The Digital Strategy is based around seven primary objectives:

• Building world-class digital infrastructure for the UK
• Giving everyone access to the digital skills they need
• Making the UK the best place to start and grow a digital business
• Helping every British business become a digital business
• Making the UK the safest place in the world to live and work online
• Unlocking the power of data in the UK economy and improving public confidence in its use
• Maintaining the UK government as a world leader in serving its citizens online

Responding to government challenges

Business and digital leaders from across the county were invited to Pinewood Studio’s to take part in a think-tank discussion to explore how Buckinghamshire is currently responding to the challenges set by government, to highlight where we were doing well and to consider where additional effort and resources could best be placed in the development of a Buckinghamshire Digital Strategy.

The event was organised through a partnership between Buckinghamshire Business First and Buckinghamshire Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership (BTVLEP), the business-led 'partnership of equals' between local government and the private sector that builds the conditions for sustainable economic growth in the county.

'Government legislation required' say businesses

The debate kicked off with a discussion in relation to the local delivery of digital infrastructure. BTVLEP, together with the Local Authorities in Buckinghamshire, have invested heavily in the broadband infrastructure in the county through the Connected Counties programme delivered by Buckinghamshire Business First, with a result that over 90% of local households now have access to superfast services. There was a realisation that this level of investment could not continue as homes and businesses strive for ever faster connections and that better intelligence was needed to help target future investment and show where digital connectivity, including both fixed line and cellular capacity, was available. Businesses also wanted to see government legislate to ensure that communications providers share infrastructure resources so that customers are provided with seamless roaming mobile coverage as they travel across the county.

Start digital training as early as possible

The discussion highlighted the need for digital training to start at as young an age as possible with primary schools being encouraged to join the Code Club network, and that inspiration should continue throughout a pupil's educational life. The group learned about the exciting new plans to develop the Artificial Intelligence curriculum at the University of Buckingham and the potential being offered by the new Digital Incubation hub at the University Campus Aylesbury Vale.

Buckinghamshire’s digital economy is already strong, with Berkshire being the only other county in England with a greater percentage of its workforce employed in this sector. We learned of a growing number of tech businesses that had recently relocated out of London, attracted by the better quality of life and more affordable business premises offered within Buckinghamshire. James York from Worry & Peace is a typical example of this recent movement and has already made strides to foster collaboration within the sector under the “Bucks Tech” banner, quickly pulling together over 100 businesses keen to learn from each-other. James said: “There is vast potential in this sector here in Buckinghamshire, but as with many sectors the biggest barrier to growth is investment finance and the ability to access shared servers and incubation facilities. By working together with Buckinghamshire Business First and partners, we want to overcome these barriers and highlight the scope of the digital sector in Buckinghamshire and broaden the appeal for potential investors."

A positive example of data sharing

The session concluded with a discussion on how data held in the county could be made more readily available to the wider business and entrepreneurial community. The benefit of this approach was shown by a fantastic recent example, where Buckinghamshire County Council had opened up some of its data resources in a community hackathon and had benefited through the development of a new app to report on school closures in poor weather. The young developer of the app was spotted by a local tech company and was instantly offered a job as the result of his efforts.

If you would like to contribute to the debate on how Buckinghamshire can develop its digital economy, send you thoughts to research@bbf.uk.com