The Challenge

As part of the UK Government’s National Digital Twin Programme, we were asked to demonstrate how cross-sector infrastructure data could be connected to reveal interdependencies and strengthen resilience. The Isle of Wight was chosen as a testbed: a geographically bounded region with all the key infrastructure networks, energy, water, transport, telecoms, food, and emergency services.

The goal was ambitious: prove that better information management can directly improve resilience, not just for operators, but for government, emergency services, and local communities.

​​

Our Approach

​We began by building a detailed infrastructure resilience model of the Isle of Wight, mapping dependencies across sectors and identifying critical vulnerabilities. This work showcased how the principles of the National Digital Twin could be applied at regional scale to support better decisions.

But we didn’t stop there. To bring the findings to life, we created Exercise Island Storm, a fully immersive challenge designed to test critical thinking under pressure.

• Developed a storm disaster scenario, drawing on real-world case studies (Katrina, Idai, Xynthia).

• Produced a full suite of background files, maps, videos, and news updates to simulate a live crisis.

• Created teacher and facilitator packs, including scripts, briefings, and one-slide course-of-action templates, enabling schools, companies, and local resilience forums to run the exercise independently.

• Focused on information management under stress, helping participants experience first-hand the importance of trusted data in life-or-death decisions.

​

The Impact

The Isle of Wight project demonstrated:

• The power of the National Digital Twin vision, showing how cross-sector data unlocks real resilience value.

• An innovative teaching tool, Island Storm has since been used by schools, universities, and companies to teach infrastructure resilience and crisis leadership.

• Critical thinking in action, participants learned to separate fact from misinformation, prioritise under pressure, and make decisions with limited time and data.

• Scalability, the methodology can be applied in any region or organisation to stress-test preparedness and information management practices.

​​

The Value Proposition

The Isle of Wight and Island Storm case study proves that resilience is not just technical, it’s human and organisational. By combining robust data modelling with immersive training, we created both a strategic tool for decision-makers and a hands-on learning experience that brings information management to life.

For clients, the value lies in:

• Seeing interdependencies clearly.

• Testing strategies in a safe but realistic environment.

• Building shared understanding across diverse stakeholders.

• Creating a defensible basis for resilience investment and emergency planning.

​​​

The Isle of Wight demonstrator proved the value of information. Island Storm made it real, turning resilience into a lived experience, not just a report.