Dundee City Council

Profile

Dundee is a great place to live and work. And you don’t just have to take our word for it – the city was recently named in the “Top 12 Places to Live in the UK” by The Times newspaper. The world-renowned publication named the City of Discovery as “Scotland’s new capital of cool” and one of its “favourite places to immerse yourself in city living, whatever your age.” Among the reasons for that acclaim were a £1billion makeover of the Waterfront area, the city’s food and café culture, arts venues and affordable house prices.

Dundee has been in the international media spotlight since the opening of the stunning new V&A Dundee museum in September 2018. The city has been named on National Geographic Traveller UK’s Cool List 2019, praised for its “dynamic, creative spirit” by Lonely Planet and described as the “coolest little city in Britain” by GQ.

Schools in Dundee have been subject to a £100m modernisation programme – with seven new schools opening in 2018 – while others have already been fitted out to 21st century standards.

Within the city, there are fantastic places to enjoy the outdoors, including the golden sands of Broughty Ferry beach and the green jewel in Dundee’s crown, Camperdown Park. And of course the scenic Highlands and some of the world’s best golf courses are right on our doorstep. Dundee’s cultural quarter is buzzing with cafes, bars and restaurants to fit all tastes and budgets. A huge range of shopping options are also on offer in Dundee, from High Street outlets to small boutique premises. With fantastic entertainment facilities, including Dundee Rep Theatre, Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA), two cinema multiplexes, an ice rink, museums, art galleries and two professional football teams, there is no shortage of things to do for people of all ages.

Dundee City Council is aiming to become a digital local authority by 2020, after councillors backed a new strategy in 2017. “Dundee is a leader in games and digital media, is changing for the future and has been three times listed as a top seven global Intelligent Community of the Year over the past decade,” says the strategy document.

It is one of a number of projects undertaken by the city under the banner ‘Changing the Future’. As a UNESCO city of design and with the now completed V&A being the centrepiece of a globally significant urban regeneration programme, Dundee’s digital credentials will be another key component in delivering the city’s vision statement “to attract and retain talent, creating jobs, social fairness, quality of life and environmental sustainability.” The strategy says: “The vision for Dundee City Council is to become a council which has enhanced its services through digital and has effectively promoted the use of digital so that its citizens think digital first when requesting services because it is quicker and more convenient to do so. “This vision covers more than just digital access to services, it covers the processes behind the services, the way our citizen’s find and access them, how we communicate, how we continue to improve but also aims to bring the city together by looking at a multiple digital themes. “By creating a digital strategy, the council will be supporting other ‘Changing for the Future’ projects, providing the citizens of Dundee with a full choice of service options which are convenient and fit into their lives as seamlessly as possible regardless of age, location, time constraints or backgrounds.”

The aims are to:

“Deliver for our citizens by providing them with greater digital choice and efficiencies in service through digital optimisation;

“Unite the city through digital innovation and smart city infrastructure and;

“Improve the day to day lives of our citizens by using digital technologies to enhance the inclusion, health and wellbeing of all in the city.”