In our usual haphazard Sheffield Digital way, sometimes we do an end of year round-up and sometimes we don’t. This year, I felt like doing one, because some significant things have happened.

Significant thing number one:

Sheffield Digital celebrated ten years of official existence. This was back in May and you can listen to a podcast Chris Dymond and I recorded where we reminisced and reflected on that journey.

Personally, I think a ten year anniversary is an enormous achievement, especially as we haven’t just survived, we’ve grown, and we’ve done that in response to the needs of our community.

However, a comment on social media along the lines of, “ten years, surprised it still exists, it hasn’t achieved anything” got me thinking. If we’d never come up with Sheffield Digital and if we hadn’t stuck with it so doggedly, I believe there are things that just wouldn’t have happened.

For example, would the City Council have included tech and start-ups in its post-Covid recovery plan? Would Sheffield have a meetup scene that’s more active than cities twice our size? Would there be a mentoring scheme for people looking to start or progress a career in tech, which, since it started, has had 100 volunteer mentors who have worked with 120 mentees?

Would there be a website where you can find out about the tech businesses in Sheffield, from start-ups to big players, and read all the latest news, find and advertise jobs, find and promote events and explore digital skills? Would there be a free online platform of over 2000 people where you can ask questions, share news and ideas, organise events and find collaborators?

Would there be a library of videos where a diverse range of people talk honestly about their tech roles and how they got into their careers? Would the city’s educational institutions have a way to connect easily with local tech businesses? Perhaps some of those things would have happened, but not in a connected and co-ordinated way.

Because Sheffield Digital exists, Sheffield and South Yorkshire’s tech scene has a national profile through our involvement with the UK Tech Cluster Group. Recently, that involvement led to us winning funding for the Pathways off the Plateau pilot and hosting a visit from the Minister for AI. This means that, in Whitehall, our region is recognised as a thriving tech cluster alongside bigger regional players such as Greater Manchester, the North East and Birmingham. We speak up for Sheffield and make sure the region gets noticed. We provide a voice that is larger than that of individual businesses and that projects a wider confidence.

Sheffield Digital is a convener, a community-enabler, a connector and a champion. We focus on what we are really good at, and on working smart with the resources that we have. We do all this on an annual budget which is less than the average salary of one senior developer. Tell me that’s not a huge achievement.

Significant thing number two: 

The Sheffield Digital policy roundtables were launched by Chris Dymond earlier this year with the aim of running two events a year. By the time you read this, he will have run three and there’ll be a full summary of what was discussed coming in the new year. “Policy” might sound rather dry but these roundtables are important because they bring together businesses and regional policy makers in a forum that focuses on tech and its role in our local economy. They give everyone the opportunity to get up to date on key initiatives and this helps make sure that decisions are being made that reflect local realities within the wider policy context. You can read the notes from these roundtables here.

Significant thing number three:

This year, we’ve seen some much needed development around the start-up and scale-up scene. It’s the sign of a maturing ecosystem to have new players responding to demand and opportunity. Tech SY is hitting its stride and is running its third Tech Summit in January. The AMRC now has a start-up programme, FerretWorks: StartUp. Venture Community and Digital Forge are both growing and running excellent events. Sheffield Tech Park’s Cooper Project is over-subscribed and the co-working lounge is a hive of activity. Sheffield Angels is also running regular events, enabling investments and helping founders understand what they need to do to become invest-able.

I’ve chosen just three out of the many big things that have happened during 2025. If you come along to our Annual General Meetup on 11 February, you’ll get to hear about a whole lot more, plus our plans for 2026 – I hope to see you there. And, if you or your company are not currently members, please consider joining so that we can invest in more activity and make more significant things happen.

Thank you and I wish you a very Happy Christmas from everyone at Sheffield Digital.