Digital Planning Director James Ferraby joined a panel of business leaders to discuss the UK’s emerging Industrial Strategy to 2035.
He was invited to attend an East Midlands Chamber President’s round table to talk through the contents of the recent Green Paper.
The Chamber is currently preparing its response to Government and is gathering insight from members to inform its focus on key regional areas for growth.
One of the themes in the Green Paper is the emerging opportunity around digital transformation – particularly in relation to AI and efficiency.
Digital Planning is already working in this area – both with small businesses and in terms of developing proprietary technologies which could revolutionise resource allocation in sectors as diverse as healthcare, logistics, and carbon reduction.
Digital technology and economic growth
Last night’s invitation dinner at the King Power Stadium formed part of the process, taking the views of a number of regional business leaders representing a host of sectors. James said:
“My fellow director at Digital Planning, Mark Underwood, recently wrote about the opportunity of the Industrial Strategy to reshape economic growth in our region.
“He pointed out that the Green Paper rightly identifies Digital and Technologies as one of eight key growth-driving sectors for the UK economy over the next decade. This is clearly an asset to be nurtured.
“However it’s clear that success outcomes currently remain heavily concentrated in London and the South East – we see the Chamber’s submission to Government as a means of addressing that and calling for increased regional investment.”
Driving digital skills
Speaking at the King Power, James considered the role of skills in pushing forward change and leading future economic development.
He described how Digital Planning is working with young people to introduce fresh thinking, and highlighted the opportunity for hackathons and other routes to getting people of varying ages learning from each other. James added:
“It was a great conversation and I’m really grateful to colleagues at East Midlands Chamber for the invitation.”
The Government closes public consultation on its Industrial Strategy on 24 November and the Chamber is staging three round table webinars for the business community to help shape and influence its response
The Industrial Strategy proposes to boost growth across eight core sectors including clean energy, advanced manufacturing, creative industries, clean energy, design and technologies, defence, life sciences, financial services and professional and business services.
The final Industrial Strategy will be published in spring 2025, alongside the multi-year spending review.
EMC Director of Policy and Insight, Rick Blackmore, said:
“It’s essential the voice of business in the East Midlands is heard.”
Digital Planning directors James and Mark have recently spoken of the opportunity of both digital automation and Artificial Intelligence as a way of moving the UK economy forward.
