Challenge 2: Cheltenham Borough Council

View the video transcript

Helen Jenkins: 
So we are here at challenge two, at the small but mighty Cheltenham, and so far the teams have received their briefing and I have to say they all looked quite stunned when they received it. So I'm really excited to see what happens next. 
 
Gareth Edmundson: 
The challenge brief that focuses around our flagship priority to enhance Cheltenham’s position as the cyber capital of the UK. We have invested a significant amount of money in two parcels of land to the west of Cheltenham that form part of the Golden Valley Development. At the heart of the Golden Valley Development is gonna be the National Cyber Innovation Centre, and that brings together GCHQ with a range of cyber businesses. 

When we've got such an opportunity like this with potential to create economic growth, how do we make that really connect with the community here in Cheltenham? 
 
Rose Hampton: 
If I’m completely honest, I'm feeling like this is a very exciting challenge, but also quite overwhelmed at the complexity about all of the different stakeholders – GCHQ, the National Cyber Security Centre, the councils, local community organisations…  
 
Jack Kennedy: 
We’ve had a really good day of meeting a load of stakeholders from Cheltenham and across the partnerships to learn about cyber security, the innovation cluster and work they're doing to develop the Golden Valley development. We have got loads of meetings still to come. We’re building ideas about what we want to do around skills, apprenticeships, working with communities. 
 
Lewis Sheldrake: 
A couple of us went out to actually physically see the site, the Golden Valley Development and understand better about where it’s actually going to be. What that means for the local communities, the people living in the immediate area. We visited a local community centre and met with people there – it demonstrated some of the challenges that face Cheltenham. 
 
Felicity Lynch: 
Those areas don't really get known about, because everybody knows about the festivals and stuff like that in Cheltenham. Those areas which the council are really trying to build up and they're trying to make sure that they are swept up in the prosperity of the council itself and the area which I think is really fantastic. 
 
Reid D.: 
I’ve spent about an hour with the contestants to talk a bit about the ecosystem and Golden Valley and the journey that we've had over the last few years, and then to answer some of their questions which were really, really good. 
 
Hani Milburn-Cox: 
We left the council building around 5 o'clock and we headed over to Hub8 which was a really creative space for innovative cyber, but also non-cyber, micro and small businesses. 
 
Sydney Alexander: 
And really got to see the network community built around cyber it was lovely to see such a kind of fresh approach to working and see people really active in a space, and it brought it to life for us. 
 
Leanda Cable: 
We’ve got an early start tomorrow before we need to submit our paper by 12:30. So, no doubt we'll be burning the candle at both ends in terms of work. 
 
Jack Kennedy: 
So today, is kind of D-Day. It’s the day where we have to deliver our presentation and our proposals to a panel of experts and really sell the ideas that we've developed over the last 24 hours. 
 
Hannah Futter: 
So far today we got up pretty early. We had to get some props for our presentation later. Some of the team went to the roundtable this morning which slightly threw a spanner in the works of some of our concepts, but we're just working through that now and trying to remain calm. 
 
Zoe Galvin: 
We've been really focusing on getting our action plan down today. We did a lot on the presentation yesterday. So kind of bringing that to life. And then I've just spoken to Richard and Paul who are kind of leading on the development of the Golden Valley to test our ideas, see what's going to land and work how we could fund it all. 
 
Joe Kinsella: 
I feel tired, enthused, excited and apprehensive. It’s probably one of the coolest challenges we've had. It doesn't take much to be motivated on a subject like this. Although it's been very complex, it has been incredibly interesting. 
 
Michael Barrett: 
Most of the officers on Team Catalyst don't have much experience in cyber so they’re having to really pull upon lots of other expertise across the team to make sure that they’re gonna deliver something really meaningful back to the council. 
 
Virginia Ponton: 
And actually, in terms of leadership skills it can be a bit daunting if you don't have experience in that service area. But actually, as with everything in local government it really is all about meeting our community’s needs and doing the best for our local area, and we'll see what happens next. 
 
Jack Kennedy: 
Our idea is about how we define the Golden Valley Development way. A bit of a pledge between businesses, communities and residents to ensure that we are seeing value from the investment that’s going into the GVD back into the communities that neighbour that area, and working with community assets such as community organisations, schools, residents, to make sure that we are fulfilling all of the potential of our Cheltenham residents. 
 
Rose Hampton: 
Our idea was around engaging with communities, and we broke it down into two sections. So first of all, we focused on how we would do real meaningful, interesting engagement with residents, and then secondly we thought about how we reduce some of the barriers around people getting access technology, people getting the skills they need in order to work on the new facility, and really just how we get out there and get the community to feel on board with the new development. 
 
Claire Holloway: 
Really exciting challenge, both teams rose to the occasion, both came up with some brilliant ideas, really good presentations, such a difficult decision for us to make. But in the end Team Catalyst just edged it. But only just. 
 
Gareth Edmundson: 
Absolutely brilliant to take some of the best and the brightest the local government sector has to offer, and for them to come and look at a genuine challenge that we are wrestling with ourselves, getting those different perspectives from such energetic, thoughtful, clever, and passionate people is something that is a fantastic opportunity. And my message to any other chief executive of a local authority is apply, be part of this process because you get so much from it. 
 
Jack Kennedy: 
I think we needed to convey our ideas slightly better in the paper that we wrote because there was a bit of a disparity between the great presentation we gave and how we communicated that in a written document. 
 
Rose Hampton: 
So this has been such an interesting challenge and I just feel so proud to have led the team and have such an amazing team behind me. And thank you for Cheltenham for hosting us because it's been absolutely fantastic. 

You can also view an audio described version of the challenge 2 video on our YouTube channel.

This Cheltenham challenge marks the second since the restart of LG Challenge in February, and the excitement of the contestants continued to shine through. 
 
The challenge was officially opened with words of encouragement and that the teams should deliver bold and innovative ideas. Cheltenham Borough Council Chief Executive, Gareth Edmundson, then gave a presentation about Cheltenham and its many exciting assets and local businesses – including GCHQ. The teams were then set a compelling question:  

Find out about the local context

In 2019 Cheltenham Borough Council purchased two parcels of land to the west of the iconic GCHQ site forming the Golden Valley Development. The Golden Valley Development has selected HBD X Factory (HBDXF), a joint venture between UK property developer HBD and the international innovation campus developer Factory as the developer for this site.  

In partnership with HBDXF, the council plans to construct a new garden community with a new National Cyber Innovation Centre acting as a cornerstone to bring together small, medium and large cyber tech businesses, academia and the public sector to deliver a unique development that will both create growth and prosperity but also be of national and international importance in cyber tech.  

The teams were given a specific focus for their projects. Team Catalyst’s was to centre around making the development inclusive for the community, giving a clear line of sight as to how they would benefit from it, with Team Thrive’s emphasis being on placing a clear ask upon private sector businesses to support the community, employ local people, and enable residents to fulfil their potential. Gareth’s presentation had made clear that the council “believe in the power of local government to make a difference”. 

I'm feeling like this is a very exciting challenge, but also quite overwhelmed at the complexity about all of the different stakeholders – GCHQ, the National Cyber Security Centre, the councils, local community organisations…” 

– Rose, Team Catalyst Captain

Team Catalyst’s laid out their ‘Inclusive Approach’, a 3-year action plan with specific interventions. The first step involved an ‘innovative consultation and engagement’ electric vehicle which would travel around introducing gamification initiatives to young people, with content designed by the local businesses and the cyber community, allowing them to visualise the future and connect with the planned National Cyber Innovation Centre. Another intervention was a ‘CyberBank’, focusing on residents who are digitally excluded, by collecting, wiping, and distributing pre-owned tech through schools and the voluntary sector.

We have got loads of meetings still to come. We’re building ideas about what we want to do around skills, apprenticeships, working with communities.”  

– Jack, Team Thrive Captain

Team Thrive’s proposal centred around ‘The GVD Way’, a formula for businesses to follow so that they, and the borough, would succeed. This involved ‘The GVD Pledge’, a commitment for businesses to: build a pipeline of local talent, use buying power to support local businesses, and become proud members of the community with the ability to create positive difference. The team also gave careful consideration to funding, which would be done through sponsorships, levelling up bids, and utilising GVD project underspend. 
 
Deliberating down to the wire, the judges poured over the teams’ complex and ambitious plans. The eventual victor: Team Catalyst!

Getting those different perspectives from such energetic, thoughtful, clever, and passionate people is something that is a fantastic opportunity. And my message to any other chief executive of a local authority is apply, be part of this process because you get so much from it.”  

– Gareth Edmundson, Chief Executive, Cheltenham Borough Council