When Sir Terry Matthews was appointed chair of the Swansea Bay Board in 2014, there was quite rightly an expectation that his vision, energy and sheer bloody-mindedness would bring together the public and private sectors to catalyse and coalesce their ambitions into a coherent and transformational strategy for the economic future of the region.
And it fair to say that today’s document - “The Internet Coast” - which sets out the case to the UK Government for City Deal funding, presents a fresh and exciting set of solutions that will catapult Swansea and the surrounding area into a technological and economic future that will be the envy of other similar regions across the World.
The current economic position of the Swansea Bay region is not an easy place to start from. Its growth remains far below the UK average with many sectors geared towards lower value activities that offer little prospect for improving prosperity over the long term. As a result, the Swansea Bay region has too few businesses, too much economic inactivity and not enough people with high level qualifications.
Both the urban and rural parts of the region need to improve their performance, digital connectivity is not developing quickly enough and the physical infrastructure remains relatively poor and
To address these issues and deliver a step change in economic growth that is beyond what it has experienced since its industrial heyday, there needs to be a shift towards higher value sectors and occupations.
This will not be achieved by repeating the same mistakes of the last unsuccessful approach to developing innovation within the region.
A decade and a half ago, tens of millions of pounds of public funding was poured into the Technium programme that failed to achieve its aims of generating a more productive economy. This was because it made the critical error of establishing a range of shiny new buildings that remained largely empty rather than investing in skills, people and innovation.
In contrast, and driven by the success of Sir Terry and his companies in Canada, the solution presented today lies in the exploitation and integration of 21st century internet-based technologies to join up three growth sectors with enormous potential and making the whole greater than the sum of parts.
The first of these – the internet of energy – will create a smart and efficient “Future Energy System” that will integrate the region’s existing asset base in renewable and conventional energy production (including the Tidal Lagoon) in a market that is potentially worth £1.5 trillion by 2050.
It is expected that this will not only bring in new investment but, more importantly, stimulate the creation of high technology start-ups through the establishment of a new Alacrity Foundation and an investment fund.
The second related project is the Internet of Health and Wellbeing will transform the delivery of health and social care in the region.
But this is not about building new hospitals or medical research facilities but using the enhanced digital infrastructure as a key component to solving existing health and social care system fragmentation.
In particular, the intention to create a new approach to genome-informed personalised treatment plans and research environments could be a significant contributor in making the UK a world leader in Genomic Medicine.
Finally, the Internet of Economic Acceleration is probably the most exciting of all three as it gives the region a once in a generation opportunity to collaborate with a consortium of global partners to maximise the benefits of a new digital infrastructure.
This will start with the proposed installation of a new transatlantic cable from North America into Oxwich Bay that will ensure that Swansea Bay will have the vital competitive advantage of being positioned between major global centres such as London and New York on a ‘digital super highway’.
This is a real ‘game changer’ for the region and will result in the development and delivery of new digital applications including a new “Cloud Data Centre” Enterprise Zone in Swansea Bay as a magnet for further investment, supporting S4C’s new national HQ in Carmarthen, and working with private and public partners to create a 5G Test Bed.
Therefore, the Internet Coast document presents an ambitious plan but it is one that vitally places South West Wales in a position where it can play a big part in leading the creation of new global economies. How many other regional strategies anywhere in the World can make a similar claim?
It is also the result of a positive coalition between the private and public sector, supporting the aims of both the UK and Welsh Governments in economic growth, social inclusion and sustainability.
During the twenty years I have spent as an academic in Wales, I have seen economic strategies come and go with little foresight and impact. In contrast, the proposal that is published today is exciting, innovative, visionary and, most important at all, achievable and deliverable.
And the results could be transformational – by creating high technology jobs both through start-ups and inward investment in high growth areas, the Swansea Bay region could become a £15bn economy by 2035 with economic output at 90% of the UK level.
Wales’ second city has been a sleeping giant for far too long. This proposal will change all that by taking the best of the region and maximising these strengths in a revolutionary new approach. Most important of all, it could transform Swansea, the Welsh economy and set an example for the rest of the UK to follow.