The Importance of Good R&D Data and Current Challenges

Kelvin Humphreys and Kostas Kollydas discuss why detailed R&D is essential and examine the challenges in current data collection and availability, particularly at the sub-national level. The UK government’s 2017 Industrial Strategy committed to spending 2.4% of GDP on Research and Development (R&D) by 2027. Following the Levelling up White Paper, the government has embarked … Continue reading “The Importance of Good R&D Data and Current Challenges”

Companies at Risk of Insolvency in West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA)

Reen Blake-Carr investigates the number of businesses that are in danger of insolvency in the WMCA and discusses some of the factors that might be causing this issue. Much like how the UK is suffering record levels of insolvencies from multiple economic shocks like Covid, the cost-of-living crises and rampant inflation -so has the WMCA. … Continue reading “Companies at Risk of Insolvency in West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA)”

Companies at Risk of Insolvency in the 11 Core Cities

Reen Blake-Carr investigates the number of businesses that are in danger of insolvency in the 11 Core Cities and discusses some of the factors that might be causing this issue. The UK, much like the rest of the world has been through a turbulent few years – a consequence of the global pandemic and other … Continue reading “Companies at Risk of Insolvency in the 11 Core Cities”

Reflections on an Academic’s Secondment to the Office for National Statistics (ONS)

Donald Houston discusses his recent secondment at the ONS. What did he learn whilst he was there and what did the ONS gain from having an academic on board? I am a labour market researcher and a long-time user of ONS data.  I have always been impressed at the quality and precision of the labelling … Continue reading “Reflections on an Academic’s Secondment to the Office for National Statistics (ONS)”

Red Flag and Data City: A Comparison

Reen Blake-Carr looks at two companies providing economic and business data and assesses their similarities and differences. With thanks to Charlie Hopkirk, Black Country Consortium for his input into the development of this blog. What is Red Flag Alert? Red Flag Alert is a company that was founded in 2004 to help identify new business … Continue reading “Red Flag and Data City: A Comparison”

Is the West Midlands Population Growing?

Reen Blake-Carr compares recent census data with 2011 to examine population change in the West Midlands. The 2021 Census was released recently and revealed a population increase of 6.1%, which amounts to 24.8 million households in England and Wales, up from 23.4 million households in 2011. Birmingham In Birmingham, there was a population increase of … Continue reading “Is the West Midlands Population Growing?”

Addressing the Climate Emergency in Birmingham: Using the Civic Index to Build University-Civic Collaborations

Hannes Read discusses how Universities and regional authorities can use the Civic Index to improve collaboration between these partners and help drive regional economic development. The Civic Index: A Tool Linking Economy, Environment, Institutions, and Place Collaboration between higher education and local/regional authorities is proven to be an important part of local and regional economic … Continue reading “Addressing the Climate Emergency in Birmingham: Using the Civic Index to Build University-Civic Collaborations”

The West Midlands Datastore: Request for Partners

The WMCA today issued a Request for Proposals (Access tender documents here) to help us develop a West Midlands Datastore. This was a key element of our Digital Roadmap and builds on the work of our Office for Data Analytics and Transport for the West Midlands Data Insights team. In this blog, Adam Hawksbee and Rebecca … Continue reading “The West Midlands Datastore: Request for Partners”

The Future of Data Across Regions

This blog, by Rebecca Riley, focuses on the advantages and pitfalls of data analytics, looking into how to ensure we get the most out of it, the struggles that staff face in keeping up with its rapid evolution and how best to resource it. On the 10th November, I presented at the 2020 Open Data … Continue reading “The Future of Data Across Regions”