Wednesday, 15 September 2021
Donegal Digital’s new visual identity and website has been launched today (Wednesday 15th September) by Donegal County Council’s Chief Executive, John McLaughlin. The new website aims to showcase the county as an excellent location for tech entrepreneurs, companies, organizations and investors to locate to and set up in.
This initiative is led by the Donegal Digital public-private partnership, comprising of 14 organisations, companies and institutions, whose shared objectives are to increase digital research and innovation and build strong digital communities in the county, as well as deepening the Letterkenny digital cluster.
Speaking at the launch John McLaughlin said that “Donegal Digital is one of Donegal County Councils’ most important policy initiatives and we are delighted to work with the project consortium on delivering its objectives. Donegal Digital dovetails well with many other Council development strategies including remote working, inward investment as well as indigenous job creation. Donegal has a very strong tech scene and the growth experienced by both global companies based in Donegal and by the emerging start-up scene is testament to the talent, innovation and creativity inherent in the county"
The new website features the list of digital and community hubs available for businesses and individuals and includes an enquiry platform where individuals interested in working from these hubs can request availability. These hubs are home to cutting-edge digital innovation and can assist digital entrepreneurs, remote tech workers, tech company managers and investment professionals decide which Donegal digital hub to work from.
The Donegal Digital Action Plan for Digital Transformation is also on the website. This plan focuses on three areas: firstly building strong ‘Digital Foundations’ including developing advanced broadband and improving digital skills within the region; secondly ‘Driving Digital Innovation’, through the hubs and providing assistance to tech start ups and finally developing a ‘Smart City and Region’ by building intelligent infrastructure for the culture and tourism sectors of the county.
Brian Boyle, Head of Information Systems at Donegal County Council said “I would like to thank everyone who contributed to our Donegal Digital web portal being launch today. Donegal Digital has significant momentum behind it now and I look forward to working with all our partners as we seek to exploit the opportunities for Donegal afforded by high-speed connectivity and modern digital technologies.”
These opportunities are showcased on the new communication channels on the refreshed website, which contains testimonial videos, animations, and latest local news. These stories will assist in helping to communicate and drive Digital Innovation and strong digital communities as well as showcasing the benefits of Letterkenny’s digital cluster.
Project Manager for Donegal Digital, Dr Margaret Quinn, says that this initiative is about making that most of the opportunity that digital presents for Donegal saying “basically, the Donegal Digital initiative is about making the most of the opportunity of digital for the county, all the more necessary with the challenges of COVID. A real strength is the Donegal Digital partnership of the Council, key agencies, institutions, and business which drives the initiative and has super collaboration. It is delivering tangible local impacts such as broadband acceleration and, what will prove to be a massive asset, the growing Digital Innovation Hubs network. There is more to come. The message we want to get out is that Donegal is tuned in to the digital age and offers the perfect work/life balance for digi/tech work and business.”
