Recently I’ve been invited to discuss re-shoring trends with MPs and stakeholders involved in the UK manufacturing policy (or better, industrial strategy) debate. The key question was whether the government should proactively encourage repatriation of businesses or leave it solely to market forces.

Intellect’s members operating in the UK electronics supply-chain are noticing a growing re-shoring trend from their customers that kept design local but off-shored manufacturing. IP protection for complex high-tech equipment (e.g. medical hardware) has become such a major threat that these companies are even prepared to pay more in order to keep production local. Close monitoring of quality standards, greater security for IP, and the convenience of close communications without language and time-zone barriers are seen as the main drivers for re-shoring these kinds of products.

The economics of advanced manufacturing are changing continuously though and OEMs must keep abreast of the changes happening in offshore locations and closer to home, to remain competitive. As automation technologies also become increasingly affordable and customised – the economics of where manufacturing is located will be comparable across the planet. Hence aspects such as availability of skills and the overall business environment will be the true differentiators that will influence corporate decision-making. There are potentially vast economic opportunities for the UK to capitalise on these trends by creating a competitive environment in which companies can sustainably invest.

In sum, the government does have a key role to play here. Measures such as corporate tax reforms, capital allowances, patent box and R&D tax credits are all steps in the right direction – however much more needs to be done to ensure the UK becomes a truly attractive location for high tech manufacturing and design. Creating a stable and certain policy environment for (smart) transport and energy infrastructures or providing incentives for the aggressive adoption of automation technologies, for example, would encourage businesses to make the most of the re-shoring opportunity.

Technorati Tags: automation, Electronics Manufacturing, Industrial Strategy, Innovation, reshoring, UK Manufacturing

Helen Keegan and Sue Black raised an issue on Twitter today that we are very aware of: that our speaker line up for next week’s Intellect Cobalt conference is exclusively male. This was clearly never our intention. From the outset we wanted to bring together a number of great speakers who could provide a range of insights from companies large and small. Unsurprisingly our initial wish list of speakers included several successful women in IT. The gender balance on that wish list wasn’t 50/50, nor was it tokenism. The fact is that there are lots of successful women in our industry that audiences want to hear from.  Unfortunately on this occasion it just happened that none of the women we approached were available to speak and we ended up with a prestigious line up that is all male.

The gender balance in tech has long been an issue that Intellect cares deeply about.   We have actively engaged industry in attempting to address the imbalance and I spoke at the Computer Weekly’s event last year on the role of women in a high-tech economy where they announced their list of the most influential women in UK tech and highlighting their importance as role models.  Intellect promoted the ‘everywoman in technology awards 2012′ getting the message out and encouraging women to apply; we’ve worked with schools to promote a career in technology and explain  why it is a great career choice for girls; we ran a <GoTo> Tech day for 7-9 year old girls and boys promoting skills and the magic of tech; we run an annual Equal Pay Survey now in its 6^th year and we supported the CBI’s campaign to get more women onto company Boards.

There is always more to be done with regard to encouraging diversity in the technology industry and we are constantly seeking partners to help make a positive difference.  We remain committed to promoting the fact that women are a driving force in the UK tech sector.

If you’d like to work with us to improve the gender balance in the tech sector, or find out more about speaker opportunities at Intellect, please get in touch.

Today is Safer Internet Day, an important day raising awareness of child safety online. At Intellect, one of our three key missions is to make Tech good for UK people -  ensuring that technology is used to improve and enhance the quality of life and safety for all. Helping to raise awareness and educate users on the safe and responsible use of technology is a vital component of this mission.

The latest Ofcom research shows that children are not just using more media, they adopt certain forms at a very young age – The Internet being the key media channel. Today, parents and carers face a great challenge in keeping up with their children with regard to both the technology know-how and in the understanding of what they can do to protect children and young people online – one of the reasons we feel very strongly about supporting Safer Internet Day.

Childnet, one of our two chosen charities of the year (alongside the NSPCC) and part of the UK Safer Internet Centre, want as many people and organisations as possible to support the Day. This is why we’re keen that that our members support the Day:

At 3pm we are hosting a webinar with key players from industry. These include Facebook, Panasonic and Vodafone, and we’ll be discussing how to progress the ongoing industry and government work around online parental controls. Intellect is committed to working with Government and children’s charities to ensure we have the right balance between technical tools and education to keep children safe online.

Between 5 and 6pm I will be speaking to Russell Prue in the Being Safe online hour on the Safer Internet Day radio programme. The radio show centres on “Connecting with respect” and will run from 9am to 9pm. Tune in online.

You can also find Intellect tweeting about Safer Internet Day throughout today. Please do send out tweets to support Safer Internet Day if you can – it is an important cause, one we would appreciate our members getting involved with.

Intellect’s vision is for the UK to be a leader in the development and use of technology for the benefit of the UK economy and its citizens to:

• Make the UK good for Tech – ensuring that the UK is the best place in the world for technology companies to locate and grow
• Make Tech good for the UK – ensuring that the full economic potential of technology is harnessed across the economy
• Make Tech good for UK people – ensuring that technology is used to improve and enhance the quality of life and safety for all.

To: all secondary care providers

From: Intellect, the trade association for the UK technology industry

Re: How to avoid ‘serious repercussions’ from NHS Commissioning Board

Dear secondary care provider

In December 2012 you were challenged by the NHS Commissioning Board (NHSCB). The challenge (p10) is for all “secondary care providers to be able to account for the outcomes of all patients they treat and to adopt modern, safe standards of electronic record keeping by 2014/15.” Followed by a list of information standards you need to collect and report on.  And if you can’t meet this challenge “then there will be some very serious repercussions” according to Tim Kelsey (see HSJ story).

This letter will first of all help you avoid these serious repercussions. But secondly, and more importantly, this letter will help you achieve beneficial business and clinical outcomes when adopting digital solutions, and how to go about doing so.

Intellect would like to offer you some sound advice.  This advice won’t cost you anything more than following best practice. The links in the letter details how Intellect puts this advice in to practice.

1. Take stock of what you have already

What systems do you have, what do they do, and how do you currently stack up to the above challenge and requirements, are they delivering benefits and are you measuring it?

2. Evaluate what you think you need

Do you need a full new system or a mix of best of breeds, some integration solutions, perhaps a portal?  

3. Engage with the market

Before you make a final decision on what you need, talk to Intellect. We have over 300 suppliers who operate in the health and care market.  We can help you understand what the market has to offer, and with all of our members’ combined expertise we can offer you some great industry insight and advice and help set up market engagement exercises.

4. Business case and requirements development

When you understand what the market has to offer in this space, you need to build on your business case and requirements spec. Again Intellect can help you. We have helped over 23 trusts in NHS South do exactly this through collaborative workshops and advising them on everything from business case and requirements development, sourcing strategies to benefits realisation. The SRO has been very pleased with the outcome and wants all of NHS to adopt this practice.

5. Procurement strategy

Developing a procurement strategy is essential for success.  Intellect has set out some good procurement principles for the NHS to follow.  These are all based on established best practice and are designed to help you and the suppliers use the procurement exercise to get to the best solution at the best price for the best deployment.  It should be a positive process, not an adversarial one.

Intellect’s aim is to support the development of an open and vibrant market in health and care data, information services and technology, for the benefit of service users and the public. This requires both the suppliers and customers to work together from start to end. Intellect is one channel you can take advantage of in achieving your goals.  I hope you do.

Please do get in touch if you want assistance and to find out more of how Intellect can help you. Intellect is a not-for-profit and technology neutral organisation.

Sincerely

Jon Lindberg

Head of Healthcare Programme, Intellect UK

Jon.lindberg@intellectuk.org

Technorati Tags: digital services, health IT, Intellect Healthcare, NHS IT, NHSCB, procurement

On 3 December, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, the Rt Hon Francis Maude MP announced that Government would forge a Cyber Growth Partnership with Intellect. The main aim of this partnership will be to identify the best means to support the growth of the UK cyber security industry, both domestically and across the globe. The Cyber Growth Partnership was initiated with an understanding that coordinated action is required to ensure that the UK not only has adequate capability to protect itself, but also to maximise its share of this growing sector worldwide.

The Government’s commitment to the Cyber Growth Partnership demonstrates a belief in the value of the cyber security market and is indicative of a wider willingness in Government to play a collaborative strategic role in economic growth. The September 2012 BIS Economics Paper No.18, Industrial Strategy: UK Sector Analysis establishes a strategic sector-based approach to achieving growth in those sectors with both short and long-term growth potential for the UK. This is not indicative of a move toward a planned economy ‘with British characteristics’. Rather, the Industrial Strategy aims to recognise the power of Government both as a central customer and as a shaper of the regulatory environment and examine how this position can be leveraged intelligently to achieve long-term growth for the UK. In the context of technology, this could involve nurturing nascent innovative technology start-ups, facilitating a bridge from academic research to commercial application, and ensuring the domestic skill base exists to support this. To coordinate joint activity, a range of sector specific Government-industry councils are expected to be formed.

The Automotive Council provides one model for these sector councils. Established in December 2009 upon the recommendation of the industry-led New Automotive Innovation and Growth team, the Automotive Council aims to create a favourable business environment, develop technology roadmaps, improve the supply chain, give a voice to UK industry, and ensure continuous strategic dialogue between Government and the automotive industry. The council is chaired by Government with industry representation at the most senior level. The Automotive Council has been held up as a success, with an increase in production in the UK automotive industry of 9% in 2012 and exports and volumes at their highest level since 2008.

The success of the Automotive Council demonstrates the value of collaborative joint Government-industry action. The Government-Intellect Cyber Growth Partnership will have a narrower focus and, though its model may differ somewhat from that of the Automotive Council, the driving principle is the same, public-private collaboration has a role to play in maximizing growth. As the Cyber Growth Partnership matures we look forward to providing you, the membership, with more detail on how your company can engage and the action the partnership has taken to help achieve growth for cyber security companies in the UK.

Technorati Tags: BIS, Cyber Security Growth Partnership, Industrial Strategy, intellect