Data for Growth
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Data for Growth Report prepared for North East Innovation Board’s Digital Sub-Group Version: 2.0 | Issued: 02 December 2016 companies, including: Leighton Group, Nomad healthcare, education, security, employment, as Executive Summary Digital, Ontrac, Palringo, and Performance well as positive social and environmental impacts. Horizon. Data for Growth aims to establish a link between A further important point is that increased North East England’s capabilities in the digital A comprehensive landscape of support is digitalisation, and the accompanying changes in sector with needs and opportunities that exist in available in the North East to accelerate the business models, make continuous adaptation three other smart specialisation areas of: growth of digital businesses. However, the fundamental to remain competitive. Several key Life sciences and health; interviews undertaken for this study revealed that trends are identified that are likely to have both this landscape was somewhat confusing. A positive and negative impacts on the North East Low carbon passenger vehicles; profiling and mapping of a range of different economy, namely: augmentation of human Offshore, subsea and marine technologies. business support assets is therefore presented in intelligence, automation, sharing economy, agility, this report. servitization, openness, transparency, co- This report reviews the interdependencies and creation, cyber security and digital value shared opportunities that exist between these Examples of existing strengths in the digital sector propositions to differentiate products and sectors. are profiled and are grouped into the following services. areas: cloud computing, SaaS and web services; It is informed by a comprehensive literature systems design and communications; gaming; The interviews undertaken for this study revealed review, interviews with over 30 experts from 21 ecommerce and marketplace. broad support for an overarching initiative to different organisations, and a series of four harness and develop the region’s digital workshops in each of the smart specialisation Potential areas of opportunity for the North East capabilities to address needs in the smart areas. digital sector are also identified, including: data specialisation areas. The interviews, workshops analytics; cyber security; Fintech; Building and literature reviews supported the identification The North East digital sector is characterised by Information Modelling; emerging technologies of specific opportunities in these sectors, which industrial and research strengths in digital, (including virtual reality); and digital are summarised in Table 1. software and technology services. This includes transformation of the public sector. large digital enterprises, such as Sage, Accessing domain expertise in the smart Accenture, Hewlett Packard, Red Hat, IBM and Due to the pervasive nature of digital in almost specialisation areas will help digital companies to Worldpay. It also includes major organisations every aspect of physical services, a more general identify opportunities and translate them into real that are spearheading the digital transformation of consideration of the economic opportunities and needs. However, this expertise is not unique to the public sector, including the HM Revenue and challenges presented by digitalisation of the North the North East so on its own would not be a Custom’s Digital Delivery Centre and the NHS East economy is also presented. This identifies source of competitive advantage. In addition, the Business Services Authority. The region also has that the direct and indirect benefits of increased nature of digital solutions also means that recognised strengths in its universities and is digitalisation can lead to improvements in geographical proximity to customers is not home to a number of high growth potential 1 necessarily an advantage, especially when on business growth, embedded technologists, possible, existing governance structures in the targeting companies with a global footprint. accelerator programmes and innovation portals. region are used to oversee this activity. There are also opportunities to invest in The National Institute for Smart Data Innovation infrastructure to make the region a test bed to It is likely that a core of public funding will be (NISDI) is perhaps the only regional asset that develop and validate digital innovations. required to support Data for Growth. This could could be considered to be a distinct source of be supplemented by competitively won funding competitive advantage for the North East. It is The activities undertaken will ultimately dictate the from the public and private sectors. However, therefore recommended that consideration is way in which they should be delivered. However, care should be taken to ensure that the given to how Data for Growth could be aligned in general terms, Data for Growth would benefit availability of funding does not dictate the with NISDI. This includes the suggestion that from a dedicated funded resource to develop a activities undertaken and that competing for this supported activities could focus on the exploration programme of activities, attract funding and funding does not disadvantage other businesses and use of data, rather than broader activities to secure the participation of companies from across and organisations in the North East. support digital innovation. the North East. The smart specialisation areas offer a logical It is recommended that this resource is procured focus that will assist in targeting businesses, through an open competitive process and that, if maximising effective use of resources and potentially developing niche competencies that Life Sciences and Health Low Carbon Passenger Vehicles Subsea, Offshore & Marine could be exportable outside the region. However, Illness Prevention Data-Driven Design Turbine Blades it is stressed that there may be significant Assisted Living Operations Management Drive trains: Condition opportunities outside of these three sectors and Monitoring that consideration should be given to areas such mHealth Monitoring Production Equipment Electrical Infrastructure: as Building Information Modelling and Compliance and Dose Data Product Variants Cable installation digitalisation of public sector services. Analytics Supply Chain Intelligence Wind & Ocean Conditions: System Efficiencies Connected Vehicles Environmental Data Scalable solutions may also be better identified by Privacy Foundations & targeting opportunities that cut across sectors, Substructures Pharmaceutical R&D such as cyber security, condition monitoring, Operations & Maintenance automation, personalisation, logistics and Trials Installation and planning. Formulations Decommissioning Supply Chain Intelligence Several potential activities are identified that could be delivered under Data for Growth. This Table 1: Opportunities in the smart specialisation areas includes: challenge-based competitions focused 2 capabilities of key support facilities including Table 2: List of organisations interviewed 1 Introduction networks, hubs, skills providers and finance; Arjuna Technologies The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (NE 2. A review of the challenges facing the smart Business Durham LEP) has identified Digital, Software and specialisation areas; Centre for Process Innovation Technology services as one of its smart 3. Recommendations to support the delivery of Datatrial specialisation opportunity areas. One of its key data for growth. niches is around the exploration and use of data. Digital Leaders North East Durham County Council Research A Steering Group, convened under the auspices Durham University This report is informed by a comprehensive desk of the North East Innovation Board – part of the Dynamo NE LEP – is working collaboratively to develop a study, interviews with over 30 experts from 21 Geek Talent strategy to support growth in this smart organisations and four workshops in each of the Generator specialisation area. Within this work programme North East’s smart specialisation areas (see Ignite acceleration of data applications is a key focus Table 2). under the working title “Data for Growth”. Innovation SuperNetwork Structure of the Report Newcastle University Overview Chapter 2 introduces the North East digital sector, North East and North Cumbria Connected Health Cities Data for Growth aims to establish a link between with Chapter 3 describing the landscape of North East Local Enterprise Partnership North East England’s capabilities in the digital business support to digital companies in the SAP sector with needs and opportunities that exist in region. Chapter 4 profiles the region’s strengths Stellium three other smart specialisation areas of: and opportunity areas in digital. Secret Sauce Sunderland Software City Life sciences and health; The positive and economic impacts of increased TechNorth Low carbon passenger vehicles; digitalisation are considered in Chapter 5, with the subsequent chapters considering relevant Zero Carbon Futures Offshore, subsea and marine technologies. challenges in three smart specialisation areas of This report reviews the interdependencies and life sciences and health (Chapter 6), low carbon shared opportunities that exist between these passenger vehicles (Chapter 7), and subsea sectors, with three key outputs: offshore and marine technologies (Chapter 8). 1. A profiling and mapping of the digital The report concludes with Chapter 9 outlining key capabilities