The report of the Chief Executive (Document “J”) will be submitted to the Board to inform Members of the ambitious programme of activity for Bradford District, through the lens of three central pillars

1.    Laying the foundations for success

2.    Improving our capabilities in emerging technologies

3.    Lifting our ambitions on digital growth

Recommended –

1.     That the Board notes the Strategy, provide feedback on themes, gaps, activities.

2.     That the Board endorses and support its aim and objectives

3.     That the Board is the ultimate Strategy Board and receive annual reports to the Wellbeing Board on progress of the implementation of the Digital strategy based on the outcomes of the delivery plan.

4.     That the Board encourages and support stakeholder collaboration and co-ordination in the relevant activities set out in the strategy roadmap and be a focal point to ensure all dots are connected.

5.     That the Board supports the formal launch of the strategy in June to be confirmed

6.     That the Board commits to contributing to a future stakeholder visioning session on the Smart Place vision for Bradford District.

(Paul Wilson – 07812 490703)

The report of the Chief Executive (Document “J”) was submitted to the Board to provide Members with details of the programme of activity for the Bradford District to transition it into an area with upgraded, smart technologies to improve the lives of local residents and to support the District’s clean growth ambitions.

The report provided a summary and further details of the three central pillars of the programme:

·         Laying the foundations for success

·         Improving our capabilities in emerging technologies

·         Lifting our Ambitions on digital growth

The strategy would support the District Plan and Economic and Clean Growth ambitions and included a range of collaborative initiatives that would support the delivery of Bradford District becoming one of the UK’s smart cities and leading digital economies.

Initiatives ranged from those already underway, pipeline projects with planned investments to those that required a collective ambition, collaboration with partners and business case led strategic investment in funding and commitment.

The documents provided in the appendices gave a comprehensive account of additional context and details under the main three pillars and the programme being delivered by 2027. The report identified five work streams that included a programme of activity and roadmap that set out how the overall aims would be achieved.  The workstreams are summarised below.

·         Connected and Smart District

·         Data-Driven Decision Making

·         Low Carbon Infrastructure

·         Digital Economy

·         Digital inclusion

The report appendices contained suggested recommendations for the Board and details of the next steps.

Members were then given the opportunity to comment and ask questions, the details of which and the responses received, are as below.

·                The difference it would make was encapsulated with adequate connectivity across the District (especially rural areas)

·                Local manufacturing businesses – would need to adopt new technology – automated/AI which would provide resilience in the District’s economy

·                Members provided positive feedback on the overall aim and ambitions of the strategy and were keen to engage and understand how the programme would support the District’s communications and businesses to gain advantage over its competitors

·                A Member asked if it would be possible for the District to host data centres and the benefits and impact of these to help the digital economy

·         Officers responded that this needed further consideration and detailed discussion in a future meeting to better understand the environmental impact of physical data centres. The strategy was due to be planned over the following months.

·                The district possessed huge data assets which needed to be harnessed and utilised in a coherent way, a place based approach where we collectively maximise opportunities was supported by the Board.

·         Individually, organisation data leads had been engaged and although there were some areas of overlap, the datasets themselves were complex and work was being undertaken to ensure that there was alignment.

·                The Chief Executive suggested that there was a likely need for the development of Stakeholder Board to feed back to the Wellbeing Board

·         Some mapping work needed to be undertaken to understand how many people were digitally excluded.

·                The representative from VCS stated that the immediate challenge was in residents accessing services, and to what extent were we capturing and acting on measures to give those unable, to access data and technology?

·      Officers responded as follows: The issues related to access, connectivity, devices and skills, which were difficult to provide an answer on all barriers due to the complexity of issues.  The key elements of who were excluded needed to be identified for device access.  Connectivity could be mapped but not devices and skills to access it.  Investment was included to support school children especially during the pandemic.  Some sections of the community were excluded but were being targeted through specific support to bridge the inequality.   The University of Bradford was working on the mapping and the researchers’ reports would be presented to any Programme Board to action

·                The West Yorkshire Police representative was positive about the strategy and observed that safeguards against cyber-crime, such as the potential vulnerability of children to exploitation was a risk, work would need to be undertaken to support young people and their families the skills to keep them safe.  The other issue would be fraud, both of these issues would need mitigation to safeguard users from both areas of concern.  Online exploitation and radicalisation were both ongoing concerns and there were established mechanisms in place to manage these however, any additional work was welcome

·      Officers advised that cyber security and data abuse was a big focus and there were a range of issues being addressed.  Discussions were taking place around cyber security to develop a policy and safeguards to address these issues.  A follow up meeting with the university and business representatives was imminent.  The Programme Manager was now driving inclusion workstreams and a report would be going to the Board on engagement with VCS and community champions

·                The Board agreed that the focus on young people was positive with good linkage into education

·                A member sought clarification of whether 5G would be rolled out to towns

·      Officers advised that the University and Bradford Council were working collaboratively on initiatives to close the skills gap.  There were steps already being taken to procure the services of a network partner to stimulate 5G network connectivity.  The rollout of a fibre network to support 5G would also be managed through with the network company

·                An Operations Board for this programme needed to be established and to be a standing item at the Wellbeing Executive meetings.  It was also recommended that further work be established to map and understand the digital divide

Resolved -

1.     That the Board noted the Strategy, provided feedback on themes, gaps, activities.

2.     That the Board endorsed and supported its aim and objectives

3.     That the Board was the ultimate Strategy Board and would receive annual reports to the Wellbeing Board on progress of the implementation of the Digital strategy based on the outcomes of the delivery plan.

4.     That the Board encouraged and supported stakeholder collaboration and co-ordination in the relevant activities set out in the strategy roadmap and be a focal point to ensure that the strategy was connected to wider initiatives and workstreams 

4.1       That the Strategy was a standing item at the Wellbeing Executive in the form of a workstream focused on data and digital strategy

4.2      That a mapping exercise of the digital divide be undertaken and produced

4.3      That further work be facilitated to enable better understanding of cyber security and online safety to support the ambitions of the strategy

4.4       That a set of Metrics were produced to demonstrate the be progress made on the digital agenda

5.     That the Board supported the formal launch of the strategy in June (to be confirmed)

6.     That the Board was committed to contributing to a future stakeholder visioning session on the Smart Place vision for Bradford District.

Action: Chief Executive/Wellbeing Board