Nitrous launches Govsight
What’s happening here?
Nitrous is launching Govsight – Pocket-size insights into how technology is disrupting the public sector. Clear, concise and digestible views into CityTech*, CivTech and general political activity.
CityTech: (noun) tech-enabled solutions developed alongside the public sector, industry, and citizens that solve localised urban challenges and problems.
What’s the purpose?
Research shows that the GovTech market could be worth £20 billion by 2025 in the UK alone. With the ongoing pandemic, public and private sector collaboration couldn’t be more important.
Our aim with Govsight is to clearly aggregate public sector activity in technology to give important, bitesize insights into government grant announcements, procurement, tenders and tech strategy shifts.
Govsight aims to provide clear updates for SME’s and entrepreneurs engaging with the public sector so opportunities from the fast-growing GovTech space can be realised.
This week:
Collaboration in the face of a pandemic
NHSX and Innovate UK launch Covid 19 innovation challenges
What does this mean?
The ongoing Coronavirus pandemic has caused widespread disruption globally, with little in the way of an exit strategy. Concentrating on saving lives, the public sector is looking externally for solutions that help the vulnerable, that help lower the spread and help us end lockdown in a safe and sustainable way.
Tech like Corona 100m in South Korea has proven to be effective, with the most effective balance of containing the spread of the contagion and locking down the society. It’s here that the public sector is now looking, with an eye for innovative solutions that can help society pick itself up and continue on.
NHSX – TechForce19 Challenge
Innovate UK Grant
Why is it important?
The open call for innovative solutions is a promising sign for the UK SME tech ecosystem as they are not being overlooked to find solutions.
What is clear is that the public sector needs to innovate in response to this crisis more than ever. With SME’s facing increased financial uncertainty, the promise of government grants to help fight this pandemic may give much-needed relief to runways.
In Korea, Singapore and China technology has come to the rescue through data-collection, surveillance and warning systems – can we achieve such a solution, whilst not maintaining privacy? That remains to be seen.
Startups helping to fight the pandemic
What’s this all about?
Companies around the world are rallying to help during this unprecedented challenge. Thanks to Startup Blink and their Coronavirus Innovation Map, we can see what innovators are doing around the world to help combat the effects of this pandemic.
Closer to home SMEs like Yoti – the digital identification consumer app – is offering its biometric digital identity verification service for free to all public health organisations.
To fight these new challenges, companies are also finding different applications for existing technology, for example, dRISK is using its machine vision technology (usually reserved for the operation of Autonomous Vehicles) to spot areas prone to spreading contagions post-lockdown.
Why is this important?
Necessity is the mother of all invention and these are certainly adverse times.
SMEs are feeling the bite, but this isn’t stopping them from adapting their solutions to the current climate. Many startups in our network see the challenge, but also the opportunity with their solutions being retrofitted to meet the needs of society.
It’s an encouraging step, that shows how innovative and adaptive the ecosystem is to shocks.
Big data and the fight against Covid-19
What’s happening here?
With the private sector frequently searching for ways to work with the public sector to open up data streams, the opportunity seems to have presented itself, with data being touted as the key to breaking lockdown measures.
Google has been asked by the UK Government to utilise location data to help. Likewise in the US, Facebook, Google and Palantir have joined the fight.
With China being seen as the model (taken with a grain of salt for potential reporting inaccuracies), can democratic societies possibly replicate these methods and break privacy norms to fight the virus? The lesser of two evils right?
Why is this important?
Lessons from countries in Asia show that using personal data has hugely helped to flatten the curve of infection, however not without a price. Mass-data collection has had its downsides, including the location and incarceration of whistle-blowers in China.
We see now a great responsibility to do all we can to protect people, but not open up a Pandora’s box that we may never be able to close in terms of privacy. We must remember that GDPR legislation can be suspended in times of a health crisis, so the time for responsibility is now.
The path we tread now may never be backtracked.
SME advice
This is an unprecedented and challenging time for all people. SMEs are the lifeblood of innovation and entrepreneurship of this country and we need to support them.
We will use this space in Govsight to advise and counsel those who are struggling at this time.
Government SME loan scheme
What’s this all about?
SME help fund launched on March 24, with loans of up to £5m readily available to business with a turnover of £45m or less.
Named CBILs, SMEs will be liable to pay back the loan over 6 years and they will need to meet certain criteria about the effect the virus has on their business.
Why is this important?
Whilst statistics about payouts are yet to be released, industry sources are saying the uptick has been low. Many criticise the entry requirements, demanding a previous record of financial security – something that low-profit/high-potential startups cannot fulfil – should the government do more here?
Save our Startups campaign has also been launched, petitioning for a greater vision from the government in helping the vulnerable tech ecosystem.
Investors rallying behind COVID19 solutions
What’s this all about?
OpenAI‘s CEO, Sam Altman has opened up a financial stream to companies working to mitigate the effects of Coronavirus. This is sparking a new wave of interest from other Silicon Valley investment funds, to change their perspective.
Why is this important?
For SMEs, the runway may be looking bleak at this time, but the market is evolving, and evolving fast.
investment dollars may be pointed to companies who are adapting to help fight this threat. Similarly, grant funding across the EU (Horizon 2020) and (UK TechForce 19) are being opened up for innovative ideas. This is the time to assess how you can help, because it may mean a new opportunity for your business.
We’ve included an open-source list of investors, VC funds and incubation hubs and what their status is at the moment. Furloughed, investing, hiring, this list is a great guide. Make sure you have a look.
