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Digital Challenge Awards 2007

Date of speech	13 March 2007

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Draft text of the speech - may differ from the delivered version.

Welcome everyone. I would like to thank Philip and the City of London for hosting the Digital Challenge and confirming your ongoing support for the programme.

You have heard why we are here and what we are trying to achieve through the Digital Challenge. I am delighted to be announcing the winner today. Unfortunately that means there are nine runners-up who will be disappointed - but maybe not too disappointed. More about that later.

Before we get to the winner, I want to say a few words about progress since I announced the finalists last July. I will also look at what happens when competitors choose to become collaborators.

Digital inclusion has certainly come to the fore since last summer. Thanks to the work of the Digital Inclusion and Challenge teams, new technology features widely as a key way forward for social inclusion. For example, in our local government White Paper, in work leading up to the Comprehensive Spending Review and in major reports taking forward public service transformation.

The Challenge itself has been a great example of how a cross-government, cross-sector initiative can gain momentum, expand horizons and achieve a great deal.  That is to the enormous credit of everyone involved, including other Government Departments - DfES, Department of Health, DTI and the Cabinet Office - as well as the City of London Corporation and many individuals and agencies.

However, one of the major contributing factors has been the hard work of the top ten bids represented here today.

The finalists have become regional centres of excellence for digital inclusion. And this is something we will continue to encourage and support as part of our city region and regional improvement programme.

Digital inclusion is about solving problems and making life better for people in our communities. And especially for those people who are isolated or need more help to access vital services. People who need to get on and a digital solution could well open the door to the right opportunities.

In many ways the UK is ahead in using ICT to tackle social exclusion. There are now examples of good practice and innovation throughout the country. And all sectors are contributing.

The voluntary and community sector, for example, are running befriending schemes for isolated elderly people, capacity building for BME communities and projects specifically aimed at increasing literacy levels.

The industry and business sector has developed projects through their corporate social responsibility programmes. Many are now working with the Government to provide better access to the internet and digital technology. Like piloting wireless systems in rural areas and providing software that is much easier to use.

Meanwhile academics and think tanks have been pushing the boundaries on what can be achieved by using ICT for the social, economic and environmental benefit of us all.

And local government has been making practical use of new technology to design smarter services and deliver them more effectively. This was spearheaded by the local e-government programme.

The Digital Challenge takes all this to the next level by bringing the sectors together and working collaboratively with local people. It has galvanised thinking, unleashed creativity and raised the agenda at local, regional and national level. Despite the climate of competition, it has also fostered co-operation between the ten bidding partnerships - a kind of 'partnership of partnerships'.

However, the Digital Challenge has always been a competition to find one winner - the UK exemplar for digital inclusion. To pick that winner from ten very strong contenders has not been easy and I would personally like to thank the members of the judging panel.

They have spent many hours, reading, listening and watching the bids develop before coming to their final conclusions. Thank you for your diligence and expertise. 

All the bidders have also been working extremely hard - particularly over the last six months - giving up evenings, weekends and even holidays.

The results of all this hard work are ten excellent proposals which are ambitious and inspiring.

I am going to mention each - in no particular order, as they say.

The Hull 'Stream' bid confirms their position at the cutting edge in the field of IP and broadband television.

The Milton Keynes team used great creativity to broaden community engagement and to get the best deal for their citizens by working with businesses.

Stratford-upon-Avon has taken the partnership concept a whole step further with their 'virtual district'.

The Circuit partnership is an innovation in itself as an urban-rural link up between Birmingham and Shropshire Councils. It is putting the citizen at the heart of interactions with service providers.

Ealing are taking forward their ground-breaking work in building cohesive communities and developing new ideas for schools.

Bristol's bid takes their vision for a digitally inclusive city nearer reality through engaging communities, small businesses and Bristol's creative industries.

Manchester is breaking down barriers to technology, such as through their work with the Co-operative Group to create a digital dividend.

Norfolk is leading the way with their use of avatars for a more personalised approach and smarter service delivery. Their plans for county-wide connectivity through WiMax and other measures will tackle rural isolation.

The Sunderland team is doing what they said on the tin - consult and consult, engage and engage. This puts them at the forefront in resolving important issues for local strategic partnerships and the communities they serve.

Nottingham has the Homeshoring pilot which tackles social exclusion head on. It offers flexible home working to people who want to re-enter the workplace but are unable to do so.

Ten excellent projects, all on the Digital Challenge website - and hopefully you still have no idea which has won! But before I tell you, I want to explain how we intend to support all the bids after today, and why.

Whoever wins, the ten finalists have unanimously agreed to continue as the DC10. By reaching across local and regional boundaries, they will work together in promoting digital inclusion on a national level.

In view of the quality of the bids, this is a very exciting prospect. Because it is such an important agenda, I am announcing today a £2 million Digital Inclusion Fund, available to the DC10, to take it forward. They will work with Communities and Local Government on this.

I am also delighted to announce that the Department for Education and Skills are putting a further £500k into the winning proposal specifically to take forward their Computers for Pupils initiative. This will encourage other departments to trial and evaluate initiatives for a digital community of the future. It is in addition to DfES's contribution of £1 million to the winning prize for tackling social exclusion.

We are nearly there - but not quite. In every competition there is a second, and it was very close in this one. So I want to give the runner-up bid a special mention.

It had a great 'wow' factor. It created strong partnerships between neighbouring areas. They listened to the community and provided residents with a convenient first point of contact, close by. People could get the content and services they really needed. And it has that sustainability factor through plans to set up a digital co-operative. I hope the DC10 takes this further. So a special commendation goes to Manchester.

Now, finally - the Digital Challenge winning award goes to a partnership bid that, right from the start, has focused on action in developing communities. It listened to people's needs, wants and aspirations. And then looked at how technology could meet them.

The bid developed and piloted these ideas and solutions - all the time checking back with potential users and citizens. The result is a package of initiatives grounded in what works and what is wanted. It can be set up quickly and we know it will make a positive difference. Further, it can be adapted to roll out across the country.

For the winning team, and for the rest of you, this is where the hard work starts. I shall take a keen interest to see how it all develops over the next three years. So I am very pleased to announce that the Digital Challenge Winner 2007 is Sunderland.