The Birmingham Economic Review 2025

Dr Matthew Lyons summarises the annual Birmingham Economic Review 2025, in collaboration with the Birmingham Chambers of Commerce. The annual Birmingham Economic Review is produced by the City Region Economic Development Institute (City-REDI) at the University of Birmingham and the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce. The report launched on Thursday 4th of December at The … Continue reading “The Birmingham Economic Review 2025”

Celebrating 10 Years of City-REDI: Reflections from Elizabeth Goodyear

This year marks a major milestone for City-REDI as we celebrate a decade of research, impact, and collaboration. Over the past 10 years, we’ve grown from a bold idea into a leading centre for regional economic development, shaping policy and practice across the UK and beyond. To mark this anniversary, we’re launching a special blog … Continue reading “Celebrating 10 Years of City-REDI: Reflections from Elizabeth Goodyear”

Report Spotlight: Leveraging Public Procurement to Drive Local Innovation

In a new series of blogs, we will be reviewing the current and historical work of City-REDI. In the next blog from this series, we look at Dr Chloe Billing’s Leveraging Public Procurement to Drive Local Innovation report which is part of the ongoing work with the Innovation Procurement Empowerment Centre (IPEC) In today’s evolving … Continue reading “Report Spotlight: Leveraging Public Procurement to Drive Local Innovation”

Driving Innovation: How the West Midlands is Powering Business Growth

The Birmingham Economic Review is out now! It provides a comprehensive analysis of the city’s economy as we emerge from a period of high inflation and local, regional, and national elections and actionable measures businesses and stakeholders from across the city-region can take to drive economic growth. Read the full Birmingham Economic Review 2024. Avalon … Continue reading “Driving Innovation: How the West Midlands is Powering Business Growth”

Expert Insight: Developing Skills for Innovation and Business Growth in the West Midlands

Anne Green, Professor of Regional Economic Development and Co-Director of City-REDI, University of Birmingham, is a commissioner for the Business Commission West Midlands. She has been supporting engagement in the region’s business community and the creation of the final ‘Roadmap for Business Growth’ report. In this blog, Anne reflects on her role in the commission … Continue reading “Expert Insight: Developing Skills for Innovation and Business Growth in the West Midlands”

Skills for Innovation Workshop – A Reflection

Fumi Kitagawa shares some of the findings from ‘Skills for Innovation’, a workshop which took place at The Exchange in Birmingham on 24 April 2024, organised by City-REDI with colleagues from the Centre for Innovation Management Research (CIMR), Birkbeck, University of London. The day started with a series of research presentations, followed by a panel discussion … Continue reading “Skills for Innovation Workshop – A Reflection”

Unleashing the Regional Innovation Potential of Universities

In a series of blogs, Simon Collinson, Fumi Kitagawa and Tomas Ulrichsen examine the role of universities in regional development. The blogs are co-authored by the Policy Evidence Unit for University Commercialisation and Innovation (UCI) at the University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) and the West Midlands Regional Economic Development Institute (WMREDI at City-REDI), … Continue reading “Unleashing the Regional Innovation Potential of Universities”

How will Labour Deliver Innovation led Growth? Lesson Learnt from the Innovation Accelerator Pilots

On 9th October, City-REDI / WMREDI, University of Birmingham hosted a fringe event at the Labour Party Conference on how to accelerate placed-based growth and innovation. Rebecca Riley and Steve Barwick reflect on the key points discussed at the fringe event. The event was chaired by Matt Western MP, Shadow Minister for Higher Education and … Continue reading “How will Labour Deliver Innovation led Growth? Lesson Learnt from the Innovation Accelerator Pilots”

Accelerating Place – Based Growth through Innovation: Perspectives from the Conservative Party Conference

On 2nd October, City-REDI / WMREDI, University of Birmingham and Policy @ Manchester co-hosted a fringe event at the Conservative Party Conference on how to accelerate placed-based growth and innovation. Steve Barwick and Fumi Kitagawa reflect on the lessons learnt at the event held in Manchester. The event was chaired by Thomas Pope, Deputy Chief … Continue reading “Accelerating Place – Based Growth through Innovation: Perspectives from the Conservative Party Conference”

Innovation Policy: The Role of Universities, Priority Sectors and Micro-enterprises

Juliane Schwarz discusses the potential impacts of prioritising certain sectors over others and how universities can play a role in active industrial policy. Juliane also looks at the role of small and micro businesses in our economy and how they can be better supported. In her letter to the Financial Times, the Vice-Provost of Research … Continue reading “Innovation Policy: The Role of Universities, Priority Sectors and Micro-enterprises”