Why is the West Midlands Attractive to Private R&D Investments but Not Government Funding?

Last week, NESTA launched a report on government spending on R&D and regions. The report was written by Tom Forth (Open Data Institute Leeds) and Richard Jones (University of Manchester) and was commissioned to present analysis on where and how R&D (public and private sector) is distributed across the UK. This blog pulls out key … Continue reading “Why is the West Midlands Attractive to Private R&D Investments but Not Government Funding?”

The Impact of COVID-19 on Firm Innovation: The Case of the West Midlands

In this blog, Dr Chloe Billing explores the impact of COVID-19 on innovation activities in the West Midlands. A full range of business support measures has been made available to UK businesses to help with the current COVID-19 crisis. These were discussed in a recent blog by Professor Raquel Ortega Argiles and include the Coronavirus … Continue reading “The Impact of COVID-19 on Firm Innovation: The Case of the West Midlands”

City-REDI Weekly Update – 9th April 2020

Welcome to your weekly update. If you have any feedback please let us know. Blogs The Long-Term Impact of Homeworking Arising From the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Crisis The Coronavirus crisis has caused a large-scale switch to homeworking for businesses. In this blog, Dr Chloe Billing discusses some of the long-term impacts homeworking might have for individuals, … Continue reading “City-REDI Weekly Update – 9th April 2020”

The Long-Term Impact of Homeworking Arising From the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Crisis

The ‘Legoland discovery centre’ replica of Birmingham City Centre has had thousands of mini-figures removed to reflect the city’s empty streets, as the COVID-19 crisis means that millions are asked to stay at home. The abandoned City Centre scene reflects how 1 in 3 of all businesses have closed under the COVID-19 regulation (1 in … Continue reading “The Long-Term Impact of Homeworking Arising From the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Crisis”

Regional Productivity Differences, Skills and Inclusive Growth: Survey Findings

The UK lags behind most advanced economies in terms of the productivity of its firms. There are also significant inter-regional differences in productivity across the UK, which are an important component of overall poor performance. The UK is also one of the most unequal countries, compared to other industrialised competitors, in terms of regional differences … Continue reading “Regional Productivity Differences, Skills and Inclusive Growth: Survey Findings”

Professional and Business Services Sector: Creating Further Demand and Growth Outside London – New Report Released

We are proud to announce that BEIS have just published our report, summarising our research findings on creating demand and growth in the Professional and business service sector. The UK’s poor productivity performance continues to be of much debate in policy and research and is central to the development of the Industrial Strategy. This research … Continue reading “Professional and Business Services Sector: Creating Further Demand and Growth Outside London – New Report Released”

Research Funding as a Driver of Growth

This blog post has been produced to provide insight into the findings of the Birmingham Economic Review. The Birmingham Economic Review 2019 is produced by City-REDI, University of Birmingham and the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, with contributions from the West Midlands Growth Company. It is an in-depth exploration of the economy of England’s second … Continue reading “Research Funding as a Driver of Growth”

Understanding Productivity and Prosperity: Regional Skills Mismatches and Inclusive Growth for the West Midlands

Chloe Billing reflects on this year’s Regional Studies Association’s annual conference in Santiago de Compostela. On the 6th June, I had the opportunity to present the findings from the first phase of City REDI’s project on ‘Productivity and Prosperity’ at the RSA conference in Santiago. Details of the ESRC funded project and the wider team … Continue reading “Understanding Productivity and Prosperity: Regional Skills Mismatches and Inclusive Growth for the West Midlands”

Resilience, Politics and Awards: Reflections from Regional Studies Association’s Conference in Santiago de Compostela

Tasos Kitsos reflects on this year’s Regional Studies Association’s annual conference in Santiago de Compostela. Every RSA conference is a great opportunity to meet old friends, make new, discuss research and engage in new collaborations. This one was particularly excting since it was the first time I was involved in organising a special session. Together … Continue reading “Resilience, Politics and Awards: Reflections from Regional Studies Association’s Conference in Santiago de Compostela”

Services and Experiences from Space

The on-going debate on the future of retailing and the high street has within it an emphasis on the shift from purchasing ‘experiences’ rather than goods. This transformation of economic transactions into experiences can be traced back over two decades but has been intensifying. January is often associated with a number of experiential movements – … Continue reading “Services and Experiences from Space”