estimated to cost approximately £62 million.
Leo-Scott Smith commended the work undertaken and felt that it was a really strong proposal which needed established companies to drive opportunities for digital growth in the city, itself ultimately helping to create new start-up businesses in Lincoln.
Caroline Killeavy was of the opinion that the strategy consisted of a good collection of projects which should deliver very positive outcomes and impacts.
It was RESOLVED that the presentation be noted.