Frequently Asked Questions
What is TECH SY?
TECH SY is a new, two-year programme working with and for the regional tech ecosystem in South Yorkshire. We're working with our businesses, local authorities, educators, founders, funders and other partners to co-create a five-year plan that will scale up the tech ecosystem, delivering activity to support tech startups and scaleups in our region.
Why is it needed?
South Yorkshire has seen a lot of activity to support the tech economy over the last few years both from the private and public sectors. This has highlighted that working collaboratively can help to reach a broad range of founders and make the startup journey easier and more successful, and has demonstrated the potential in our region. However, the ecosystem can be fragmented and disconnected, particularly at a regional level. Investors and founders need to be better able to find each other, support needs to be more obvious and accessible and there needs to be a common goal for all of the ecosystem stakeholders. The various hubs and support programmes in the region provide a welcome entry point into the ecosystem but there needs to be a no-wrong-door approach for anyone with a good idea and a scalable business and then the right support to help that founder and their business to achieve success. TECH SY is funded by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to help build a longer-term, accessible and inclusive approach to support and increase the visibility of the tech ecosystem within and outside of the region.
What is a tech ecosystem?
A natural ecosystem is one that is based on a geographical area, where specific organisms interact and combine to survive, supported by the natural and specific environment. A tech ecosystem works very similarly. For us in South Yorkshire, the tech ecosystem is dependent on the strengths of the area, and what support systems (such as finance and local policy) are in place for entrepreneurs to develop their tech startup, allowing them to grow and scale. TECH SY’s role is to consider the gaps and look at what extra support can be brought in to widen and strengthen the offer to startups, fuelling more investment and more growth. Daniel Isenberg’s recognised model of the six main domains for a successful entrepreneurial ecosystem (illustrated below) demonstrates that there is no one quick fix for scaling up an economy, and instead it is necessary to look at these domains and address capability and assets across them.
Why is TECH SY running out of Barnsley?
Barnsley was invited by SYMCA to deliver TECH SY as Barnsley Council and the DMC helped develop and deliver a number of programmes and projects that have had a hugely positive impact on the tech and digital economy in Barnsley and in the region. The DMC led three EU-level networks bringing together medium-sized towns and cities to better understand what a successful tech economy could look like and develop the plans to make this happen. For Barnsley, this resulted in ‘The Seam’, its ambitious Digital Campus plan and helped to open the doors of DMC 02, an expansion of workspace provision that includes a Maker Lab and coworking. Working in partnership, the DMC team also developed and delivered European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) projects such as Digital Innovation for Growth with Sheffield Hallam University and TEAM SY with Capital Enterprise. It also worked with IoT Tribe to bring an Internet of Things accelerator into the region that tackled a range of challenges in the public and private sectors. The DMC also worked with the other Local Authorities and the Combined Authority to secure the investment for, and deliver, Tech Welcome grants which encourage new businesses into the region. Through the DMC, led by Tracey Johnson, Barnsley Council has consistently invested in capital and revenue activities to support growth in the tech and digital economy, recognising that the public sector can be a significant partner in a successful ecosystem. Through these efforts, tech and digital has been mainstreamed into economic development and growth in Barnsley. Now this approach is being opened up and applied across South Yorkshire, with activity and support to build up the regional ecosystem, influencing policy to prevent regression of activity, and the co-creation of a longer-term action plan with regional reach. We want to mainstream tech and digital in South Yorkshire, scaling up the startup offer for a diverse array of founders and investors.
I’ve heard of TEAM SY. Is TECH SY a continuation of TEAM SY?
No, TECH SY is not directly a continuation of TEAM SY, the ERDF-funded acceleration and ecosystem-building project. TECH SY is a two-year SYMCA programme investing in the continued development of the ecosystem in the region. TEAM SY had a positive impact on the regional ecosystem; it was a programme focused on delivering 17 accelerator programmes into the region using ERDF and private sector investment over a two-year period. The programme focused on founder-facing support as well as some ecosystem development. TEAM SY helped to demonstrate the potential in the region and started to galvanise collaboration at the South Yorkshire level. TECH SY will focus more on recognising and addressing the foundations needed for longer-term success and will be active in influencing policy, driving further support into the region, helping to access funding streams and trialling other types of support. TECH SY will also focus on the communications and narratives needed to talk about the South Yorkshire ecosystem both in the region and beyond. Learn more about TEAM SY – and the lessons learnt from Darren Balcombe – former deputy CEO of Capital Enterprise who delivered TEAM SY.
What will TECH SY actually deliver?
The project has set delivery outcomes which have been designed with SYMCA. SMART objectives include increasing the number of startups and scaleups within the region, an increase of investment, the development of a co-created five-year action plan, and recognition for the region across wider reports and impact analysis. On top of that, TECH SY will have some products linked to the project, taking on the second phase of the region’s Tech Welcome Grant (subject to funding), supporting increased expert tech advisor time in the region, and developing and delivering an acceleration programme.
What TECH SY won’t deliver
TECH SY won’t be able to directly support every tech startup in the region and has not been set up to do so. It is about creating a solid foundation to build from. However, the overall work of TECH SY will attract more investment, and fill the gaps in the region’s ecosystem, ultimately making South Yorkshire more attractive to start and grow a tech business. TECH SY won’t be directly working to improve the skills agenda in the region. However, the work we are doing on data will also provide improved intelligence about the demand for skills and talent in the tech and digital ecosystem which should ensure we are able to influence improved responses to needs whether skills or business support related.
What does the South Yorkshire tech ecosystem look like and how is it measured?
TECH SY has a two-year contract with Dealroom to analyse and platform the South Yorkshire ecosystem. https://sy.dealroom.co/ Dealroom is a global platform providing data and insights on ecosystems, startups, scaleups and investors. Partnering with Dealroom allows TECH SY to provide a window into the regional ecosystem for use locally and globally. Over the project lifecycle, we’ll be adding further detail to the platform, encouraging startups, founders and businesses to sign up and add their details to the platform and keep them up to date. This will help us demonstrate the impact of our work, and support the businesses on there, as they open up their profile to niche investors and support providers. TECH SY will commit to producing two reports during our delivery period. If you want to know more about the SY ecosystem, a good place to start is with the recent ‘South Yorkshire: Investment & Innovation in an Emerging Tech Ecosystem’ report produced by the delivery team of the Tech Welcome Grant, which you can find on our blog. The report summary from April 2024 shows: ● A record 617 tech startups were formed in South Yorkshire in 2023, more than ever before and an increase of a fifth (18 per cent) from 2022. Combined with falling tech failures, which declined for the second year running, South Yorkshire experienced a net gain of 88 home-grown tech companies last year, with growing numbers of active tech companies in every major urban area. ● There are at least 4,588 tech companies in South Yorkshire today – more than ever before. The region is a major centre of cleantech innovation and home to significant business activity in software development, life sciences, data, bioscience, advanced materials and photonics. ● An influx of tech companies from outside South Yorkshire is bolstering the tech sector. Analysis of businesses registered at popular tech locations in South Yorkshire found that 29% were previously based outside the region and that 2023 was the busiest year yet for relocations. ● Tech Welcome Grants totalling £130,000 have helped 29 companies specialising in high-value activities such as robotics, data analytics, and cyber security establish their first facilities in South Yorkshire and supported the creation of more than 140 jobs worth a combined £6.1 million a year. ● Investment in tech companies based in South Yorkshire has been more resilient than elsewhere in the UK. Data from analysts Beauhurst show South Yorkshire’s tech startups secured funding totalling £209 million between 2019 and 2023. Although tech investment in South Yorkshire declined by 38 per cent between 2022 and 2023, this was a less profound decline than the 54% reduction in overall UK tech funding reported by Atomico last year.
How does the Tech Welcome Grant fit into this?
This was one of TECH SY's early influences, working to secure funding from SYMCA as the region moved out of Covid and designing the programme. The DMC in Barnsley led the programme delivery on behalf of the whole region. The Tech Welcome Grant provided help with the first year of accommodation costs for businesses in the Tech and Digital sectors, either moving into the South Yorkshire region, or native Tech and Digital companies taking their first office space. The full report is attached, and the key headlines are: ● It has helped 40 tech and digital-focused businesses relocate or take their first office in South Yorkshire. ● These 40 companies have brought with them 170 jobs. ● The Tech Welcome project has supported an annual increase in Gross Value Added (GVA) of around £1.9m. ● This has resulted in a net economic return of £6.32 for every £1 invested in the project. ● The unit cost per net job created is also very low at £7,177. You can download the full evaluation report at https://lnkd.in/emYe4J5C. TECH SY will work to bring a second phase of the grant to the region, taking on delivery responsibilities. We’ll share more about this when we can.
Let’s Work Together
Have another question? Great! We want to hear it. Drop us an email to: techsy@barnsley.gov.uk