City-REDI/WMREDI Round Up – September 2023

Local and Central Government Anne Green and Abigail Taylor presented work on ‘Place-based employment support: learning from Connecting Communities in the West Midlands’ in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Learning and Development series on 12th September 2023. City-REDI and WMREDI researchers participated in the West Midlands Combined Authority’s  (WMCA) Economic Symposium at the Library of … Continue reading “City-REDI/WMREDI Round Up – September 2023”

Why are the Commonwealth Games struggling to find hosts?

July saw Ozzy the giant mechanical bull and symbol of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games unveiled in Birmingham New Street. The buzz about the station was high and served as a reminder of the success of last year’s Games. Almost at the same time we saw Victoria, Australia the planned hosts of the next Games in 2026 … Continue reading “Why are the Commonwealth Games struggling to find hosts?”

Tune in to the City-REDI / WMREDI Podcast

We launched our podcast series last summer, and since then we’ve discussed a whole range of regional and national issues with experts from business, economics, transport, education, work, skills and local government. Each episode is no more than 30 minutes long and ready to be downloaded to listen to on your commute, lunch break or … Continue reading “Tune in to the City-REDI / WMREDI Podcast”

City-REDI/WMREDI Round Up – July 2023

Media engagements Matt Lyons was quoted in a Guardian article about the Commonwealth Games “‘Birmingham could pull it off’: city considers hosting Commonwealth Games again”. Awards/ Funding The Railway Group in the School of Engineering recently won £30 Million in funding from Research England. City-REDI helped develop the supporting business case for the bid. Rebecca Riley … Continue reading “City-REDI/WMREDI Round Up – July 2023”

REDI Updates: What is the Cost-of-living Crisis?

The latest edition of REDI-Updates is out now – providing expert data insights and clear policy guidance. In this edition, the WMREDI team investigates what factors are contributing to the cost-of-living crisis and the impact it is having on households, businesses, public services and the third sector. We also look at how the crisis in … Continue reading “REDI Updates: What is the Cost-of-living Crisis?”

What Could the £4 billion Expansion of Childcare Support mean for the West Midlands Economy?

In the 2023 Spring Statement the UK Government announced plans to expand free childcare to children between 9 months and 2 years old. Matt Lyons and Abi Taylor investigate what this could mean for the West Midlands. The UK Government announced a £4bn childcare expansion policy in England. Key objectives of the policy include removing … Continue reading “What Could the £4 billion Expansion of Childcare Support mean for the West Midlands Economy?”

The Creative Sector Vision: What Does It Say and What Might It Mean for the West Midlands?

On Wednesday the UK Government released the Creative Sector Vision a highly anticipated update to creative policy. Dr Matt Lyons provides a summary of the document and some initial reflections on what it could mean for the region. The Creative Sector Vision published yesterday is the much-anticipated latest iteration of the UK Government’s policy for … Continue reading “The Creative Sector Vision: What Does It Say and What Might It Mean for the West Midlands?”

Regional Input-Output Group Meeting

se On the 26th of April, City-REDI hosted a gathering for those interested in the development and application of regional input-output (IO) techniques in the UK. Matt Lyons summarizes the papers shared and the discussions had about the shared challenges and opportunities for researchers in the field. It is an exciting time for an input-output … Continue reading “Regional Input-Output Group Meeting”

Screen Skills, Shortages and Silicon Spa

Dr James Davies and Dr Matt Lyons discuss how we can solve the creative skills shortage in the West Midlands. This blog and research is part of a project for the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre. The phenomenon of skills shortages in the creative industries is well-known in the academic literature and policy debates. … Continue reading “Screen Skills, Shortages and Silicon Spa”

City-REDI/WMREDI Round Up – March 2023

Events – presenting work / speaking engagements On Monday 6th March WMREDI hosted The 3rd Expert Roundtable on ‘Empowering Innovation through Public Procurement’. This event, co-organised with the University of Manchester and the Connected Places Catapult (CPC), launched the Innovation Procurement Empowerment Centre (IPEC), with speakers from the Cabinet Office, DSIT and Innovate UK. On … Continue reading “City-REDI/WMREDI Round Up – March 2023”