What initially drew you to digital infrastructure?
Can I confess that I never really had any intention of ending up in digital or tech? I spent all my formative years in finance and strategy consulting helping massive multinationals on everything from M&A to global tax planning and restructuring. I moved into an Innovation Director role about 12 years ago though, and after spending some time on digital transformation internally and for large corporate clients I ended up on a project with what was Tech North back then, and their startup community. I was immediately absolutely hooked. I couldn’t believe how ambitious the founders were, how collaborative the ecosystem was, and how fast impressive companies and products that would change and improve so many aspects of our lives were being built and developed.
When Tech North and Tech City teamed up to create Tech Nation as a national organisation centred on helping startups and scaleups right across the UK to thrive, I was lucky enough to be asked to join. My first role there was building and then looking after a national team, and a network of about 4.5k high potential scaleups. Being involved in developing the startup ecosystem that had started in silicon roundabout, and then took hold right across the UK was so interesting.
I went on to look after international programmes, the global tech talent visa and commercial partnerships, and developed a deep understanding of the role ecosystem development plays in creating the right conditions for startup growth. Once again, that relationship between hard infrastructure and programmatic support was important – all the bits of the jigsaw in an ecosystem need to be present and working well if our startups and scaleups are to thrive.
If your application is successful, Harlow Council will transfer the grant by BACS. Bank details (account name, number and sort code) will need to be supplied with a summary of accounts.
Funding conditions: If your application is successful, your project must be delivered by 31 December 2026. You will have to return any grant funds if the project is not delivered or the organisation receiving the funding stops operating.
A contract agreement will need to be signed between your organisation and Harlow District Council before any funding is granted.
Monitoring and Evaluation: Grant recipients will be required to provide an end of project report to establish whether the project has met its aims and objectives, as well as to assess the overall impact on participants. Funding for the project is provided on the basis that the Project Evaluation form is returned within the agreed project timescale (no later than 31 January 2027).
Risks and Liabilities: In giving grants the ‘Harlow Council’ will require the supported project organisation or groups to accept all risks and liabilities associated with the activity being supported. This will be a condition of the grant. Copies of relevant documents may need to be provided if the application has been approved.
Data protection statement – how we will use your information
The Council is committed to handling your personal information in line with the data processing principles. The Data Protection Legislation and the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR) sets the legal framework for how we collect, handle and process personal data and for your rights as a ‘data subject.’
General Data Protection Regulation: Personal data provided by you will be processed in accordance with this protocol. For more details, please see https://www.harlow.gov.uk/privacy-notice
Thank you for taking the time to read these guidance notes. If you have any questions, please get in touch with [email protected].
