The Sussex And The City Podcast
– Episode 7:
It's Time For A Sussex Digital Strategy
Host: Richard Freeman
Guest: Rose Tighe – Innovation strategist, product leader, and co-lead of Brighton AI
This episode is brought to you in partnership with:
Magenta Associates – A Sussex-based, B Corp certified and employee-owned PR and communications agency using responsible communications to drive social and environmental change - including athical AI adoption.
👉 magentaassociates.co
🔍 Episode summary
In this future-facing episode, Richard Freeman sits down with product innovation heavyweight and grassroots organiser Rose Tighe to ask: is Sussex and Brighton already a tech region – and if so, why isn't anyone coordinating it?
From leading product strategy at Amazon and Sky, to co-creating Brighton AI (a 1,800-strong community of digital doers), Rose has spent decades navigating change – and building systems that make it useful. Now, she's at the heart of a regional conversation about what good digital infrastructure actually looks like.
This episode explores how devolution could help shape a bold, collaborative, regional tech strategy - if we get it right.
Topics include:
What Brighton's tech community already knows – and what it's missing
The power of low-code and no-code tools for new ideas, careers and equity
How to make sense of fragmented innovation – and avoid duplication
What a Sussex-wide digital strategy could learn from elsewhere
Why coordination trumps chaos: Sussex as a live testbed for civic innovation
Making sure digital decisions are data-informed – and community-owned
How AI, ethics and public purpose need to grow hand-in-hand
The need for a shared voice across local authorities, not competitive silos
What tech professionals aren't being told about devolution – and why that matters
This is a pragmatic and passionate call to action - for mayors, freelancers, policymakers and product teams alike.
👉 Want to help shape a regional tech strategy?
Start by exploring Brighton AI and other tech meetups supported by Silicon Brighton
👉 Stay up to date with the wider project at sussexandthecity.info
📚 Further reading and links
Brighton AI: A community exploring the impact of AI, ethics, innovation and skills
techUK's Local Digital Capital Index: A framework for understanding tech readiness and digital infrastructure
Silicon Brighton: Community-led digital events and learning
Greater London Authority: London Datastore: An open data platform as referenced in the episode
Local Skills Improvement Plan (Sussex): Strategic roadmap for skills planning across the region
🎧 Production credits
Host: Richard Freeman
Guest: Rose Tighe
Sound design / editing / original music: Chris Thorpe-Tracey
Production management: Letitia McConalogue
Recorded at: Projects: The Lanes, Brighton
📣 Get involved
Devolution isn't just a government thing. It's a people thing.
👉 Share your ideas, explore resources and shape what's next at sussexandthecity.info
