Beyond 2010, a two-day public sector conference at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre, takes place on 20-21 October.

Glyn Evans, who is chairing a ‘smart efficiencies’ seminar at the event looks at how technology is transforming cities

The Internet and the mobile phone are revolutionising the way we live our lives, run businesses and operate local government. And this digital revolution is gathering pace.

With new technologies widening possibilities every day, whole new models of how providers can deliver their services are emerging. Cities and communities which have pioneered the development of a broadband economy can already highlight economic and social benefits as a result.

Digital technology has enormous potential to tackle social and economic disadvantage. For example, it can help older people improve their quality of life and support independent living, and transform healthcare delivery through online telehealth and telecare services.

It can also provide a vital economic stimulus, allowing entrepreneurs to develop or use innovative new technologies, while online education can benefit employees, businesses and students.

For public service managers, the technology revolution presents as many challenges as it does solutions. Not only how to keep pace with such a fast-moving world, but also how to ensure the right infrastructure can be funded and developed to allow the local economy to flourish, and to enable the radical rethinking of public service delivery.

The latest possibilities for using digital technologies in everything from better, more cost-effective services to community self-help will be discussed at Beyond 2010, a two-day public sector conference taking place at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre on 20 and 21 October. The conference will feature best practice from Birmingham, alongside national and international initiatives.

The event organiser, Birmingham City Council, is one of the local authorities at the cutting edge in terms of integrating digital technologies into all aspects of its services in order to transform them. It is also pioneering a new model for super-fast broadband at speeds of 50-100Mbps which, it believes, will offer far-reaching economic and social benefits. The council has undergone a radical business transformation programme which is on target to achieve net efficiency savings in excess of £1bn over a 10-year period.

Acknowledged as the largest such change programme in the UK public sector, it is increasingly recognised as an exemplar, both nationally and internationally, and has already produced £438m of cumulative cash benefits to date. Its redesign of frontline services and back-office processes has been driven by the need for improved services at less cost.

The city has started a new and exciting project, which aims to transform a section of the city into one of the most dynamic and innovative regions in the world. Birmingham’s Digital District will transform Digbeth and the surrounding areas into a high-quality environment for working, living and learning, supported by an exceptionally high-speed network – which will include the all-important ‘final mile’ connection to the home or business.

It is designed as a test bed to encourage the uptake of super-fast broadband within a small geographic area, but it is a model which can be applied to many other regions.

The district will act as a catalyst in encouraging growth in specific business sectors, including the creative industries, which rely on high bandwidth to compete globally.

Digital industries are growing rapidly and are of high value, as well as having a major productivity benefit on other sectors. Therefore, Birmingham and the wider Midlands need to be positioned appropriately – growing the digital sectors is a regional priority.

The success of the Digital District will be achieved through a strong collaborative approach involving the public, private and third sectors.

There are key similarities to and differences from a project developing a high-speed digital infrastructure in South Yorkshire.

Just as Birmingham is working with neighbouring authorities in the city region, councils in Sheffield, Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster have collaborated for the wider benefit of the region in a project driven through Yorkshire Forward.

They used grants and public funds to provide the high-speed broadband infrastructure which is essential for the knowledge-based economy, and gives South Yorkshire an enviable platform from which to tackle its social and economic challenges. In more rural areas than Birmingham, the focus has been on taking technology to the street rather than directly to the premises.

This project is the first of its type in the UK, and represents one of the largest public sector-led open broadband infrastructure initiatives in the world.

Both the Digbeth and South Yorkshire projects ultimately aim to stimulate economic growth and improve levels of social inclusion.

This project, service transformations and the broader potential for digital technologies in an era of reduced public budgets will be explored at Beyond 2010, which is organised by the council as part of its city-wide Digital Birmingham initiative.

Glyn Evans is corporate director of Business Change at Birmingham City Council. Beyond 2010 takes place at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre on 18-22 October and comprises a number of events celebrating the city’s and the region’s technological achievements against the best in the world