Manchester’s Digital Strategy Highlights 2025 - 2026
As we trade mince pies for meeting invites, we're ushering in the New Year by looking back on our highlights from 2025!
Over the last 12 months, these are the moments that have made us most proud to be part of Manchester’s Digital Stategy.
We became the first UK city outside of London to join CommuniCity, a citizen-centred initiative inspiring EU innovators to co-create solutions to social challenges. While all three pilots have shaped our approach to future service delivery, we’re thrilled to be continuing our partnership with Commu App into 2026. Working with Our Manchester Food Partnership, Commu will help food providers across the city to co-ordinate their services more effectively, enabling more residents to access vital support.
Our work with The Manchester Metropolitan University on the People’s Panel for AI has continued to go from strength to strength! Partnering with Transport for Greater Manchester we hosted panels exploring the potential benefits of drones & autonomous vehicles. Meanwhile, our Let’s Get Digital team supported VCSE organisations to develop their AI literacy through interactive workshops. The cherry on top? We were honoured to be recognised as a leading example of ethical AI at The National AI Awards!
We partnered with Drees & Sommer on Manchester’s Digitalisation Maturity Assessment, using stakeholder interviews & policy analysis to provide evidence-based recommendations to accelerate place-based innovation. Going forwards, the report will help ensure digital technologies benefit everyone in our city.
Our Digital Inclusion team celebrated Get Online Week in style! From digital inclusion marketplaces to 3D printing workshops, an action-packed programme of events supported hundreds of residents to build their digital confidence.
In collaboration with Inakalum we launched Phase 2 of our digital asset mapping project, gathering data to build a clearer picture of current and future connectivity needs across the city.
We strengthened our reputation as a leading digital city by engaging with tech events in the UK and beyond! We were grateful for opportunities to learn from pioneering organisations and innovators across the world, while championing inclusive digital practices internationally.
We launched our Regional Start-Up Landscape Report in partnership with Manchester Digital & Manchester Angels. Exploring key barriers to ecosystem growth, the report sets out recommendations to realise a more equitable start-up ecosystem. We’re already progressing actions from the research, including sponsoring ManchesterTechEvents.com to support event co-ordination & collaboration across the city!
Working with pioneering organisations and businesses across the city, our Digital Inclusion team donated 34 laptops, 181 smartphones, and 79 digital devices - helping more people in Manchester benefit from the incredible opportunities of the digital world.
A huge thank you to all the incredible businesses, organisations, people and communities that have supported and inspired us this year. We’re grateful to all the partnerships, events and conversations that have helped to build a future for Manchester where everyone is served by advances in digital technology!
We can’t wait to see what 2025 has in store!
