The first in our interview series, we met with Lucy Witham, Head of Digital at the Digital Greenhouse to talk about Guernsey and where we sit in an always connected world…
Hi Lucy! How long has the Digital Greenhouse been running now?
We opened almost three years ago now, in January 2016. The building was the old Co-Op bank and was transformed by the team over 6 months prior to opening, adding accessible lift access, floors and turning the space into the open plan and dynamic environment that we now have. The original images of the premises are quite amazing as it has had such a transformation!
“I have seen a fundamental shift in the conversation about digital skills and pathways not only on the Island, but also globally. It now feels like a very tangible issue and one that people are really starting to wake up to”
What are the core objectives of the Greenhouse, and where does your role fit within those objectives as Head of Digital?
At its heart, the Digital Greenhouse is here to grow and develop the digital and creative economy of Guernsey. We have two key roles here, the obvious one is the ‘hub’ which provides space for both start-up and more established small businesses to work in a co-working environment. The space is used for networking, private/public collaboration and community events. Which leads into the main focus of my teams work, which is to deliver a programme of digital initiatives to feed Economic growth, through delivery of skills and knowledge sharing programmes. These are super exciting and can range from facilitating hackathons with businesses, hosting key events to running innovation programmes with young people.
I see my role as an important bridge between public and private initiatives, hopefully bringing the right people round the table to get past the talk and into action. It has been a real pleasure to have the opportunity to direct the work through the Greenhouse as we get to see on a daily basis the real, tangible impact programmes like these can have. Three years in, we are now watching the ‘golden thread’ run through and the outcomes are fantastic. We have young people who started by attending a hackathon, then going onto our summer Digital Internship, then coming back from University and now working in one of the hard to fill key digital roles in industry. From a business development perspective, we have a growing number of success stories of individuals who have gone from being on their own with a hot desk membership through to moving out into private offices and employing staff. It is exactly what we want to see!
In your experience have you seen obvious transformation when it comes to Guernsey enhancing knowledge and skills locally in order to survive in an always connected world?
Personally I have seen a fundamental shift in the conversation about digital skills and pathways not only on the island, but also globally. It now feels like a very tangible issue and one that people are really starting to wake up to. I feel this is especially true here on the island as we do need to think sustainably about how we can feed our businesses and grow our economy. We can only do this if we engage people from a much younger age and more broadly across the community.
How do you think Guernsey can continue to improve the local environment for both entrepreneurs and brands as well as startups?
I think the provision for starting your own business in the Island is very accessible, but I would love to see us invest more in the wider elements that the island could grow to attract both new and returning people to Guernsey. I think sometimes we think we need to have these huge big solutions, fully funded and rolled out, when actually it can be much simpler. More by the people, for the people in my book!
What mediums and platforms does the Greenhouse find most effective for engaging with the local community?
We have a great following across social media and have a growing registered database who receive our newsletters and can choose to have specific info about careers and skills programmes too. We find that being based in Town we still have a number of people who pop in 9-5 during the week. A good old Guernsey coffee and a chat is still the preferred choice for many!
You’re active online socially. What are your favourite platforms and why?
I do love twitter, its my professional platform of choice for sure! I really like the super fast, concise delivery and the way in which you can join conversations with such a wide range of people. Twitter doesn’t care who you are, senior, junior, politician or lay person, everyone gets an equal voice. Obviously that also has downsides, but I really appreciate the way you can get a message out there and have a really diverse range of people interact with it.
Big question: Over the last decade social media has revolutionised how information is consumed, dwarfing all other mediums. Looking forward at the next 10 years, how do you see this crazy, always connected world developing?
Oh thats tricky! I think it might shrink, as in I think the use of tech for information will become far more personalised and smaller in its tone.
Thanks to Lucy for her time over a coffee.
We hope that you found the chat interesting, and if you’d like to chat with us feel free to get in touch.
Crowd are hosting the next free Marketing Meetup at the Digital Greenhouse on 21st November, where we will be touching on some of the key fundamentals of marketing and communication in 2018/19. REGISTER HERE