4 research outputs found
An evaluation of the economic impact of broadband in Lincolnshire: updated final report
The Lincolnshire Broadband Initiative, ‘onlincolnshire’, was launched in 2003 to bring a range
of broadband supply and demand stimulation activities to businesses across the county.
The initiative has used £15 million of European funding, together with matched funding from
Lincolnshire County Council, to support a series of significant Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) interventions to provide support and financial assistance to eligible
Lincolnshire businesses.
The ‘onlincolnshire’ initiative has four long term strategic objectives. By 2010:
• Lincolnshire will be the foremost rural County in the UK, with regards to ICT usage and
skills and will have a commercial environment that embraces ICT;
• The main employment sites and premises will have attracted increased and more diverse
investment;
• ICT will have made a major contribution to business competitiveness, expansion and
diversification of the economy – measured through an increase in ICT related employment
and a range of ICT based activities;
• To have engaged individuals and employers in improving ICT skills to increase local
competitiveness, raise the standards, participation and achievement in ICT throughout the
County
Supporting rural Small and Medium-sized Enterprises to take up broadband-enabled technology: What works?
The last 15 years have seen major changes in the availability and usage of broadband in the UK. Despite these improvements, rural areas continue to lag behind urban areas for broadband connection speeds – a divide that is exacerbated by lower rates of broadband adoption among rural Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). This paper examines the experiences of SMEs that have participated in a publicly funded programme designed to stimulate demand for broadband in the rural region of Lincolnshire, UK. Drawing on interviews conducted over two periods of policy intervention (2003–2006 and 2010–2015) it examines the variety of business support approaches used and identifies the effects of these on use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) innovation, and sales within participating SMEs. The results show that while training events provide entry-level support for broadband use, more intensive support such as 1:1 advice and ICT grants leads to the significant changes within the business. Direct access to new technology in spaces such as Technology Hubs is identified as particularly important for rural SMEs. The paper concludes by identifying some common features of the business support that bring about the greatest benefits to SMEs in rural areas