About us What is Sheffield Digital? Sheffield Digital is the organisation for businesses and individuals involved in Sheffield’s digital industries. Our aim is to help develop the best possible environment for setting up, working in and growing digital businesses in Sheffield and the surrounding region. To do this, we: CONNECT – bring together the people and businesses that are Sheffield’s digital industries, to foster collaboration and learning and to have fun. REPRESENT – provide a single, powerful voice for the digital community in order to influence policy makers and educators. PROMOTE – shout about our digital businesses and their capabilities locally, nationally and internationally. Why? Sheffield’s digital industries are expanding but are being held back from reaching their full potential. The challenges that we are face are not unique to the city, but there is a lack of connectivity, representation and cohesive activity to address them. For the city to take its place on the national and global stage, our industry needs an organisation that can act as a focus and a voice. Who is it for? Sheffield Digital is for any individual or any business who identifies themselves as being involved in digital – we want to be inclusive. You might be a student, a freelancer, a contractor, a start-up, a growing business, a digital team in an organisation or the Sheffield office of a national or multi-national company. If you’re digital, we want you! You can get involved by: Becoming a member Signing up for our newsletter Joining the conversations on our Slack team Commenting on posts on this website How does it work? Sheffield Digital operates on a not-for-profit basis, with any income that we make going back into running the organisation and supporting the work that we do to Connect, Represent and Promote. Sheffield Digital exists to support and amplify the wide range of activity that is already going on in the city – we will not duplicate or compete with initiatives or events that already exist. We think it is very important that the organisation is independent and sustainable, which means that we do not rely on public sector funding. In our first year, a number of founder members came on board to support us in our start up phase. Now, we are working to build a sustainable organisation through support from the community via individual and company memberships and by sponsorship from selected non-digital companies. We might deliver or participate in publicly funded programmes in the future, but only if they align with our objectives and we feel that they will benefit our community. Who is behind Sheffield Digital? Directors Sheffield Digital is a company limited by guarantee. It was set up by five co-founders who are also the directors. They are: Mel Kanarek Mel runs TigerNash Ltd, where she specialises in helping businesses grow through the practical application of the tools of marketing. She works mainly with digital businesses, helping them to overcome the barriers that are getting in the way of their success. She also writes copy – everything from white papers and feature articles to web and marketing content. @MelKanarek Chris Dymond Chris has spent most of the last 20 years building web development companies and designing websites for corporate & public sector clients. He now runs a digital transformation and innovation company called Unfolding, which helps organisations and cities adapt to change by building their capability to employ digital technology, data and networks both digital and human. @ChrisDymond Saul Cozens Saul is a technology strategist, agile coach and mentor, who helps organisations, businesses and people use the Internet to do things differently, to do things better and to do better things. @SaulCozens Andy Mayer Andy is a software developer and co-founder of Yoomee. He has spent the last 12 years using digital to impact and improve the lives of vulnerable people who are marginalised by their circumstances. Neill Birchenall Neill is the co-founder of the Birchenall Howden group of companies, with activities ranging from networking and IT services to web & mobile development and social media marketing. @Birchenall Freelancers Sheffield Digital has a team of freelancers who support the work that we do. They are: Emma Marshall Emma is the company membership manager responsible for engaging with our company members and helping support their growth, please email emma@sheffield.digital for inquiries. In addition she works as a freelance business consultant and coach and is one of the founderss of Sheffield Women in Tech. @ShfWIT @Gin1over Sarah Lister Sarah handles membership administration, manages our social media and slack accounts, and organises the mentorship scheme. Email sarah@sheffield.digital about membership enquiries and Sheffield Digital events. Her other freelance work includes career coaching and mentoring. @ABTheAdventure Claire Fletcher Claire writes our company profiles and blog posts about the latest news, opportunities and events. She also creates the Sheffield Digital newsletter. To find out more about company spotlights and sharing news stories, please email claire@sheffield.digital. Her other projects include supporting not-for-profit organisations and small businesses with content creation and marketing communications.
