GMCA Digital
In Greater Manchester, we are doing digital differently.
We are committed to being a digital city-region that puts our residents at the heart of our plans and are working towards our ambitions to be recognised as a world leading digital city-region.
Our Doing Digital Differently Blog
The Doing Digital Differently blog is you one stop shop for all things digital in Greater Manchester.
Interested in writing a blog for us? Email us gmcadigital@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk
Equipping all young people with the digital skills they need to realise their potential
With the pace of technological change, it is more important than ever that all young people have the opportunity to develop the skills, knowledge, and mindsets to participate in and shape a world that is being transformed by increasingly powerful digital technologies, including artificial intelligence.
Empowering young minds a& unlocking their potential - Manchester Digital’s Future Innovators Challenge
As part of its annual Digital Skills Festival, Manchester Digital has announced a new addition to our week-long event in February 2025. Our team has just revealed that the first day of the festival (Monday, February 10) will be Future Innovators Day.
Driving change through full fibre
Freedom Fibre was founded in Irlam, Greater Manchester, and is dedicated to driving change through its work building a reliable, resilient and lightning-fast full-fibre network for homes and businesses across the North West and beyond.
How technology is opening doors for young people and social enterprises
As we celebrate Digitober, our team at Inclusive Bytes isreflecting on how technology is reshaping lives on multiple levels. Our missionas a social enterprise goes beyond teaching tech skills—it’s about creatingreal impact by using technology as a catalyst for change.
Supporting startups across the Greater Manchester region
Our role at Manchester Digital is to support all parts of the tech ecosystem - and providing dedicated and sector specific support for startups and scaleups right across the Greater Manchester region is crucial to this. Another of our not-for-profit organisation's goals as an industry body is to increase diversity and inclusion within the tech industry and make it accessible for everyone, regardless of their background.
Working with Cyber student community to develop the talent pathway
Our focus at the North West Cyber Resilience Centre (NWCRC)is to support small to medium businesses to become more cyber resilient, through our affordable training sessions as well as funded programmes.
How Skills City’s AWS re/Start is transforming lives and communities in Greater Manchester
Technology skills and innovation provider IN4 Group and AWS re/Start celebrated almost 600 people graduating from Skills City‘s Skills Bootcamps, showcasing Greater Manchester’s dynamic tech industry and the diverse talent that supports it.
Inspiring digital in the next generation
Working within Digital Inclusion, my passion lies in nurturing digital skills within underserved communities, ensuring that every individual has the opportunity to thrive in an increasingly digital world. In this pursuit, the partnership between Trafford Council and Microsoft's North West Social Impact Team stands as a beacon of hope and progress, illuminating the path towards a future where digital literacy knows no bounds.
Inspiring inclusion in digital
My name is Rafaela Teixeira Osawe. I am the Chair of MadLab’s Youth Panel, and am on the BBC Graduate Software Engineer programme
I wanted to tell you about my story - and why it is so important that people like me are represented and supported.
Salford Council donates phased out laptops to families in need
Salford City Council’s Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) team is donating refurbished laptops to help Salford residents get online. The DDaT team is working with the Digital Inclusion team and has donated 200 laptops with plans to donate another 200 in the coming months.
Skills Bootcamps - community led to fix the digital divide
As a company committed to creating a social impact, We Are Group help to bridge the digital divide by running large-scale and effective community-led programmes including Skills Bootcamps.
Greater Manchester is building upon its broad horizons
As the UK’s leading city for attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) outside London (EY’s 2023UK Attractiveness Survey), Manchester is looking forward to a key moment in its creative, digital and tech calendar.
How the NWCRC has been helping small businesses in Greater Manchester protect against cyber crime
The North West Cyber Resilience Centre (NWCRC) was set up in 2019, as a partnership between regional police forces and tech trade body Manchester Digital. The not-for-profit organisation was set up to help small businesses across Greater Manchester with free or affordable training and resources to protect against the growing threat of cyber crime.
Ending digital inequality in Greater Manchester through the power of collaboration
Closing the digital skills gap has never been so crucial in our current economic climate.
In Greater Manchester, 806,500 people face some form of digital exclusion.
Virgin Media O2 Business have been working closely with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to help build digital skills and confidence so that no one is excluded in our society.
From plan to ecosystem: the role of digital skills as a driver of the digital economy
Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce has been developing the Local Skills Improvement Plan for Greater Manchester. In developing this message that came back from the businesses we engaged with (over 3,000) was clear: businesses in every sector require digital skills and many saw the future of their sectors as being heavily digitalised.
Protecting your online gaming reputation
Manchester’s Digital Security Hub (DiSH) write about a new pilot, being exclusively trialled across Greater Manchester - "Protecting your online gaming reputation", a 45-minute online session educating young gamers on the do's and don'ts of gaming online.
How Digital Her is encouraging young women into the tech sector
Kirsten Peters Roebuck, Manchester Digital writes about Digital Her. Since launching in 2019, Digital Her initiative has run numerous events, workshops, schools opportunities and panel talks and now has a community of 350 role models across Greater Manchester.
How can we use data to help support people to leave hospital when safe and appropriate to do so?
By Craig Hughes, Stockport Council. Late last year, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) announced a new round of the Local Digital Fund, and in March, Stockport Council were awarded funding for a digital project to improve hospital discharges to social care.
Joining Greater Manchester Digital - let’s keep people at the heart of what we do
Cllr Nick Peel, GMCA Lead for Digital, shares his thoughts on Greater Manchester paving the way as a world-leading digital city-region through innovation, investment and the commitment to ensure that no one will be left behind.
Putting the human in digital
In late 2022, our communication campaign “fixing the digital divide” was crowned winner of the CIPR North West Pride award for best use of digital and social media. Judged by a panel of industry experts, this recognised the year’s outstanding digital or social media campaign in the region.
How CyberFirst Schools & Colleges will inspire a more diverse digital workforce in the North West
CyberFirst Schools & Colleges aims to encourage a diverse range of young people to pursue careers in the cyber sector – and a major objective of the scheme in the North West will be to inspire girls to take an interest in technology with a focus on computing and cyber.
New mentoring scheme for women in tech in Greater Manchester
New scheme helping women grow their career in tech and help them stay within the industry. MentorHER is the programme, which has been launched by industry body Manchester Digital as part of their wider Digital Her scheme, and is sponsored by Auto Trader.
Why Greater Manchester is putting Cybergirls First
Cybergirls First is exciting, inspiring and engaging girls from inner city schools, in years 8 and 9, into cyber careers.
Greater Manchester on tour - International Cyber Expo
MIDAS, Manchester’s award-winning inward investment promotion agency, attended the International Cyber Expo as a member of Greater Manchester Cyber Advisory Group, working together to promote the city region’s fast growing cyber ecosystem.
Why we must act now to confront the new global digital divide
As digital technologies become more widespread, there is a risk that developing countries will be left behind if they cannot afford to invest at the same rate as other countries.
How a bank is tackling the digital divide
The Co-operative Bank’s Digital Bees network is running Digital Drop-in sessions on Friday 14 October to help people across the North West feel safer and more self-sufficient online.
Greater Manchester Digital: going global
Greater Manchester Digital hit the road in May 2022, showcasing our cyber ecosystem at CYBERUK22 in Newport. NCSC’s flagship event for the cyber sector brings together thought leaders and technical professionals from the UK and beyond.
In Greater Manchester we have a bold ambition to be world leading in global cyber.
Our week at Digital City Festival 2022
From the 7-11th March 2022, the much-anticipated Digital City Festival was back at venues across Greater Manchester for its physical event in over two years. The week saw a whole host of exciting events on topics spanning from AI to digital marketing and everything in between.
Doing digital with The Prince’s Trust
Over the past two years, the Future Workforce Fund, delivered in partnership with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), has helped us transform the lives of young people on a scale larger than ever before.
How Co-operative Bank is promoting gender equality in the workplace
The Co-operative Bank was founded 150 years ago in Greater Manchester as part of the co-operative movement. Our business model is based on a number of co-operative values and ethics, including the promotion of equality in society.
3/4 of Greater Manchester’s tech and digital businesses saw growth last year
Almost three quarters of Greater Manchester tech and digital businesses reported an increase in revenue in the last year. On top of this, 70% of businesses reported an increase in employees over the past 12 months.
Communicating GM Digital - another 12 months
Summary of some communication highlights from the GM Digital portfolio team
Building a digital experience of government for everyone
As the Government Digital Service, our mission is to build a simple, joined-up and personalised experience of government for everyone. Find out how we’re doing that from our offices in Manchester, London and Bristol.
Tackling digital exclusion in Wigan 12 months on…
Digital Wigan’s service does everything from helping people to get online, keeping in touch with family and friends using video calls and signing up to council services online to educating families on how to stay safe online and teaching children to code.
Why do we need diversity in tech?
As a user of tech and someone who over 25 years has managed and delivered large tech programmes, I can say without a doubt, the more diversity that you have around the table, the better the outcome.
Thinking more about cyber: businesses at the heart of what we do
Over the last 18 months, we have seen a well-evidenced acceleration towards businesses working with a more hybrid model – and more entrepreneurs have starting businesses from their bedrooms during the pandemic.
Launching Manchester’s first ecommerce forum to bring the industry together
The success of Greater Manchester’s ecommerce industry is well-known, with a large number of online fashion and consumer retailers, as well as the extended supply chain which supports the industry. As the trade body for Manchester’s digital and tech businesses, Manchester Digital is supporting the growth of this fast-growing sector with the launch of our ecommerce forum.
Supporting Greater Manchester to fix the digital divide
Richard Zhou, Huawei Technologies writes “Getting digital inclusion right means considering everyone from digital natives to those who might never have used the internet at all. As we work to “build back better”, we need to bring everyone with us as technology opens up new opportunities for growth and employment.”
Digital Her - inspiring young women into tech and digital
In celebration of Ada Lovelace Day, Manchester Digital’s Digital Her programme is holding a virtual event for colleges today across Greater Manchester to inspire even more young women into careers in digital and technology.
People powered innovation
How Greater Manchester puts residents at the heart of innovation.
Over the last 20 months we have seen a well evidenced acceleration towards the UK becoming a ‘digital first’ society – as any number of statistics can demonstrate.
Working together to fix the digital divide
PCrefurb aims to "bridge the digital divide" refurbishing donated IT equipment and redistributing it to those most in need, helping people connect with training and education and to support their well-being.
Already working with Tameside Council and Greater Manchester Combined Authority, in July 2021 PCrefurb joined forces with Huawei to further to tackle digital exclusion in the communities it serves.
Enabling person centred digital transformation in Greater Manchester
Kieran Smith, GMCA and Rebecca Stockdale, Shaping Cloud talks about GM Identity - Greater Manchester’s Identity and Access Management product.
GM Identity launched in January 2020 and is a key part of the wider Greater Manchester Digital Platform which was built to ensure that professionals supporting citizens have the right information, at the right time and in the right way. It provides the infrastructure that can be rapidly adopted in other priority areas to drive improvements to our citizens too.
Tackling the digital divide locally
Recently GMCA Principal Skills Manager Adele Reynolds, spoke at the launch of the Lloyds Banking Group 2021 Consumer Digital Index. She has written about the Consumer Digital Index and the work being done in Greater Manchester to tackle the digital divide.
Why we need to talk about accessibility
Joanne Schofield from Co-op Digital writes about their work making Co-op products and services accessible and why working to improve accessibility is increasingly important.
GM One Network- the public sector network of choice
Jon Burt from GMCA Digital Team writes about the work going on across Greater Manchester to develop a world-class digital infrastructure. Including work going on to develop a network to link up public sector sites across Greater Manchester.
Greater Manchester- cyber security and a global pandemic
Lauren Millward, GMCA Digital Team writes about a recent Digital City Festival event which brought together a panel of experts to discuss what the last 12 months has meant for cyber security.
Uniting Greater Manchester around diversity
Victoria Knight of BAE Systems Applied Intelligence & Co Chair of the Greater Manchester Cyber Advisory Group explains why greater gender diversity must be an important part of Greater Manchester’s drive to become a world leading digital city-region
Supporting young people in Greater Manchester
In Greater Manchester, we believe that our young people deserve every chance to fulfil their potential. In 2020, I was delighted to accept the opportunity to Chair the Youth Task Force for Greater Manchester to drive forward the Young Persons Guarantee.
Andy’s story - Switch to Digital Week
As part of our Digitober campaign month, we spoke to Andy Golpys, Co-Founder of MadeByShape, a Digital Agency in Manchester. Andy has worked in the digital sector for 15 years and says he still absolutely loves ‘going to work’ every day. Here’s what Andy had to say about digital careers.
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