- The number of new jobs being posted to the Wired Sussex jobs board has picked up in the last two months, possibly indicating a pick up in the digital community
- There has also been a substantial growth in our already massive membership base - particularly in 1-5 people web design/development firms (probably those made redundant from elsewhere - one thing we discussed is how might we put together a nurturing and growth programme to turn these opportunistic small startups into the next generation of Brighton digital talent)
- The Sussex Internships Programme, which exists to provide established members with fresh talent, was massively over-subscribed (something like 550 submissions for 40 places) and with high-quality submissions too - good to see this programme building in potential and scale each year. This exists to help get graduates into the digital business community quicker and out of 'bottlenecking' other student-friendly jobs where they stop other people who might only have those options getting the same job
- Wired Sussex continues to help Brighton University to evolve its courses to be as business-ready as possible and is doing some guest lecturing their, which is good I reckon
- Exciting early-stage plans are being tabled with New England House but these are confidential for now - hopefully not for long - really cool and ambitious
- We again made it very clear to the partners in the room, especially Paula Murray, Head of Culture & Economy, Brighton & Hove City Council, that lack of suitable space is still a big issue for many of the Brighton digital community - this is a slow-burner unfortunately but even if it takes 10 years to work out it will have been worth it! I do believe the Council is aware of it (and Paula certainly is and understands), and at a previous dinner we mentioned it to Mary Mears, current leader of the council.
- Andrew Eades from Relentless Software, wicked Brighton company making videogames mainly for Sony Playstation, joined the board this month as an observer with a view to becoming a full member to give some representation to the thriving games community here in Brighton
- Paula from the Council highlighted the newly appointed Chief Exec John Barradale and updated us on some interesting forthcoming opportunities to help with the mission of ever-building Brighton's reputation as a creative city - more soon hopefully. This was the first time I'd met Paula and I thought she was smart and really clear about her work and the city's priorities.
- Gilly Bartrip from SEEDA updated on their changing focus and priorities (which really has changed since the 'changing economic situation') and I'd paraphrase it as changing from 'people and pounds' to 'people' by which I mean that they used to invest very large amounts of cash from government in big capital investment projects (like building stuff) and provide people to help with important programmes but now their main focus is helping business by using their people - especially focusing on 5 specific sectors in the South East region. Luckily Wired Sussex hasn't been counting on some big wedge from the well-connected people at SEEDA but can benefit from some of their people in developing skills, workspaces and the Brighton brand.
The backstory for those who have no idea what this is about:
I am a board member and non-executive director at Wired Sussex. I am writing these notes to share hard-earnt progress with the local digital community who often don't understand what Wired Sussex is doing for the community.
Wired Sussex is interesting because it is a progressive not-for-profit organisation that exists to develop the digital community in Brighton and basically gets on with that job, funded by a thriving jobs board, project revenues and stuff, without any interference from anywhere but the Brighton digital community.
No man is an island, and if Wired Sussex were an island it would be very small, very creative, very plugged in and would be very lost on the high seas of government, the ever-changing tides of policy, utterly lost in a giant-scale world.
So what Wired Sussex does do extremely well is partner with lots of big resource-rich ambitious regional players - like Brighton & Hove City Council, the University of Sussex, Brighton University and SEEDA. In my opinion this group is working extremely effectively together now, though there are those that will continue to ask challenging questions of Wired Sussex.
Trust me when I say that it's quite a marvel to witness these partners who could be so diluted and blunted by bureaucracy and tribal priorities doing what they do so effectively together. The power of smart, clear people in a room with aligned goals and common interests. That, and the frankly amazing bridge-building talents of Wired Sussex CEO Phil Jones and his team.
Wired Sussex's model is unusual and successful enough to have been investigated, copied and learnt about by people near and far - across the UK, at a recent Digital City conference in Paris, interest now coming from Doha and elsewhere in the Middle East.
Work continues :)







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