Fuelling City-Regions, why skills matter

Introduction from Professor Anne Green: Issues relating to skills are at the forefront of topical debates about economic prosperity, productivity and inclusive growth. While policy makers at national and sub-national levels have long been concerned with skills levels, skills shortage and skills gaps, devolution and the development of an Industrial Strategy recognising the importance of … Continue reading “Fuelling City-Regions, why skills matter”

Published: Posted on

AnalystFEST #2 event report

City-REDI and Black Country Consortium co-hosted the second of our Analystfest events, aimed at bringing together researchers and analysts from across the region. The session focused on the West Midlands Performance Monitoring Framework and the latest ‘State of the Region’ about to be published. The purpose of the event was to review the document and content … Continue reading “AnalystFEST #2 event report”

Published: Posted on

Inspiration within Operations Management

  Last week at the 24th European Operations Management Association (EurOMA) Conference which was hosted by the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, City-REDI’s Amir Qamar delivered his research. Amir’s research, titled Lean versus Agile Manufacturing: An Empirical Investigation into the Midlands Automotive Industry, explores how lean and agile manufacturing strategies can result in different performance … Continue reading “Inspiration within Operations Management”

Published: Posted on

Get in touch with the City-REDI team

Keep up-to-date with all the latest City-REDI news by following us on Twitter and LinkedIn: City-REDI Twitter: @CityREDI LinkedIn Professor Simon Collinson Twitter: @profsicollinson LinkedIn   Professor Anne Green Twitter: @Anne_E_Green LinkedIn   Professor Raquel Ortega Argiles Twitter: @r_ortegaargiles LinkedIn   Dr Chloe Billing Twitter: @BillingResearch LinkedIn   Dr Catherine Harris Twitter: @dr_catharris LinkedIn   Dr Max Nathan Twitter: … Continue reading “Get in touch with the City-REDI team”

Published: Posted on

West Midlands’ Service exports to the EU: Brexit will not be the same for every region

On July 11, the ONS has released its estimates of regional Service exports for GB regions. The release is here – https://goo.gl/4d7Kjx Doing one of my favourite things and turning absolute figures to percentages, a number of interesting insights come up. Below, the commentary focuses only on Manufacturing; Wholesale and Motor Trades; Information and Communication; … Continue reading “West Midlands’ Service exports to the EU: Brexit will not be the same for every region”

Published: Posted on

The significance of a place-based industrial strategy for the West Midlands

A place-based approach to industrial strategy frames the first report published by the Industrial Strategy Commission, an independent body established by the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI) and Policy@Manchester. Place is central in two ways. First, it is identified as one of seven ‘foundational’ themes that the industrial strategy must be built on. Second … Continue reading “The significance of a place-based industrial strategy for the West Midlands”

Published: Posted on

The City of Birmingham – Missed and Missing Opportunities

The following piece was originally posted by Urban Living Birmingham. Below are two poems in response to a request for the best and worst of Birmingham. The poems formed part of an impromptu exhibition held at one of Urban Living Birmingham’s Touchstone Meetings. From the author, Jonathan Ward: These poems were off the cuff reflections … Continue reading “The City of Birmingham – Missed and Missing Opportunities”

Published: Posted on

May I be so Bold? A Plan for the New West Midlands Combined Authority Mayor

This post was written by Chris Bouch for Urban Living Birmingham. When one looks at Andy Street’s potted history on Wikipedia, it is difficult not to be impressed: Oxford; past Managing Director at John Lewis Partnership; past chair of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership; Commander of the British Empire for services to … Continue reading “May I be so Bold? A Plan for the New West Midlands Combined Authority Mayor”

Published: Posted on

From Guangzhou to Birmingham: The GZU-UoB Joint Research Centre for Service Industry and Urban Development (GB-JRCSIUD) visits City-REDI

Following last week’s post ‘City-REDI meets Guangzhou University’, Professor Di Cai shares her thoughts on Guangzhou University’s week with City-REDI. Five academics from Guangzhou University (GZU) China visited City-REDI, 19-21 June 2017. After meeting with Simon, John and other City-REDI members, new consensus has been reached that further research on the environment and smart urban development are important for … Continue reading “From Guangzhou to Birmingham: The GZU-UoB Joint Research Centre for Service Industry and Urban Development (GB-JRCSIUD) visits City-REDI”

Published: Posted on

Increasing productivity in the agriculture sector via UK satellite applications

The government’s plan to secure growth in the UK’s £13.7bn space industry was outlined in the Queen’s Speech last Wednesday (21st June 2017). The plan involved “enabling [scientists] to launch from UK soil” and updating legislation to “offer the UK’s world-leading small satellite companies new options for low-cost, reliable access to space”. This pledge followed … Continue reading “Increasing productivity in the agriculture sector via UK satellite applications”

Published: Posted on