Key themes and outcomes

Key themes and core capabilities

A review of digital strategies across the UK and beyond presents an array of ambition, priorities and scope. Our research shows the overwhelming focus is on improvement in the local quality of life, linked to improvements in economic opportunity, community engagement and integration, and a reduction in the environmental footprint.

They highlight common challenges faced, economic, political, and environmental, but there is also a common set of core capabilities that are essential to success, pursued with different priorities. Understanding and having a focus on these core capabilities provides us a framework to help structure our roadmap and deliver our goals.

Outcomes

There are many outcomes we can envisage if we deliver all of the above. By building on those capabilities and continuing to develop the strategy with our partners we believe together we can achieve the following five outcomes within five years. These are:

• All premises across the district, domestic, business and academic have access to affordable gigabit capable connectivity and Bradford District is one of the first areas in the UK that mobile operators look to when implementing their new generation of mobile technology (5G, 6G, 7G).
• There is a high density of high tech companies, a thriving Green Economy of entrepreneurs with less reliance on legacy industries such as low tech manufacturing and low wage service sectors. Bradford is home to several new businesses, from start-ups and SMEs to larger businesses actively developing, adopting and applying new technologies to identify new service applications, commercial products, disease diagnoses, improving health and tackling climate change. The AI Innovation Partnership is well established having a great impact making the district a leader in innovation and creating skills and employment opportunities through the attraction and creation of highly innovative companies.
• A smart city architecture together with advanced analytics tools is supporting a ‘whole systems’ approach to service planning across the district in areas such as Environment (air quality, flooding, ground temp), Transport (traffic management, parking, fleet tracking), Health (movement and activity monitoring for elderly), Energy, Buildings management and many other areas to improve the everyday lives of our citizens.
• Bradford District is a recognised leader of Citizen Science and a global centre for research backed by a number of prestigious awards for its work with citizen science and public policy. The digital twin application provides a 3D model of the district, and is now having a profound impact on a number of fields, from local architecture and urban development to healthcare, manufacturing and cultural heritage.
• We have closed the attainment gap for disadvantaged learners, so that each of our communities are able to access and progress in learning, and experience the economic benefits of being part of a highly skilled, diverse and flexible workforce. An inspired student population, increased apprenticeship uptake for ICT, growth of graduate skills retention in the region and provision of more work-ready students to support the West Yorkshire economy.