CILIP Cymru Wales' response to the Welsh Government's Digital Strategy for Wales

We were pleased to have had this opportunity to respond to the consultation led by Lee Waters MS, Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport on the proposed Digital Strategy for Wales. Our response is submitted on behalf of the librarian and information professional workforce in Wales drawing on a round-table policy event convened by us on the 22nd January 2021.

Please download our full response for more details.

We would be glad to provide any further information or context in support of this submission.

Key recommendations

For ease of reference, we have pulled our key recommendations to Welsh Government into the following brief summary:

Recommendation 1: Learning from previous policies

We believe that the Digital Strategy for Wales builds on a legacy of policies for Wales and the rest of the UK with broad digital ambitions. We would recommend that the development of the policy ought to draw on and reference previous policies, and to seek to identify from them any impediments to implementation.

Recommendation 2: Implementation Plan for the Strategy

To be effective, the Digital Strategy for Wales must be accompanied by clear lines of responsibility, measurable outcomes and a dedicated budget commitment. We recommend that the Strategy should be accompanied by an Implementation Plan that details these elements in the context of current responsibilities, targets and spending allocations.

Recommendation 3: Digital preservation and continuity

As Welsh Government knows, effective mechanisms for the retention and preservation of the digital record are key to continuity and accountability for digital development. We recommend that this broad national strategy take into account the infrastructure and skills needed to appraise, store, secure and provide access to digital assets in the long term.

Recommendation 4: Data and information literacy

We recommend that the Welsh Government recognise the importance of data and information literacy as core competencies for the future population, and embed these into curricula in schools, FE and HE. 

Recommendation 5: Digital Skills Strategy

The draft strategy rightly recognises the need to invest in advanced digital, information and data skills to create a 22nd century workforce for Wales. This takes long-term planning and partnership with learning providers. We recommend that the Digital Strategy for Wales should be accompanied by a Digital Skills Strategy for Wales, supported by a Committee drawing on skills from Further and Higher Education, professional bodies, Apprenticeships and sector employers.