Devolution with a small d – Reflections on our Conservative Party fringe event

Our event in Birmingham was a much more subdued affair than the previous one in Liverpool for the Labour party conference. Chaired again by Dr Adam Marshall (Acting Director General at the British Chamber of Commerce) he opened with a show of hands from the audience, asking if they supported the move to mayors and … Continue reading “Devolution with a small d – Reflections on our Conservative Party fringe event”

Business schools: delivering value to local and regional economies

The Chartered Association of Business Schools launched its national report – ‘Business schools: delivering value to local and regional economies’ – at the House of Lords in September. The report examines the far reaching contributions business schools make to local and regional economies. Here City-REDI shares some key reflections from the event. Lord Karan Bilimoria – … Continue reading “Business schools: delivering value to local and regional economies”

Devolution – it’s what we make of it: coins and piggy banks

Inside Government held their event – ‘The next steps for devolution: Delivering growth across the Midlands’ – in Birmingham on 19th October 2016. City-REDI’s Professor Simon Collinson was there chairing the event along with Tasos Kitsos who has shared his reflections from the day. A lot of very interesting speakers and a vibrant list of … Continue reading “Devolution – it’s what we make of it: coins and piggy banks”

Resolution Foundation city event – ‘Living standards across the West Midlands Metro Area’

City-REDI is pleased to announce the Living standards across the West Midlands Metro Area event, organised and delivered by the Resolution Foundation. The event will be held from 08.00am-10.00am on Monday 12 December 2016 at Birmingham Library. This event comes as part of the Resolution Foundation’s major new investigation into living standards in our cities. … Continue reading “Resolution Foundation city event – ‘Living standards across the West Midlands Metro Area’”

Bricks, Concrete and Steel – A look at Birmingham’s future commercial and residential property and local infrastructure development

City-REDI is delighted to invite you to Bricks, Concrete and Steel – A look at Birmingham’s future commercial and residential property and local infrastructure development, as part of the Economic and Social Research Council’s Festival of Social Science, hosted at the University of Birmingham. Running from 08:00am-11:00am on Thursday 10 November 2016, at KPMG Snow Hill … Continue reading “Bricks, Concrete and Steel – A look at Birmingham’s future commercial and residential property and local infrastructure development”

Forecasting Brexit: What are the experts saying and what can we learn from it?

Rebecca Riley is Administrative Director of City-REDI and has managed over 200 projects across all local government policy areas with a focus, amongst other things, on forecasting. In this post Rebecca outlines what the professional forecasters are making of the impacts of Brexit, and how the experience of the EU referendum can inform the process … Continue reading “Forecasting Brexit: What are the experts saying and what can we learn from it?”

Manufacturing in Greater Birmingham – is it pulling its weight?

Our first guest blog from Patrick Willcocks, policy commentator focused on cities and their economic and environmental policy issues (UrbanPivot); a teaching fellow at the UoB Business school focusing on Europe and regional development and a private consultant working on EU funding and policy. A couple of things triggered this blog post – my inaugural … Continue reading “Manufacturing in Greater Birmingham – is it pulling its weight?”

Are you listening Sir Bob – Birmingham wins the RCUK Urban Living Partnership Call – a new big boost towards Birmingham as the collaborative future city

Richard Kenny is Head of Strategic Development at Birmingham City Council and has joined the City REDI team on secondment at the Business School, University of Birmingham. Here he narrates some of the journey so far in responding to this Call and tries to put his finger on Birmingham’s initial success in engaging with RCUK … Continue reading “Are you listening Sir Bob – Birmingham wins the RCUK Urban Living Partnership Call – a new big boost towards Birmingham as the collaborative future city”

The Next Steps for the Combined Authority and the Midlands Engine

On 1 June 2016  the West Midlands  Combined Authority comes into effect. With that in mind,Insider hosted an event at Birmingham Business School to explore the next steps for the Combined Authority and the Midlands Engine. The first panel featured Katie Trout, Chief Executive of the GBSLEP; Anne Lucas, Coventry City Council; Henrietta Brealey, Director of … Continue reading “The Next Steps for the Combined Authority and the Midlands Engine”

New City REDI member Richard Kenny on devolution and the economy

Devolution can only work when the economy fully works– so making it work and provide for all is going to remain the central question facing cities and regions – time to get City REDI, argues Richard Kenny. Richard Kenny is Head of Strategic Development at Birmingham City Council and has just joined the City REDI … Continue reading “New City REDI member Richard Kenny on devolution and the economy”