Developing Vision for Bradford District

1. Laying the foundations for success - by creating the environment to prosper. This includes investing in digital infrastructure and the foundation platforms needed to build a smart district and achieve our clean growth
2. Building our capabilities in emerging technologies - such as industry 0 technologies, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and other emerging technologies driving future productivity to ensure Bradford District’s citizens benefit from technology development and its use.
3. Lifting our ambitions on digital growth - building an environment where we can be confident in setting and achieving high aspirations in developing as a recognised Global Hub for Data / Citizen Science and a dynamic and emerging technology sector.

We are ambitious, but also take a pragmatic approach to deliver clearly identifiable results in achievable stages. In the short-term there is a focus on governance, baselining, a focus on engaging with stakeholders to form partnerships and an effective approach to selecting and prioritising digital projects, building on existing initiatives, setting clear targets for activity, and clarity of roles in advancing the digital agenda. This will build on the many achievements

to date discussed under each theme. Medium term we will see executable programme development and delivery of the more ambitious projects, secured inward investment and working in collaboration with stakeholders. Longer term is scaling up initiatives for growth and innovation and measuring and reflecting on progress and impacts.

Whilst this strategy is focused on laying the foundations, it also proposes steps we can take now in order to begin improving our capabilities and lifting our ambitions. What are those core capabilities, what is our maturity assessment against them, can we prioritise those which builds on our strengths and where we can deliver progress as we emerge from the constraining landscape subjected by the pandemic?

It is in this spirit that this strategy document is published as the first part of the strategic journey. There is still a need to develop, as a collective group of stakeholders, a vision for Bradford District on how it wishes to digitally transform and use these new technologies. The core capabilities we seek to progress now will support that emerging vision. What ‘smart city’ use cases emerge will be determined by our citizens’ priorities and contributing to our clean growth aspirations. In our view it would have been very difficult to develop all that detail in one go and would have been likely to be counter-productive. There is much still to collaborate and consult on our strategic and tactical thinking and this document should be seen in that context.

It is our intention to work with all stakeholders to develop further these capabilities and the next stage of the strategy. It is hoped this document acts as a call to arms to work with our partners on a programme to develop our strategic thinking further and produce an effective roadmap integrated to our Local Plan and Clean Growth Delivery Framework. The Council will put in place a development framework to enable this.