Summary
The article below summarises work on the Digital Glasgow Strategy published in Oct 2018, and how implementation has adapted to the changing demands of COVID-19. Other articles in this section provide a more detailed look into specific projects within Digital Glasgow.
Making A Difference
Despite the impact of pandemic, Glasgow has been recognised as one of the UK’s top 3 fasting growing tech investment hubs, with tech companies attracting £43m in venture capital in 2021 (up 156% from £16.8m in 2019). For full detail on the impact of Digital Glasgow, read the reports available at the base of this article.
The Digital Glasgow Strategy, published in October 2018, sets out our priorities and commitments to developing Glasgow’s digital economy and transforming our public services through the use of digital technology. It is a bold and comprehensive strategy that recognises the rate and scale of technological change and the opportunities for (and challenges to) global economies society, and the delivery of public services. It sets out a vision for Glasgow to be;
“A world class city with a thriving digital economy and community, where everyone can flourish and benefit from the best digital connectivity and skills, where technology is used to improve everyone’s quality of life, drive businesses’ innovation and service design and improve our city, its neighbourhoods and its success”.
Since the publication of the strategy, two annual reports have been produced which cover implementation progress, major delivery achievements, challenges and barriers to implementation, impact of COVID-19, and key recommendations moving forward.
The 2020 Digital Glasgow Annual Report recognised that a key focus in its first two years had been putting in place foundations, driving forward select key transformation programmes, and supporting the initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In it, ten priorities were set for 2021 that aimed to react to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and increase collaboration and partnership working in the Digital space in the city.
- Align focus to COVID-19 Recovery and Renewal Plans,
- Increase partnership working for Digital Inclusion and Participation,
- Supporting and Developing Glasgow’s Tech Cluster,
- Implement the Digital Skills recommendation,
- Continue to focus on Digital Inclusion,
- Continue to focus on attracting investment in digital connectivity,
- Renew focus on open data and innovation,
- Implement the Digital Maturity action plan,
- Evolve the transformation programme,
- Enhance the ecosystem for Smart City innovation.
COVID-19 continues to have a major impact on the implementation of the strategy. As discussed in the 2020 report, the consequences of the pandemic and lockdown have introduced new challenges, such as digital exclusion, and have necessitated delaying implementation in some areas while accelerating the implementation of the strategy in others.
A review of Digital Skills was published by Skills Development Scotland in 2020. The report made a number of recommendations to improve the digital skills pipeline. In June 2021, Skills Development Scotland appointed a dedicated Digital Skills Planning Manager for Glasgow to support the Industry Engagement and Employability Support for the Glasgow Code Learning programme. The Programme manager works at a strategic level with Industry, Education, GCC and the enterprise and skills network to implement SDS contribution to the Digital Young Persons guarantee and act as an advocate for SDS and Glasgow City Council digital product and service offer to industry.
Glasgow Code Learning has continued to offer a free, flexibly delivered pathway of digital skills qualifications having moved all course delivery online from April 2020. The programme has put additional support in place to ensure that prospective students who do not have home internet access can access the kit and connectivity they need to participate. Despite the limitations imposed by Covid related restrictions Glasgow Code learning has supported 329 learners over the past 12 months.
Delivering basic digital skills has been problematic over the period of the pandemic, as access to group learning spaces in libraries and other community venues has been severely restricted. In the absence of this essential resource for those who lack the essential digital skills to engage with online learning and support, one-to-one support from digital volunteers has become increasingly important.
The Digital Glasgow Board agreed to establish a new working group for Digital Inclusion and Participation in February 2021 and this now meets on a quarterly basis. The working group is attended by elected members and has membership from a range of city stakeholder including City Colleges, Glasgow Life, Glasgow City Council and many more. The initial focus for the group has been on gathering and assessing current digital inclusion activity in the city to ensure equity of access and support, fill gaps in provision and explore opportunities for joint working.
Recognising the importance of a good digital connectivity foundation, Glasgow is the first city in the UK to establish a Telecoms Unit with the sole purpose of supporting continued and growing investment in digital infrastructure into Glasgow. This serves as a single point of entry to the Council to engage with all organisations investing in digital infrastructure. This pro-active industry engagement has already yielded significant results in both attracting investment and enabling the roll-out of 5G, full fibre and enhancement of existing infrastructure. This will provide the necessary connectivity foundation to further the ambitions of Glasgow for innovation, support all our businesses and drive inclusive economic growth.
To manage the consequences of the pandemic, Glasgow City Council has had to prioritise service delivery to those who needed it most, whilst at the same time initiating its own business continuity plan. Digital, ICT and data staff have been at the centre of support the initial response to, and recovery from the pandemic. The Digital Glasgow Strategy places the importance of digital inclusion, accessibility, ethics, transparency and privacy. Supporting the United Nations principle that digital rights are human rights for the digital era, Glasgow joined the Cities for Digital Rights in November 2019 to become a signatory of the Declaration for Cities for Digital Rights and to collaborate with global cities.
Glasgow has faced many obstacles over the last 2 years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, has still managed to overcome these barriers and is now beginning to shift focus to the priorities the pandemic forced aside. For a comprehensive and extensive catalogue of the progress made through the Digital Strategy, please follow the links to the Digital Glasgow: 2020 Review and Digital Glasgow: 2021 Review.
