2017 Tech Survey FAQ

Q) Why should I fill this in?
A) There’s a massive lack of information about local tech companies – what their skillsets are, what areas they do business, their size, etc. We want to fix that. One of our core aims is to connect people together so that collaborations and business can happen easier, and having this information will help make that easier.

Q) Who will have access to this information, and how will they use  it?
A) TechExeter is a Community Interest Company that Rob and I setup, and it will be the legal owner of this data.
We will use the data to help answer queries about the community and companies, typically things like:

• I’m a researcher from the University and I need a UX specialist who can work with me
• I’m thinking about relocating to the area and I have skills in X, are there jobs there?
• We’re putting on an Augmented Reality event, do you know of any people who would be interested in showing us what they’re working on

We WILL NOT use this data for marketing, sales, recruitment, feeding to your competitors, or any other corporate driven interests. We won’t share this information with third parties.

We will be working with the Devon Open Data Institute on anonymising the information and will release it for everyone to benefit from. You can choose to opt out of this anonymised dataset if you wish, but we would hope that you see the benefit in sharing with the community.

And we’re going to do this every year so that we can track trends and plot regional growth – providing insights to the local council and other strategic partners like TechNation, the largest community-driven research project of the UK’s digital tech industries.

Q) Who can fill this in?
A) Anyone who runs or works in a digital/tech business (including those who are self-employed), in the “Greater Exeter” area, which we’re defining as ~30 miles from the city. Please pass on this survey to anyone you know who may meet this criteria.