The early presentations summarised Shoestring’s key achievements – including the 25 requirements gathering workshops conducted with almost 400 companies, the compilation of a digital solution catalogue which spans 40 solution areas, the 25 specification workshops, a comprehensive design approach for low-cost digital solutions which led to 20 industry pilot deployments and the four hackathons run to date with over 200 students.
With support from other funding bodies and companies (CIH/CDBB, Gatsby Trust, Impact Accelerator Fund, Boeing, GS1 and Pitch-In) the project extended its impact with extra achievements including the creation of spin outs in construction, logistics and healthcare, plans for a regional roll out of Shoestring to SMEs and the overseas take up of Shoestring. Additionally, activities with education providers over the past 6 months will help establish an education and training pilot to facilitate students, apprentices and lecturers to help deploy digital solutions in industry.
The second half of the meeting focussed on future developments. A new business unit has been established, which will be run out of the knowledge transfer consultancy within the IfM, IfM Engage, while the unit establishes a financially sustainable not-for-profit organisation which will provide SMEs with a low-cost, low-risk step-by-step approach to deliver tangible company improvements using digital technologies.
Professor Duncan McFarlane, founder and lead for the Shoestring project, said: