Exploiting Opportunities
The North is a key contributor to the UK’s rapidly growing digital economy and is well place to driver future growth. As a region, we possess huge digital strengths including big data and data analytics, artificial intelligence, FinTech, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, and health.
However, there are also challenges in skills and connectivity we need to tackle so that digital can make its full contribution to economic competitiveness and inclusion.
The NP11’s Digital Proposition identifies the potential to add £10bn to the UK economy by capitalising on the opportunities presented by the North’s digital assets, while tackling the key challenges mentioned. This will support the UK’s aims of becoming a digital world leader.
Our Ambition
We want to unlock the potential of digital across the North to create new sources of growth and skilled jobs – not just in digital industries but across all sectors.
We support the recommendations of the UK Tech Cluster Group’s Roadmap for Recovery that digital support must respond to the specific needs of local areas and increase opportunities for entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs to bring digital innovations to market.
The NP11 and partners are focussed on expanding opportunities in infrastructure, tech and skills by:
- Ensuring every home has access to full-fibre broadband by 2030
- Supporting digital business to scale-up and innovate
- By 2030 every child should be digitally literate by the time they finish full-time education
Our other priorities include growing the North’s digital sector and strengthening supply chains, helping SMEs to adopt digital technologies, and upskilling employees to overcome challenges in digital infrastructure.
Spreading innovation and best practice by supporting northern tech industry networks is key to building a reliable, up-to-date evidence base about the North’s digital offer, so that leaders can take informed decisions and invest in the infrastructure required to support the North’s communities.
