Connected Nottingham
We understand that ICT is a key influence in determining the future prosperity of Greater Nottingham. Accelerate Nottingham’s Connected Nottingham project promotes the wide variety of ICT projects and events happening in the conurbation with the aim of raising Greater Nottingham's profile as a leader in the field of technology and innovation.
Connected Nottingham will work with partners to ensure that next generation ICT connectivity is designed and promoted as an integral part of future developments and will contribute towards marketing the city as a destination of innovation, enterprise and technological advance.
For more information on the Connected Nottingham programme, click here.
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Digital Inclusion
Accelerate Nottingham is a founding member of the national DC10plus network working closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government on digital inclusion. Nottingham is also a lead on the work with the Digital Inclusion Advisors.
DC10plus
Nottingham is a lead partner in the DC10plus network, which aims to promote social inclusion through the use of technology.
DC10plus was originally founded from ten local authority networks and their partners – all finalists in the government’s 2007 Digital Challenge competition. The collaborative network is dedicated to creating partnerships, sharing best practice and developing new initiatives. Nottingham is leading on flexible working which looks at the latest projects aimed at helping people back into employment i.e.: the ‘homeshoring’ concept.
Read more about the DC10plus network at
www.dc10plus.net ,
their blog or
follow them on twitter.
Flexible working and homeshoring
Accelerate Nottingham leads on flexible working (using new technology) in its capacity as a DC10plus member. We have formed a close partnership with the City of Bristol over Nottingham’s pioneering work on the ‘homeshoring’ initiative that enables people from deprived communities to be trained to work as call centre agents from their own homes or local community centres.
Nottingham’s homeshoring pilot partnered with Cisco, UK Virtual Call Centres and a local community centre to pilot a homeshoring scheme with Boots whereby call centre staff worked for the company from home using VoIP and broadband.
Homeshoring is particularly suited to people whose lifestyles tended to be more home-based, including the over 50s, women returners and people on incapacity benefit. It also aimed to solve many of the problems experienced by traditional call centres such as high turnover of employees, recruitment costs and health problems associated with high density office environments.
Find out more about the homeshoring initiative here. For Useful Digital Inclusion resources please visit
http://www.connectednottingham.org.uk/.
Ultraband
Accelerate Nottingham is working in partnership with Nottingham City Council, Greater Nottingham Partnership, Nottingham Trent University and Nottingham based businesses to bring super fast, next generation access (NGA) broadband to Nottingham. Accelerate Nottingham believes this type of broadband (which we have dubbed ‘Ultraband’) can transform operations for many businesses and as a result, give Nottingham a real competitive advantage. We are currently working with businesses in the Lace Market and the city’s Eastside development area; because we know there are lots of creative, IT and information-driven businesses that have a demand for Ultraband. The Ultraband Bid is currently under review by emda. We will update you on progress soon.
Living Labs
The Connected Nottingham Living Lab aims to help Nottingham’s key public agencies, businesses and citizens to work together to develop innovative ICT infrastructure through Next Generation Access (NGA) networks offering superfast broadband connections to public and private organisations and providing technical support for economic and social regeneration.
We will exchange experience and knowledge with other members on innovative and creative ICT projects, using this enhanced know-how to further develop high quality localised projects and services and, potentially, new European cooperation projects.
Objectives
- increased employment and competitiveness for local businesses
- an enhancement of the Nottingham inward investment offer
- long term sustainable models for joint procurement of new technologies
- significant body of local research and analysis to understand how technology can shape future investment and services to businesses within the city
Councillor Graham Chapman, Deputy Leader of Nottingham City Council said it was another feather in the city’s cap: “Coming soon after such successful events as GameCity and the National Science Cities Summit, it shows that we are determined to build on Nottingham’s image as a forward-looking city with a dynamic science and technology sector.”
Living Lab partners
- East Midlands Development Agency and Greater Nottingham Partnership
- Learning & Skills Council and Nottingham Council for Voluntary Services
- Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council
- Nottingham Trent University, the University of Nottingham and New College Nottingham
- Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry
- Nottinghamshire Police
Find out more about Living Labs at: www.openlivinglabs.eu
Read more about our Next Generation Access, Ultraband project
Read our press release- Nottingham recognised as European Living Lab