Delivered by:

Norfolk and Suffolk Council for Digital Tech - Minutes

Chair: Neil Miles

Date: Wednesday 1

December 2021 Time: 14:15–16:00

Videoconference (Teams)

Present

Neil Miles, Inawisdom (Chair)

Julian Munson, New Anglia LEP

Fiona Lettice, UEA

Chris Sargisson, Norfolk Chamber

Mark Thomas, Coderus

Sarah Steed, Norwich University of the Arts

Eoin Marsh, Tech Nation

James Allen, New Anglia LEP

John Fagan, Scribe / Sync Norwich

Tim Robinson, Tech East

Viv Gillespie, New Anglia Colleges Gp.

Beccy Coombs, Ipswich Borough Council

Apologies

Marlon Bowser, HTK

Chris Starkie, New Anglia LEP

John Dugmore, Suffolk Chamber

James Duez, Rainbird

Dominic Keen, Britbots

Dean Withey, Ubisend

Steve Kierney, Epos Now

Ellen Tilney, Norwich City Council

Peter Brady, Orbital Media

John Nicholson, West Suffolk College

Lisa Perkins, BT

Jai Raithatha, Suffolk County Council

Catherine Richards, New Anglia Colleges Gp.

Anette Gilham, Ipswich Borough Council

Roberta Willner, Norfolk County Council

Welcome and apologies

Neil Miles welcomed everyone to the meeting and noted apologies received.

Workstream Progress Updates (Tim Robinson & Julian Munson)

Delivered by:

Skills and talent (Tim Robinson):

• Digital Skills Task Force meeting next in January and will be employer-led. The focus

areas for the Task Force are non-traditional pathways (including bootcamps);

supporting effective business to provider interactions; and industry placements

(including T-Levels).

• At the previous Council meeting, Catherine Richards mentioned the challenges

around flexible starts and the need for January starts on top of September starts.

This is being covered by the Task Force.

• A number of sixth form and FE colleges have been in touch to promote opportunities

for industry placements. Colleges are finding it difficult to find businesses for

placements and businesses need more clarity around it all.

• There have been a number of new capital projects that have opened with the

University of Suffolk DigiTech Centre at Adastral Park; Productivity East at UEA; the

DigiTech Factory at City College Norwich; and Suffolk New College’s Tech Campus.

• Short courses are being delivered locally to support with upskilling and reskilling, with

ICET short courses available for SMEs at the University of Suffolk and NUA is

developing three short courses around creative computing and UX design.

• The decision on the Institute of Technology bid is still pending.

• Still waiting to hear on local digital skills partnerships given we have always said that

we want one for this region.

• The skills agenda feeds into Levelling Up and digital skills in the region are an

unresolved problem.

Mark Thomas suggested that advisers who could fill in forms for industrial placements on

behalf of companies would be extremely valuable. This would deliver against the needs of

both educational institutions and companies.

Neil Miles stated that access to talent is the number one challenge for businesses.

Julian Munson informed the Council that the LEP is engaging with policymakers on

innovation and levelling up given the comprehensive spending review statement around

funding being distributed mainly outside of London, the South East and East of England.

Connected Innovation Programme (Julian Munson & Tim Robinson):

• Good progress has been made to date on the Connected Innovation Programme.

• Scott Cogman was appointed as Innovation Hubs Coordinator.

• The Peer Network group was launched with key innovation centres/hubs and there

are further opportunities for innovation centres, such as the Broadland Food

Innovation Centre, to come onboard.

• Capability mapping has been completed across all of the innovation hubs in the

network and related to the Government’s Innovation Strategy.

• Events that we are running are related to the seven technology families identified in

the national Innovation Strategy.

• Hub events will be delivered across the innovation hubs and clusters, with a

particularly interesting focus around cross-sector innovation.

• An online portal will be launched with a centralised platform for events across the

innovation hubs. Case studies and promotional activity will be developed.

• A tech suite is being installed at both Hethel Engineering Centre and OrbisEnergy.

• A LinkedIn Network Group has been established to encourage a community.

• Events on the horizon include Healthtech and space technologies.

Delivered by:

Norfolk and Suffolk Economic Strategy (James Allen)

James Allen:

• As mentioned previously, the Economic Strategy consolidates the existing strategies

and plans into one, further refining our ambitions and strengths, focusing actions and

interventions where the biggest gains and impact can be achieved. It is designed to

be agile so that we can react to the continually changing landscape being able to

adapt the actions and interventions as the circumstances change.

• The Strategy sets out Norfolk and Suffolk's potential at a regional level providing a

framework for partners to develop plans specific to their geography, sector, or

institution. Much of the delivery will take place through these plans.

• The Strategy will be accompanied by a much larger evidence report which sets out

the evidence and the assets. We will also be publishing an interactive data platform

which will have some of this evidence. The platform will be agile and kept up to date

so that partners can interrogate up to date evidence down to district level where it is

available.

• We have held 110 engagement sessions including 1-2-1’s, workshops and meetings

with over 600 people have engaged and provide input to the plan.

• Many thanks for your feedback which came in ahead of last Friday’s deadline. We

are reviewing this feedback now but plan to have the final draft ready to go to design

2nd week of December ahead of it going to public sector leaders in January for

endorsement and the LEP Board on 26th January for sign off.

Roundtable Updates:

Delivered by:

Mark Thomas:

• Future grants on offer do not seem to support tech businesses as equipment which is

key for these businesses does not seem to be covered.

• Things are beginning to show encouragement, but tentative signs. Everybody is still

cautious.

• Challenge for businesses – anyone middle to top is being targeted with recruitment

packages.

John Fagan:

• Did not know much about T-Levels until now. Invited to provide feedback on Access

Creative College, which was great. Holding all SyncNorwich events there now. Last

event had about 50 attendees, hoping this sparks more business engagement for

them.

• Salaries seem to be going up, which is affecting our USP as a region that it is

cheaper to hire key roles here. Seeing six figure salaries being advertised in

engineering roles in Norwich.

• Hired a couple of Turkish engineers who are excellent and still looking abroad, with

aspirations to relocate staff to Norfolk. These salaries are much cheaper than what

we are seeing in the UK.

Neil Miles:

• Salary increases are crazy. Seeing six-figure salaries for technical roles. Tech

business are seeing a significant rise in salary costs, mainly down to skills shortages.

• Constantly competing at London market rates.

• Recently lost two graduates they had trained up, which both received significant pay

rises and can work from home.

Fiona Lettice:

• Seeing similar challenges at the University’s IT department.

Sarah Steed:

• We therefore need help to put on the right courses to support industry. We are not

getting the right messages across to young students about how exciting the sector is

and salaries involved. Courses are nowhere near full. LEP keen to help address this

and support e.g., via the Enterprise Advisors Network, engaging with schools.

Membership of the Council & Next Steps (Julian Munson & Neil Miles):

Delivered by:

• Coming up to three years for the Council for Digital Tech. Neil will be stepping down

at the three-year point and remain an active member of the Council.

• The LEP remains committed to the Industry Councils as a platform to influence

strategy development, influence national policy and develop business support.

• Asked members of the Council their thoughts on the future of the Council:

o John Fagan: learned a lot from these meetings. Sometimes the action feels

far away. It could be a good idea to have half tech and half other sectors as

the make up of the Council to consider how tech can support them. Virtual

meetings are much better and would welcome one informal physical meeting

per year.

o Mark Thomas: would like to see the innovation centres brought into the fold

without duplicating the Connected Innovation network. Potential to include a

representative on the Council. Could use some of the big developer events

and participate with the tech community for valuable feedback/input.

o Fiona Lettice: would like to see projects developed for the coming years,

covering topics like apprenticeships, business-university connections, tech as

an enabler for cross-sector digitalisation/innovation. Agreed that virtual

meetings have enabled greater participation but would welcome one physical

meeting per year.

o Tim Robinson: as a Council, we should produce a list of things that need to

be taken forward and what delivery partnerships would be needed. When

funding required, should work out what is needed to make it happen. Would

welcome an expanded Council with more business engagement.

o Sarah Steed: there were not enough big ideas across the economy during the

Community Renewal Fund initiative and there could have been greater ideas

in there around innovation. Suggested the Council could come together in the

new year for 90 minutes to work out project ideas that would fit well with the

Shared Prosperity Fund and other funding opportunities. Wondered for

starters whether there was something we could do around talent given many

SMEs in this region are in growth markets and not competing for talent.

AOB:

John Fagan: Robin Milton is planning a two-day hackathon games event in June 2022 and

looking for support / sponsors.

Fiona Lettice: Productivity East is open, with 3D printers and cobots. Could run an

interesting event with tech businesses and university students.

Julian Munson: Next meeting of the Council will be in March 2022, dates to be circulated.