Broadening
Inishowen’s digital horizons
26.03.21
DONEGAL Digital has proven
to be an invaluable resource and asset to businesses and
organisations across the county. It is a unique and
innovative inter-agency project with partners from both
the private and the public sector.
We speak to Margaret Quinn, Donegal Digital Project
Manager and ERNACT Programme Manager to learn more about
the role Donegal Digital plays in the adoption of
digitalisation across the county, the challenges of
Covid-19, and plans for the future.
Margaret tells us that “the ambitions of the project
have always been to ensure that the county can thrive
and grasp the opportunities that come from driving
innovation, economic development and job creation.”
She adds “a key factor in the digital strategy for
regional development is the availability of high
bandwidth broadband, which Donegal County Council and
Donegal Digital has been instrumental in achieving by
encouraging broadband providers to invest in Donegal and
early identification of Broadband Connection Points (BCP’s).
The BCPS will become remote working or smaller digital
hubs as time goes on. In addition to this, a total of 75
outdoor public WiFi access points are being installed
throughout the county and this work is over 50%
complete”. |
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Some of the Donegal Digital partners and
external stakeholders invited to the Inishowen
Innovation presentation in Buncrana (Left to Right):
Paul Walker (Pramerica), Shauna McClenaghan (Inishowen
Development Partnership); Marie McDaid (IDA Ireland);
John McLaughlin (Donegal County Council); Fiona Burns
(Forward Emphasis International); Clive Connaughton (Turas
Branda); Cllr. Rena Donaghey (Donegal County Council);
Brian Boyle (Donegal County Council); Kevin McShane
(Inishowen Innovation); Jose Manuel San Emeterio (ERNACT);
Prof. Damien Coyle (Ulster University); Marion Boyce (ERNACT);
Carole Brenan (Enterprise Ireland); Aine Friel (CoLab)
and Colm McColgan (ERNACT). |
Donegal Digital Hub Network
was developed by Donegal Digital to identify and promote
funding sources to facilitate the development of
existing and new hubs and Margaret believes that “hubs
have a key role in connecting communities and businesses
to each other and there is no doubt that the importance
of digital technology will grow across all sectors so
the hubs role as a local touch point keeping people and
businesses current can also be expected to grow”.
Margaret explains that “the objectives of Donegal
Digital 2021 are to increase research capacity levels
through the development of a robust action plan and
there is growing recognition of the importance of
university-industry-community collaboration as a vehicle
for regional growth.
“We are working on initiatives such as Digital
Foundations which is focused on the continued rollout of
the National Broadband Plan, completion of the public
WiFi program and supporting enhanced digital skills”.
Covid-19 has had many negative impacts on the community
of Donegal, however, one area which has seen a positive
impact is the increase in remote working and how
businesses across the county are adapting to these
changes.
Margaret suggests that this will likely remain to a
large degree because it works well for many employees
who find a better work life balance and can be just as
productive saying “this new trend will change the
dynamics of traditional working. We are only at the
start of what is often termed the fourth industrial
revolution with far-reaching impacts on society and
business and the need to adopt digital technology in a
transformative way”.
The future for Donegal Digital looks bright as the
partnership continues to work towards its goals for 2021
and collaborating with key stakeholders throughout the
county to ensure that Donegal is to the fore in the new
era of digitalisation.
“We have many plans for 2021 including working towards
achieving a ‘Smart Region’ that will see us supporting
the transition to a low carbon economy through the
adoption of green technologies and smart energy
management. We will also continue to advocate for
bolstering investment in digital research in Donegal and
building on the strong industry/academia collaboration
that is already happening” concludes Margaret. |
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