North East businesses have used a meeting at 10 Downing Street to say that Tech Nation is not meeting the needs of the digital community.
Representatives from the North East鈥檚 tech community travelled to London as part of the 海角视频 Tech Cluster Group, where they told officials that the Government鈥檚 existing sector support group is not up to scratch.
The group described Tech Nation as not being 鈥渋n touch with local ecosystems鈥 and 鈥渇ailing to understand grass roots issues鈥. The result is that Tech Nation is failing to meet the needs of the business community, the group claims.
海角视频 Tech Cluster Group outlined its views in a report titled 鈥淕rass roots report to central government on issues and opportunities in our regions鈥, which was presented to special advisors to the Prime Minister and the Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport.
The report also claimed that the infrastructure within the 海角视频鈥檚 tech sector was not integrated enough, meaning some regional bodies are introducing initiatives that have already tried and failed to help businesses.
Representing the North East on the visit was David Dunn, CEO of Sunderland Software City and chair of the 海角视频 Tech Cluster Group, and Jim Mawdsley, CEO of Newcastle-based groups Generator and Digital Union.
Mr Dunn said: 鈥淎s we look towards the future, it鈥檚 vital that the tech sector continues to thrive and that all industries are able to access the digital skills and services they need to compete.
鈥淭he people who know what support is required in order to achieve this are the start-ups and scale-ups at the forefront of the 4th Industrial Revolution, yet often these are the voices missing from conversation on policy.
鈥淥ur intention, with both the Grass Roots report and the 海角视频 Tech Cluster Group more generally, is to ensure that the views of our regional firms are represented to government.鈥
The Grass Roots report also outlined four key areas that the tech firms believe are important to improving the sector鈥檚 ecosystem. These are: improving the policy and funding environment; boosting the development of key skills in the industry; supporting innovation; and developing a coherent infrastructure for support organisations.
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Commenting on the report, Mr Mawdsley said: 鈥淚n the North East we have the fastest growing tech sector outside of London and this meeting is an opportunities to have our voices heard. It鈥檚 encouraging that government is actively seeking feedback from creative and digital businesses, and from the organisations that support them.
鈥淭he findings in the report show that the challenges and opportunity facing our region are mirrored elsewhere. By collaborating with colleagues across the country and speaking with one voice, we can make sure regional clusters receive the right support.鈥
Tech Nation has not responded to requests for comment.
