The Autumn Statement – The Impact on the West Midlands

Alice Pugh takes an in-depth look at the Autumn Statement and what it means for the West Midlands. For futher analysis see: The Autumn Statement – Key Announcements The Autumn Statement was finally released last week detailing government tax and spending plans. The budget comes at a time of significant political and economic turbulence. The … Continue reading “The Autumn Statement – The Impact on the West Midlands”

The City Index: Comparing The Major Three Cities in the West Midlands

Reen Blake-Carr uses the WMREDI City Index Model to compare the performance of three major cities in the West Midlands – Birmingham, Coventry, and Wolverhampton. View the City Index, part of the WMREDI Data Lab. About the City Index The City Index looks at different cities in the region and evaluates them based on 10 … Continue reading “The City Index: Comparing The Major Three Cities in the West Midlands”

Energy Price Cap Reduction

Alice Pugh looks at the potential impact of the removal of the energy price cap for households in the West Midlands. The removal of the energy price cap from April 2023 will have a massive impact on energy bills for households within the WMCA area. The West Midlands region has the largest number of fuel-poor … Continue reading “Energy Price Cap Reduction”

Megatrends in the West Midlands: The ‘New Normal’ Must Embrace ‘Building Back Better’

Johannes Read delves into how the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way people and businesses work in the city centre as the UK emerges from the crisis. This article is part of a larger project looking at Megatrends in the West Midlands. Megatrends are major movements or patterns or trends that are having a transformative … Continue reading “Megatrends in the West Midlands: The ‘New Normal’ Must Embrace ‘Building Back Better’”

West Midlands Impact Monitor – 2nd September 2022

This week forecasters are predicting that the UK will enter a recession in the 4th quarter of the year and global climate change issues are compounding the inflationary effects of energy prices, product supply and war. The West Midlands is being buffeted and affected by these impacts, the region particularly hit by fuel and energy … Continue reading “West Midlands Impact Monitor – 2nd September 2022”

WMREDI Policy Briefing: The Manufacturing Technology Centre

In this policy briefing, Robert Lynam, Dr Chloe Billing and Professor Simon Collinson look at the Manufacturing Technology Centre and its impact in the West Midlands. It outlines the findings from one of our WMREDI projects focused on examining regional innovation ecosystems and the relationships between universities, local firms, entrepreneurship, innovation, technology transfer, and knowledge … Continue reading “WMREDI Policy Briefing: The Manufacturing Technology Centre”

West Midlands Economic Impact Monitor – 24th June 2022

The latest Purchasing Managers Index has left confidence falling to a 19-month low, but some firms remained upbeat due to new product launches, marketing efforts and expansion plans to support output over the course of the coming year. Business optimism was generally restricted due to acute inflationary pressures, issues with transportation, a challenging economic climate, … Continue reading “West Midlands Economic Impact Monitor – 24th June 2022”

Over 50s in the Labour Market

Professor Anne Green discusses the fall in labour market participation for the over-50s in the UK and the West Midlands, the barriers they face accessing learning and employment and how we can help them back into the workforce. Introduction With the number of vacancies nationally outstripping the numbers of unemployed people and many employers facing … Continue reading “Over 50s in the Labour Market”

Regional Systems of Innovation – How Does the West Midlands Compare With its European Counterparts?

Dr Carolin Ioramashvili and Professor Simon Collinson compare levels of innovation in regions around Europe with the West Midlands to show policymakers where they can focus investment and interventions. This is part of a series of blogs looking at Innovation in the West Midlands. Find out more about our work on regional innovation systems. Innovation … Continue reading “Regional Systems of Innovation – How Does the West Midlands Compare With its European Counterparts?”

How Does the Innovation Performance of the West Midlands Rank on the National and International Stage?

Kelvin Humphreys and colleagues use World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) annual Global Innovation Index to assess how innovative the West Midlands is. This is part of a series of blogs looking at Innovation in the West Midlands. Find out more about our work on regional innovation systems. Summary This analysis compares the innovation performance of … Continue reading “How Does the Innovation Performance of the West Midlands Rank on the National and International Stage?”