The Digital Island Programme is the digital strand of the Isle of Wight’s regeneration strategy, with which it is closely aligned. It looks specifically at the role of digital technologies in the Island’s economic and social development, as these are seen as crucial to the Island’s future prosperity and contribute across agendas from economic growth to transformation of public services, from overcoming the separation to the mainland to educating the Island’s young people, attracting inward investment and retaining talented Islanders.

In addition, the programme also hosts the annual Solent Digital Conference and feeds in to the “Wight We Want” citizen engagement programme.

The programme involved the development of an overarching strategy and road-map for developments, along with the engagement of a broad set of stakeholders in a steering group that works to facilitate new projects and interventions. I led the effort to set up the programme, on behalf of Perform Green and for Isle of Wight Council, between November 2017 and July 2018.

The Digital Island Programme was awarded Smart Island of the Year at the Smart Island World Congress in April 2018.