Agenda item

Councillor Gordon Jackson introduced a presentation in respect of the developing Innovation Strategy together with the draft foreword of the Strategy.

The Rural Economy Officer delivered the presentation which advised that the Strategy sought to shape a smarter, more sustainable Guildford and covered: the key to the future; the innovation challenge; the business view; innovation through collaboration between businesses, the Council and University of Surrey; core objectives; Action Plan Objectives 1 to 3; the Climate Change Task Group; the circular economy of the Borough’s twin town; Guildford ‘Hollywood of Games’; and the Strategy timetable.

The Foreword introduced the Strategy which established a Vision for Guildford that embraced a digital future and promoted the town as being at the leading edge of innovation.  The aim was to enable technological change and innovation to support local economic competitiveness, quality of life and public service delivery with a view to creating a vibrant, prosperous, resilient and sustainable Borough for the digital age.  The Strategy would promote the development of high-quality infrastructures to support new technologies and systems and raise awareness of how social and technological changes were influencing current and future planning and investment decisions, including the evolution of how people lived and worked.  Much of the Council’s work would involve collaboration with partners and stakeholders including the University of Surrey, Royal Surrey County Hospital and local ground-breaking companies that were leading the way in new digital technologies.

The Strategy included delivery of three Objectives that expanded the strategic priorities set out under the Innovation theme of the Council’s Corporate Plan, namely, facilitating smart places infrastructure across Guildford, Guildford as the innovators’ location of choice and the Future Guildford initiative of working to improve value for money and efficiency in Council services.

The EAB was advised that the work of the newly formed Climate Change Task Group, a sub-group of the Innovation Strategy Board, would be built in to the Strategy.  The Task Group had been requested to report its findings to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and to make recommendations as appropriate to the Executive and full Council.

The following points arose from related questions and discussion:

·             Innovation was broader than industrial technology and touched all aspects of life including society, behaviours, the environment, parking app, business diversification and health and wellbeing.  It aimed to facilitate smart sustainable living and connectivity and the digital infrastructure were key to achieving this.

·             Guildford was ranked amongst the top ten councils in the country when assessed against the innovation vitality measure and it sought to be an innovation exemplar.

·             The largest growing population group locally was 85 years plus and for the first time people aged 65 years and over outnumbered the under 5’s which would require innovation to meet the needs of an aging population.

·             Provision of a digital hub in Guildford to support the development of small companies was a goal.

·             People required skills and training in order to be equipped for future employment and the University of Surrey provided digital marketing courses which sought to identify methods of making Guildford smarter.  There was a tri-partite relationship between the Council, the University and businesses benefiting from collaboration.  The Borough also engaged with other councils whilst Innovate South looked at the wider economic picture.  Harnessing the best technologies for use by residents was an ambition.

·             Examples of innovation in the Borough were the gaming industry, satellite technology, autonomous vehicles, smart traffic management and full fibre broadband.

·             The Climate Change Task Group, which benefited from co-opted members from Guildford Environmental Forum, had concerns that the national grid may have insufficient power to cope with a significant increase in the number of electric vehicles requiring charging.  A project being pursued by the University of Surrey was looking into power requirements and Surrey County Council had developed an electrical charging strategy.  Developers would be required to provide charging points in new homes.  LED street lamps may assist as they used less electricity than traditional lamp bulbs.

·             The Rural Economic Strategy covered diversification such as farms being utilised as heat sources via ground source heat pumps.

·             Innovation South was considering the impact that technology would have on the wider economic area and the University was progressing the skills agenda by liaising with employers to ascertain and provide the skills required for future employment.  The Council’s role was to facilitate innovation and represent residents with a view to furthering understanding of change and addressing it.

·             The EAB expressed its support for the Strategy and noted that the next steps were to report the Strategy and action plan to the Executive / Management Team Liaison Group on 6 March and then to the Executive on 19 March, 2019, for approval of the final version.