Delivering the objectives: Implementation and next steps
The Manchester Digital Strategy to provides a new strategic framework for the city to meet its aspirations about how we use digital and technology to improve the lives of our residents and create new commercial opportunities for our businesses. To achieve our aims and delivery our priorities, our next steps will be to:
- Establish a small Digital team within the City Council, working with key stakeholders to deliver the Digital strategy.
- Develop a full action plan for the delivery of the priorities outlines in this strategy.
- Establish partnerships and working relationships with relevant stakeholders.
- Identify potential funding opportunities and build capacity to bring in funding to finance delivery.
The delivery of the Strategy will be overseen by a Digital Strategy Governance Board, comprising of relevant Council Officers alongside representatives from partner organisations and networks.
The delivery plan will be subject to an annual review through the proposed five years of its implementation from 2021 to 2026. This will be undertaken through a partnership-based approach drawing upon not only the existing digital ecosystem but also on new collaborations that are emerging, for example around socially responsible and ethical tech, creative economy renewal, youth initiatives, the age-friendly agenda, health and wellbeing and climate change. These new collaborations are renewing innovation in the digital sector and supporting new thinking and working in imaginative ways to co-create new solutions to the challenges of the pandemic and to ensuring an inclusive economic recovery.
Creating a digitally enabled inclusive economy and society will need commitment and support from all partners across the city working collaboratively and investing their time, energy and resources to achieve this. To achieve this Manchester Smart City partnership boards and working groups will be established to oversee the development of programmes of work and support effective governance of their implementation. As well as developing a shared commitment to ensuring that social value is at the heart of all aspects of the Manchester Digital Strategy it is also important to include increasing economic, social and economic justice across the city, especially with digital inclusion being the single most important aspect of this work.
Manchester City Council will continue to work closely with everyone who has collaborated to produce the ideas and proposals brought together so far. This will include outlining options for coordinating and implementing new work programmes and practical projects, as well as more resilient funding models for supporting this work in the context of inclusive economic recovery.