SMART Guernsey
Economic Development Programme
Accelerating innovation, creating opportunities, and enabling growth
We are very excited to be working with Agilisys and Blenheim Chalcot as part of the States of Guernsey Economic Development programme.
What is it?
The programme aims to leverage Guernsey’s unique advantages and strong foundations, to build a world-class environment for innovative digital businesses to thrive.
How are we going to do it?
We are doing this through a series of interconnected initiatives that, collectively, aim to help Guernsey strengthen and harness the four elements that Blenheim Chalcot see as essential for building a successful innovation ecosystem:
- Developing and honing digital and entrepreneurial skillsets
- Cultivating existing and new markets
- Fostering a culture of connection, collaboration and learning
- Launching and Scaling ventures
The wheel below illustrates how our initiatives fit together and support these four key elements of success (please scroll down for more information on each of the initiatives and how to get involved):
The Economic Development Programme is being delivered by Blenheim Chalcot, the UK’s leading digital venture builder, together with two of its portfolio companies, Hive Learning and Avado. Founded in 1998, Blenheim Chalcot has a track record of successfully building over 40 companies - with Agilisys being one of its founding ventures.
"We live in a world where the challenges are huge, but the potential opportunities that lie ahead are even greater. People have far more digital knowhow and, as businesses, we need to respond. By building a digitally-enabled workforce and creating a digital culture, organisations can grow faster, increase innovation and achieve higher workforce productivity. Now is the time to ask what businesses we want to run – and it all starts with a willingness to be brave and think differently."
Charles Mindenhall, Co-Founder Blenheim Chalcot
Agilisys, the leading technology and digital transformation specialist to the UK public sector, is delivering technology and digital transformation services to the States of Guernsey. This follows the States’ decision in 2019 to appoint Agilisys as its preferred partner for its SMART Guernsey Programme – a 10-year project to modernise IT systems and improve the delivery of public services through the adoption of digital technology, providing better access to services for islanders and greater operational efficiency for the States.
The Economic Development Programme is an integral part of the SMART Guernsey partnership’s commitment to supporting the island’s economic development.
"The opportunity for Guernsey is immense. Technology and Digital connectivity reduce distance and eradicate borders. It puts the entirety of the world’s networked population and business community at our door. Guernsey’s brand and reputation are sky high right now. It is a great location with some world class businesses and the opportunities for growth are greater now than ever before. Look up and look out!"
Richard Hanrahan, Agilisys Guernsey, Chief Executive
The Economic Development Initiatives
Below is information about the specific programmes being delivered through the Smart Guernsey partnership – and how you can get involved in our mission to help build Guernsey into a world-class environment for digital innovation