Adrian Kelly

Applications for the digital boost grant are closing on Sep 13 (NEXT Friday). Harlow Council are keen to use the entire pool of money but there's a short application window. Here's some additional info for anyone interested in applying that I got from the business forum this week: - Max grant is £2.5k but you can ask for less for smaller projects - This is match-funded, so if you pay £2.5k, Harlow pays £2.5k - You have to cover the full cost up front, but they will reimburse as soon as you have an invoice and show the project is started - Projects DO need to demonstrate that they're started but don't have to be completed to receive reimbursement - It's not available to cover ongoing costs like salaries or rent - Harlow Council is open to novel and new ideas to use the funds even if they haven't been specifically outlined in the grant #grants #funding #opportunity #harlow

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Robust telecoms networks are vital to UK prosperity and security. But despite our ambitions the UK isn’t set to pioneer the next generation of cellular tech. So why are we trying? What should the Government's strategy be? Our latest research on frontier technologies - this one on 'future telecoms' - is out now. Read and subcribe!

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A really important project with potential to make a significant difference to the speed and transparency of the grid connection process.

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Should employers subsidise public transport for their teams? An interesting read from City AM today (🔗 in comments) focusing on new research from the ONS highlighting the slowdown in London's productivity growth since the financial crisis. The data suggests a correlation with low productivity and office attendance (🥱...nothing new there!). Its a sensitive issue but irrespective of your opinion on productivity at home vs in the office it appears average days per week in the office in London lags behind many other international cities. One of the suggested improvements for this is subsidising travel costs for employees. “London’s workers are by far more likely to cite that travel costs are a barrier to getting back to work than workers elsewhere,” What grabbed my attention is an interesting comparison with our French neighbours. The French labor code requires employers to cover a minimum of 50% of commuting costs, many cover the entire cost. This feels like an interesting concept that could help with the cost of living and encourage people to spend more time together. The UK has the most expensive public transport costs in Europe. British employees can spend up to 20% of their salary on commuting, whist in France data I've seen indicates this to be nearer 6%. In 2023 the average change in regulated fares in the UK was 5.9% the highest since 2012. Its not getting cheaper either! Average gross salaries in France are also higher than the UK, which perhaps reinforces the squeeze that UK commuters feel. Lots to digest but in my experience I'm increasingly feeling people do want to get together more often for purposeful and personal connections. My gut feel is that subsidised transport would help support this. But from a business perspective the potentially significant increase in organisation labour costs is a hard swallow. Additionally it's considered a taxable benefit currently. What do you all think? - Are there examples of companies in the UK paying for employee public transport to the office - do those that do see higher office attendance? and would you be happier going to an office if your travel was paid for?

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Polkadot Digest 13 May 2024 Polkadot News Integritee has won the most recent parachain lease auction. https://lnkd.in/eprfEN7P This is despite being only in the lead for 36% of the blocks in the Ending Period. This is by design of the candle auction. For details, see https://lnkd.in/eUDcc3Cn The staking rate on Polkadot continues to increase and is now at 55.5%. https://lnkd.in/eJAj3XXW I will be part of a panel on the topic of Open Governance at Decentralized Lugano this Thursday, 16 May. https://lnkd.in/e7tvAeTP Eskimor, one of the Parity engineers working on the Polkadot Node software, has published an in-depth article on Grill explaining what is happening “under the hood” in developing Polkadot. https://lnkd.in/emZcg5Nr Grill is an application running on the Subsocial parachain allowing for decentralized publishing. For details, see https://grillapp.net/ Kusama News The staking rate on Kusama is also increasing, albeit more slowly, and is now at 52.12%. https://lnkd.in/eJAj3XXW Referendum 393, assigning a core to the People Chain immediately, is passing and barring any major changes, should start confirming shortly. https://lnkd.in/e-YU2C3V Referendum 388, enabling identity again on Kusama on the People Chain, is passing with 82.3% in favor. https://lnkd.in/eWHbXKMi Referendum 387, upgrading the relay chain runtime for People launch (allowing anyone to call reap_identity), is passing with 95% in favor. https://lnkd.in/eK4j3KiK This will allow users to migrate their identity to the People Chain, which has a 1/100th deposit amount for identities. For details, see https://lnkd.in/e-pzKk67

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It was interesting to learn how our company is adapting to the changing landscape of engineering and embracing new challenges. Our CEO perspective sheds light on the innovative approaches we are taking to ensure success in the fast-paced world of technology. #Taoglas #antennas #supplychain #winningtogether

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Great article! I agree 100%, having completed many tenders, the only questions asked that tend to be people-centric are "Is training provided?" and "Will post go-live support be included?". I've never seen questions such as "Is the user interface designed for users with varying needs?" Having spent a decade or more implementing enterprise solutions for the NHS, something often missed is explaining the "why" to our users and ensuring they understand the vision so they are bought into the solution not just part of it. We should spend time advertising the benefits that resonate directly with the individual user. In many circumstances, I've seen solutions make one user group's job harder but another's significantly easier, but the trade-off is never discussed openly. People matter.

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I would go one step further and say that the consistent identification of vulnerable customers is the hardest part of the consumer duty, without a systematic approach. Once identified there is a well defined framework of supporting those customers. Its the reason Comentis Ltd was established to help firms quickly and consistently identify vulnerable customers. #FCA #consumerduty #vulnerable #customers

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Great to be able to support SSEN Transmission's innovation ambitions! The REACT pre-connection decision support tool is summarised in the innovation report below. #faster #smarter

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There is still a lot this government can do to address the gap between policy creation and the digital delivery needed to implement it. Read this latest piece by our CEO Aingaran Pillai and don't miss out on our new report, which delves into this issue: https://lnkd.in/dNYxaTp9 #digitaltransformation #digitalgovernment #digital

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Helping Sifted, Fortune, Startups Magazine and GB News is all in a days work on budget day. Always tough to know whether to wear my Economics 101 hat from university days, Accounting hat from a former life or Founder hat from today. My view? Those with the broadest shoulders should take the load - tax hikes were inevitable under a new government and bigger businesses will pay the brunt of the increases. If we see changes to public services, it's a great thing. My fear is we'll service debt payments for years to come and see no difference at all. Prolonging the Fuel Duty Freeze? Utterly bonkers in a nation that is aiming for Net Zero. Entrepreneurs Relief / BADR changes? Far less than rumoured, not likely to change much (either in the government bank account or for the likelihood of a founder setting up a business). Anybody who is leaving or has left the country already might have used this as an excuse, but they were halfway out the door already. NI rise? It'll lead to lower job creation. Overall? Embarrassing that the government can brief (or at best not deny) wild rumours to soften the blow of reality. In the City this is called manipulating the market and leads to a lengthy prison stay. Alongside this, changing the rules so much, so quickly and so regularly does undermine business confidence and changes the risk-reward psychology for a founder. Thanks Kai Nicol-Schwarz, Prarthana Prakash, Patrick O'Donnell and Anna Wood for taking the time to listen.

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Check out this post on the state of UK startup funding from Ian Merricks, FBCS FRSA. It offers great insight, highlighting the significant funding challenges at Series A and providing focused foresight on what’s truly at stake for the UK’s scaleups. It's well worth a read! #startups #scaleups #innovation #investment #funding

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Thanks to Shane Tickell and Kanthan Theivendran for spurring me to share this thought today. I learned last week of a letter sent to NHS Trust Ops Directors / COO's attempting to mandate the uptake of app products developed as part of / extension to the Palantir Federated Data Platform (FDP) roll-out. Of 5 "products" currently being pushed, one is called Care Coordination Solutions (CCS). The product description I managed to find online is very light and high-level, suggesting the product being pushed is nowhere near ready as a tangible solution to help NHS teams proactively managing patient lists and drive down wait times. There is already plenty of SME innovation already happening in this space, much of it already deployed and proving its value. This puts this bundled offering a good few years behind, so I struggle to understand why this large scale US-led offering is being offered in place of UK SME offerings already driving outcomes. I look forward to advances in UK health tech and health data over the coming years, but under rejuvinated govt. leadership, fostering local SME innovation is key as this is where innovation itself happens (locally and in startups / SME's) I welcome standardised national data infrastructure, providing it is not all eggs in one basket and open data standards are leveraged fully. With the right help, users and teams know what is needed to run services successfully. The clue is in the name; user centred design. UX/UI/apps/services/interactions/processes/workflows should all be driven and implemented at a local level. To achieve this, more base level platforms that are designed to empower users to build and run their own digital services and processes are needed. Nationally rolled out one-size-fits-all has proven time and time again to not work in an NHS where apps/systems landscape is so vast and varies so widely from NHS org to NHS org. The NHS has been throwing increasing amounts of money at supposed gold standards in health tech platforms, invariably US HQ'd, that simply do not represent good value for money, create HUGE vendor lock-in via waterfall upgrades linked to long term and very expensive contracts that give little to no user agency through no ability to vote with their feet against poor user experience. It's time we tap more into the great talent, knowledge and expertise that we have in the UK to build great digital health products and solutions. Whilst noises coming from Wes Streeting seem to point to health tech/data being turned into a GDP/growth enabling product, one that will need other countries to buy it if it's to contribute to GDP, this doesn't justify what feels currently like one-way traffic spend on often massively overpriced and poorly iterative (infrequent version releases where the user voice and feedback is built into a constantly improving product and experience).

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Blake Clough Consulting are keeping track of the ongoing connection reforms and are actively contributing to the consultations. We have released a consolidated view on the National Energy System Operator Clean Power 2030 report and are helping our clients navigate through the changes this will bring next year. The strategic 'buckets' of projects are yet to be established whereby a technology type is allocated depending on the area of the country and according to local needs. The other area that we are awaiting further information on is the 'Strategic Pathways' that developers could fall under meaning they could take advantage of Gate 2 offer queue acceleration. Using the published information so far, we have been able to help our clients apply attrition rate sensitivities to the connections queue in order to gauge what the potential impact may be on their connection dates through queue acceleration. #TMO4+ #CleanPower2030 #QueueReform

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I joined this visionary venture a month ago and I can’t wait to share the progress we’re making. At SigmaSight we’re at the forefront of bringing court data together in a meaningful way that allows the insurance industry to understand venue risk and plaintiffs’ attorneys’ capabilities. We are on a mission to harness the cutting-edge capabilities of technology, artificial intelligence, and data to power the world's best negotiators and transform the negotiation processes in litigated claims. Follow SigmaSight as we redefine negotiation excellence! #insurtech #litigationmanagement #negotiationexcellence #claimsmanagement

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A really comprehensive and insightful report into the network / development data challenges we encountered during the REACT project, and recommendations for future 🔮 Well worth a read!

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Do we have enough public charge points in the UK? With the negativity often quoted about EVs, one assumption seems to be continually raised - we don't have enough public charge points to support the growth of EVs. However, there are many inputs that need be considered to evaluate this. Latest stats in the UK show that we have 70,434 public chargers, giving 103,593 charging connectors. This is a 32% increase in numbers since December 2023 and a 41% increase YoY since September 2023. With 1,250,000 EVs in the UK, that equates to around 12 EVs per public charge point. Of note, the ratio for petrol/diesel cars to fuel pumps in the UK is around 230:1. But this is just the public charge points, and negates all the home and workplace chargers, estimated to be around 850,000 and 58,000 chargers respectively. Around 81% of EV drivers do most or all of their charging at home or at work, which considerably reduces the public EV to charge point ratio, effectively freeing up more chargers to use. But we also need to consider - do we have the right mix of chargers in the public arena? If the industry went for pure numbers to maximise the number of public sockets in the UK, the easiest option would be to simply install the lower powered 7kW charge points, which will take several hours to fully charge an EV. But in some scenarios, such as at motorway services, these would take far too long to charge an EV. The industry could make all the sockets the more powerful 350kW charger, which may take 20 minutes to fully recharge, but these are more expensive and much more complex to install, and would you want to pay a higher charging cost to use these if you intended to be parked up for several hours? Also consider the throughput. A lower power 7kW charger will mean EVs are connected to the unit for longer, which means we may need more chargers. Conversely, a higher power charger charges quicker, meaning more EVs can use it per hour compared to the 7kW point, and so fewer charge points are required. Ideally, the figure should be a mix of public chargers of various powers to cater for a whole range of scenarios that EV drivers will face. We also need to consider that there are the right charge points in the right locations (motorway versus on street parking), and that there are sufficient charge points in key 'hot spot' locations to avoid long queues. A particularly important point is that all the charge points also need to be working, which seems to be a key point that the media hone in on when promoting negativity towards the EV charging network, and a driver has found several consecutive charge points all apparently not working. In such a scenario, one does have to question if it is actually the EV or driver at fault. Whilst the UK currently and arguably has the right ratio of EVs to public EV chargers, it becomes a fine balancing act to ensure that the industry installs the right chargers at the right locations at the right time. Thoughts?

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While these are excellent points on how the new UK government can understand/apply technology enabled care to improve lives and society - They are equally relevant for all countries in the EU in terms of benefits of the sector. Nicely summarized and clarified, TSA – The voice of technology enabled care !

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As a pre-seed startup in the UK, my experience mirrors this new strong data. I was lucky enough to find some fantastic first round investors who were willing to go on a capital-intensive journey to innovate, but an astonishingly few VCs in the UK - and the EU - were excited to take outsized risks for our outsized returns. Instead, many were looking for revenue at pre-seed on a tech-centric build: low risk, medium reward. (There were of course other reasons that some people passed, some excellent concerns & feedback, and some stellar funds in the UK, but I am 90% sure that my round as a whole would have been much easier in the USA.) Given my experience, the fact that I'm a US citizen as well, and the experience of nearly every other founder, I strongly predict that my next raise will be skewed to the USA. I will definitely be putting more energy there in the beginning. The UK has amazing SEIS and EIS, which moves money from the wealthy individuals into innovation, but the industry as a whole isn't there yet. (And those of you with SEIS and EIS with us, don't worry - if I do a flip, I'll do it correctly to protect you!)

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