The Birmingham Economic Review is out now! This year’s report will provide a comprehensive analysis of the city’s economy amid the wider geopolitical landscape, and actionable measures that businesses and stakeholders from across the city-region can take to drive economic growth. Read the full Birmingham Economic Review 2025. WMHTIA is transforming how the West Midlands identifies, … Continue reading “Increased understanding of Health Tech sector in West Midlands through WMHTIA”
Tag: West Midlands
Optimising the West Midlands Health Technology Innovation Ecosystem
The Birmingham Economic Review is out now! This year’s report will provide a comprehensive analysis of the city’s economy amid the wider geopolitical landscape, and actionable measures that businesses and stakeholders from across the city-region can take to drive economic growth. Read the full Birmingham Economic Review 2025. Innovation Accelerator pathfinder funding announced in the … Continue reading “Optimising the West Midlands Health Technology Innovation Ecosystem”
Bridging the Innovation Gap: Why Innovation Intermediaries matter for place-based growth
The University of Birmingham’s City-Region Economic Development Institute (City-REDI) has published a new Research & Policy Briefing paper examining the role of innovation intermediaries in shaping regional and national innovation systems. The research underpinning the briefing was supported by funding from Research England Development (RED) Fund. The briefing draws on a mixed-methods research project led … Continue reading “Bridging the Innovation Gap: Why Innovation Intermediaries matter for place-based growth”
West Midlands Economic Impact Monitor – 10th December 2025
Global Trends The OECD found that the global economy in 2025 has been more resilient than expected, supported by better financial conditions, AI-driven investment, and macroeconomic policies. The OECD finds significant risks remain including weakening labour markets, potential financial instability (non-bank institutions, crypto volatility), trade barriers, and fiscal pressures that could raise bond yields and … Continue reading “West Midlands Economic Impact Monitor – 10th December 2025”
West Midlands Economic Impact Monitor – 29th October 2025
International instability, uncertainty and protectionism continued to impact not just the global economy but the UK economy, with current and future business activity in decline, as a result of reduced confidence in the consumer markets globally. Prices continue to rise nationally, with consumer price inflation CPI rising 3.8% in the year to September 2025. Global … Continue reading “West Midlands Economic Impact Monitor – 29th October 2025”
Ten Years of City-REDI – Delma Dwight
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 “Ten Years of City-REDI – Delma Dwight”
Can West Midlanders Afford to Live Solo? A Local Take on the Carrie Bradshaw Index
In September 2025, The Economist updated the Carrie Bradshaw Index, a playful yet insightful measure of housing affordability for solo renters across 100 U.S. cities. Named after the iconic character from Sex and the City, the index compares median incomes to the cost of renting a one-bedroom apartment, essentially asking: where can you afford to … Continue reading “Can West Midlanders Afford to Live Solo? A Local Take on the Carrie Bradshaw Index”
What does the 2025 Spending Review mean for Place-Based Economic Development?
One year on from winning the General Election, the Labour Government have outlined its spending review for 2025. Over the course of the Government’s first year, headlines about public finances have focused on tightening budgets. On the one hand, this Spending Review follows in a similar vein. But there are also relatively significant increases in … Continue reading “What does the 2025 Spending Review mean for Place-Based Economic Development?”
West Midlands Economic Impact Monitor – 3 June 2025
Fragile growth, rising trade tensions and increased cost pressures are shaping the national and regional economic outlook. In this context, business leaders have warned that firms are seeking a ‘platform of stability’. Trade deals between the UK and the US and between the UK and India are viewed as positive. Curbs on immigration set out … Continue reading “West Midlands Economic Impact Monitor – 3 June 2025”
Report Spotlight: Unlocking Procurement Insights
In a new series of blogs, we will be reviewing the current and historical work of City-REDI. In this latest blog, a recent study by Annum Rafique (University of Birmingham) and Pei-Yu Yuan (University of Manchester) delves into how text mining can be harnessed to analyse procurement contracts, offering valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders. … Continue reading “Report Spotlight: Unlocking Procurement Insights”