Many governments and organisations are keen to develop new online methods of communication and service delivery to more efficiently and effectively meet user requirements. Tech4i2 have assisted private and public sector organisations in the development of many online tools and applications.
Tech4i2 has also facilitated development of online discussion for the annual Digital Agenda Assembly. Catalysing interest through web sites, blogs, discussion portals, LinkedIn groups, Facebook groups and twitter. In 2012 activities generated 15,000 tweets about the event and 2,000 online discussion contributions.
Tech4i2 is currently developing various software tools to assist with project performance monitoring for Local Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships. For more information about this, please get in touch.
Over 30 years of working with policymakers Tech4i2 has developed very strong links with government policymakers in the UK and throughout Europe. This extensive policymaking experience has developed considerable expertise in strategy development, operational service delivery and evaluation and monitoring.
Impact assessment and evaluation provides transparent and reliable evidence for policy makers. It helps in the selection of appropriate policy option(s) that will provide the required outputs, outcomes and objectives most efficiently and effectively. Approximately half of Tech4i2 projects are impact assessment and ex ante and ex post applied policy research evaluation studies for the European Commission and national governments.
Literature reviews provide a context for studies. They help to ensure resources are used effectively by not re-treading ground that has already been covered. They provide an immediate understanding of the current state of knowledge that enables new questions to be asked or new areas to be efficiently analysed. Nearly all Tech4i2 studies are underpinned by literature reviews.
Data collection and verification form the basis for quantitative and qualitative approaches to research. Data and information can be collected from secondary sources (i.e. National Statistical Offices and from primary sources through undertaking surveys, experiments or observational studies. Tech4i2 has successfully completed numerous pan-European data collection an analysis studies. The largest data set collected and analysed was of more than 15 million internet using households in the UK.
Forecasting and scenario development is the process of making predictions and statements about future events. These methods provide policymakers with a better understanding of future changes in their area of interest, thus enabling to better seize opportunities and overcome potential problems. Tech4i2 have used a variety of forecasting methods to predict trends in local and national economies, in the life cycle of markets and in new technology adoption and substitution.
Economic development refers to the progress of an economy through the employment of various techniques and actions. The aim is usually to improve the economic health and often the standard of living in a particular area – political, economic and wellbeing. Economic development improvements can refer to: human capital, critical infrastructure, regional competitiveness, social inclusion, safety, health and literacy.
Tech4i2 has a wealth of experience in the field of Economic Development, ranging from assisting Local Authorities identify areas for growth, to working with Local Enterprise Partnerships to develop and review their Strategic Economic Plans.
Strategy development is an organisation’s process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions about how best to allocate resources to pursue this strategy. Tech4i2 have supported many organisations in developing strategic plans. Methods used have included economic and econometric analysis; Foresight and strategic road-mapping; PEST and EPISTEL analysis; scenario planning; and balanced scorecards.
Service delivery projects have focused on delivering efficient services through better performance management frameworks. We have worked alongside many organisations to enhance service delivery quality and efficiency. We have also undertaken numerous comprehensive studies to analyse policies and initiatives. These have included studies of initiatives to enhance social inclusion, to increase digital inclusion, to support business competitiveness, to provide funding to small businesses, and to deploy broadband.
Many governments and organisations are keen to increase public participation, democratic involvement and to builder stronger communities. There is a belief that wider involvement is good for public organisations, as it improves their relationships with the public and reduces the risk of bad mistakes.
Many organisations and public bodies are trying to communicate and involve with the public more actively through traditional methods and social media. Tech4i2 have organised numerous stakeholder and engagement events, workshops, online communities and animated/activated catalytic activities to encourage membership and discussion in these fora.
Tech4i2 has undertaken a number of projects with a focus on social and digital inclusion.
One solution we provided was to develop a website hat provided a searchable data base of more than 800 inspiring projects that utilised technology to enhance social inclusion. At the end of the first year the site had an average of more than 5,000 unique visitors per month and over 330,000 pageviews.
In 2014 Tech4i2 completed the development of the Digital Entrepreneurship Monitor for the European Commission. The data visualisation tool is one of the most advanced components of the Commission’s Europa web site.
