WELSH TECH FIRM AWARDED CONTRACT TO TACKLE LONELINESS IN MONMOUTHSHIRE

WELSH TECH FIRM AWARDED CONTRACT TO TACKLE LONELINESS IN MONMOUTHSHIRE

• GPC Systems Ltd is one of five tech companies awarded contracts to tackle loneliness in Monmouthshire
• Minister says this will “improve people’s lives and enable them feel a part of their local community”

Swansea based software developer, GPC Systems Ltd, has been awarded a contract to tackle the problem of rural isolation and loneliness in Monmouthshire.

The innovative firm, which specialises in developing unique software solutions for the healthcare and public sectors, has been awarded an initial £50,000 to prove the feasibility of utilising emerging technology for solving issues with public transport, andminimising the risk of digital exclusion amongst older people.

Four other tech firms have also been selected for this initial phase, where the successful two will receive an additional £500,000 to implement the solution from Spring 2019.

Plans for the scheme were announced at the Digital Leaders Innovation Conference in London on Tuesday the 27^th of November 2018, where Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Dowden said: 

“I am delighted that our funding for innovative tech companies is helping to tackle loneliness and rural isolation – to improve people’s lives and enable them feel a part of their local community.

“The GovTech fund encourages firms to find innovative ways to fix the big social problems we all face, including loneliness, plastic pollution and national security. Through emerging technologies, this fund will elevate British companies onto a global market while transforming the delivery of public services for people across the UK.”

Cllr Sara Jones, Cabinet Member for Social Justice and Community Development at Monmouthshire County Council added: 

“In Monmouthshire we are blessed with beautiful rural surroundings and thriving towns. Yet the diversity of our landscape has its challenges, where journey times on public transport to local services can exceed two hours. That is why we are determined to address this issue to ensure people feel connected and part of the community.

“We are delighted to be working with innovative businesses who have developed a range of digital solutions for transport and rural isolation. Given the importance of the small business sector to the fabric of our country, it was great to see that sixty-five percent of the applications were from Welsh and UK-wide micro businesses with less than 10 employees.”

GPC Systems Ltd is the only Welsh firm to have been selected for phase one of the strategy, where Medical Director, Dr Ian Wiles, is positive their innovative idea will be able to improve the lives of residents throughout Monmouthshire.

He confirmed: “GPC Systems Ltd is delighted to have been awarded the initial research and development fund, where we feel confident that we can successfully tackle loneliness and isolation throughout Monmouthshire by harnessing the power of new technologies.”

“As a software developer, we pride ourselves on solving real problems using tech, whilst helping large and public sector organisations save time, cost and resource. We are, therefore, looking forward to seeing how the scheme develops and are hopeful GPC will be one of the two firms working with Monmouthshire County Council next Spring.”

The £20m Govtech Catalyst Programme was launched in November 2017 to help fund innovative tech firms solve public sector challenges through innovation and emerging technologies.

As part of a wider commitment to use technology to transform the delivery of public services, the government will publish an innovation strategy in spring 2019. 

For more details, visit: http://gpcsl.com