DEBATE DIGITAL
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
LEADING THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION
We took our panel to the AMRC North West in Samlesbury with Lancashire Enterprise Partnership to discuss why the county needs its new digital strategy
Kam Kothia - Lancashire Enterprise Partnership
Globally, the digital sector has just exploded. The UK is doing phenomenally well, it is the third country in the world after America and China to have a one trillion-dollar tech economy. Our tech economy in Lancashire is £1bn. We’re doing well but a billion compared to a trillion is a tiny fraction.
The LEP board decided a couple of years ago that digital was one of its pillars of growth and around 18 months ago I was brought on board to lead the strategy and to put a
team together to try and understand where we are and how we can capitalise on the opportunities that exist.
We need a strategy to maximise the potential that Lancashire has in the sector and to work out a roadmap to get back on the global stage. If you think about the previous industrial revolutions, we were at the forefront, we were at the heart of it. At the moment Lancashire isn’t.
We need to grow the tech economy and get a bigger share of that one trillion-dollar UK economy. Manchester’s digital economy is five times our size. Our vision is to grow from £1bn to £5bn. It is an ambitious vision.
We need a paradigm shift that enables people to raise ambitions and inspire. The strategy is inspirational, it’s been very well received so far.
We have also identified opportunities in four emerging sectors. Cyber, naturally, is one area, then there’s what I call ‘advanced mobility of transportation’ and then health tech and green tech.
If you were to analyse the strengths that we have in Lancashire and what will allow us to leapfrog other areas, not just in the UK but around the world, these are four where we’re particularly strong. Like any business, the first thing you look at are your strengths and then you work out how to capitalise on those opportunities.
Our strategy can deliver social mobility. A high-skilled, high-waged economy, that’s transformational for Lancashire.
PRESENT: Richard Slater
Lancashire Business View (Chair)
Ian Barton BAE Systems Nigel Davies
Lancaster University NCF
National Cyber Force representative Matthew Guest
University of Central Lancashire Dan Knowles
Innovate Lancashire Kam Kothia
Lancashire Enterprise Partnership
Michele Lawty-Jones Digital Skills Partnership Alison Robinson
The Lancashire Colleges and Myerscough College
LANCASHIREBUSINESSVIEW.CO.UK
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