Our Purpose
The UK's future in AI, advanced technologies, healthcare, defence, finance, and the creative industries depends on secure, sustainable, and resilient digital infrastructure.
Yet power capacity, subsea cables, hardware supply, cooling, and workforce shortages all present real barriers. SCALE UK exists to provide independent, evidence-based insight into these issues and to convene informed dialogue across stakeholders.
We focus on the foundational elements that enable the UK's digital economy: datacentres and compute capacity, connectivity infrastructure, supply chain resilience, standards and assurance frameworks, and the skills needed to build and maintain these systems.
Our Approach
SCALE UK brings together expertise from industry, academia, and policy to provide a comprehensive view of UK digital infrastructure challenges and opportunities.
- Neutral and evidence-led analysis that informs rather than advocates
- Cross-sector collaboration bringing together diverse perspectives
- Practical insight that supports policy development and industry decision-making
- Long-term focus on sustainable and resilient infrastructure
Our Role
As an independent, non-profit initiative, SCALE UK serves as a trusted convener—not a lobbyist. We bridge the gap between industry practice, academic research, and policy development to ensure that decision-makers have access to clear, evidence-based perspectives.
We aim to:
- Provide clear, evidence-led perspectives on digital infrastructure challenges
- Inform parliamentary and policy debate with neutral, rigorous analysis
- Support collaboration between industry, academia, and government
- Convene stakeholders around critical infrastructure issues
Why Digital Infrastructure Matters
Digital infrastructure is the foundation upon which the modern economy is built. From cloud computing and AI services to financial transactions and healthcare systems, reliable digital infrastructure underpins virtually every sector of the UK economy.
The UK faces significant challenges in maintaining and expanding this infrastructure: growing demand for compute capacity driven by AI, aging connectivity networks, complex global supply chains, evolving security requirements, and a shortage of skilled workers. Addressing these challenges requires coordinated effort across government, industry, and academia.
SCALE UK exists to facilitate this coordination by providing the evidence base, analysis, and convening power needed to address the UK's digital infrastructure challenges.