Bradford Council has launched a new Digital Strategy for the district which will help to drive forward its social and economic future.
The 5-year plan sets out how the council will develop the digital infrastructure, skills and businesses needed to continue to build a thriving and connected district.
The strategy was launched at the Museum of Science and Media at an event attended by partners from the public, private, and education sectors and included speakers from the museum, the universities of Bradford and Leeds and Microsoft UK.
The strategy sets an ambitious but pragmatic approach to developing Bradford District’s digital capabilities and raising its ambition on digital growth in four key areas:
Connected District: this sets the aim to achieve full fibre Gigabit capable connectivity across the District by 2027. This will result in all domestic, business and academic premises across the district having access to affordable gigabit capable connectivity. It will also ensure that Bradford is one of the first places in the UK that mobile operators look to when implementing new mobile technology. This will help support the City of Culture events programme which will attract significant numbers of visitors to the district.
Bradford Council will also build on its investment in its “Internet of Things” digital infrastructure. Examples of this include using sensor technologies to measure air quality, measure water levels to support flood prevention, or congestion sensors supporting improved traffic management, and, smart parking solutions. The priority applications for Bradford District will be determined in consultation with citizens to ensure focus is on issues that matter to people in the district.
Data-driven decision making: this includes developing the tools and capabilities to harness the power of data, from many sources to support better decision making in operational and service planning. An example of this is the Digital Twin project, which created a 3D virtual model of the city centre. This virtual model will help urban planning and will be rolled out across the district.
Digital economy: sets out the District’s plans to support innovation, with a proposal to develop a more collaborative partnership focusing on AI Innovation and providing a one stop digital shop for the district to attract inward investment. Growing the digital economy will help attract external high tech companies to the district. Alongside this the council will develop the skills needed for digital growth.
One of the successful initiatives already making good progress is Digital Makers, a whole-system place-based approach – bringing schools together with industry, policy makers, universities, cultural organisations, and the NHS to learn how to transform digital education for young people.
Digital inclusion: aims to ensure that no resident in the district is digitally excluded. This means that every resident will have: access to a device; an affordable and adequate digital connection, and the basic digital skills to use these. This plan includes coordinating activities across the district on inclusion, building capacity through a network of digital champions, provision of subsidy schemes on devices and data and directing efforts to key priorities.
The strategy’s goals will be achieved by working in partnership with all communities, industry and government.
Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s executive member for regeneration, planning and transport, said: “The Digital Strategy for 2022-2027 will help our district transition as a community and place into the future where it has integrated the best of digital and smart technologies to improve the lives of the citizens of Bradford District and support the district’s priorities for Clean Growth.
“The focus is on getting the foundations right, building capability in emerging technologies and lifting our ambition through digital growth priorities. We are delivering a number of large physical infrastructure projects in Bradford and this strategy helps ensure that our digital infrastructure matches this.
“As the district makes the changes necessary to keep pace with a digitally transforming world, it’s important we bring all our communities along with us. We need to make sure our residents, including our young people, see and experience the benefits of digital and smart technologies and that we are able to meet the technological expectations of our community.
“Digital technology provides an opportunity for a brighter future for Bradford District, helping it to become an innovative and resilient world class leader. It is hoped this strategy provides a coherent framework and a “call to arms” to focus our collective efforts to achieve that aim.”
Glen Robinson, national technology officer, Microsoft UK, said: “Successful digital transformation relies on starting with a small set of tangible use cases where the impact of applying technology is clear.
“The team at Bradford Council is taking a pragmatic approach, laying the necessary foundations, leveraging their strengths in areas they are already mature in, and applying all they have learnt to additional challenges and opportunities.
“Given the current economic climate, it’s critical that organisations leverage technology to make data-driven decisions, which create efficiencies and boost productivity. I’m excited to see the impact technology will have for the citizens of Bradford.”
