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Foreword,
Tim Pile GBSLEP Chair
“It has never been more important to invest in our future, focusing on market needs and sector strengths which are unique to our region, generating new ideas and solutions and creating new highly skilled jobs for the benefit of everyone who lives and works here.”
The Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP)’s purpose remains clear and unwavering; to deliver interventions that drive inclusive economic growth, resulting in more jobs and in a better society for all our citizens.
The Greater Birmingham and Solihull region is home to word-class businesses, expertise and facilities in a number of expanding sectors which will be key drivers of sustainable economic growth in the future. The region has the capability to make a significant contribution both nationally and globally.
At the beginning of the year, our region was one of the most promising regions in the country. Since 2010, our economy has grown twice that of the average of major English city-regions, more than 165,000 private sector jobs have been created and GVA growth saw an increase of 4.9% across the GBSLEP area in 2018.
However, we cannot overlook the huge and devastating effect of the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent public health measures resulting in a national lockdown. We are living in extraordinary times, and there is no doubt that Greater Birmingham and the whole of the West Midlands has been severely impacted. Our great strengths in manufacturing, and our young, diverse population left us more vulnerable to the impacts of the pandemic. However, they can also be some of our greatest assets in our recovery. The challenges we have collectively faced have been immense and we must acknowledge that there are likely still hard times to come, but I profoundly believe that we can, working with our partners across the region, rebuild our economy – and build it back to be even stronger than before.
It has never been more important to invest in our future, focusing on market needs and sector strengths which are unique to our region, generating new ideas and solutions and creating new highly skilled jobs for the benefit of everyone who lives and works here. Collaboration between organisations is going to be essential in achieving this; locally developed and led projects will have a crucial role to play not only in bouncing back, but in improving our future resilience. GBSLEP, as a unique collaboration of the private, public and education sectors, has a role to play in bringing together partners and guiding resources toward interventions that will make a real-world and lasting difference.
I am extremely proud to serve as Chair of GBSLEP and to witness the impact already being made by LEP-funded projects, be it capital investments via our Growth Programme, targeted interventions to unlock growth of our key sectors or business support being delivered directly through our Growth Hub. The breadth of this work is made possible by the commitment and passion of our partners, the LEP Executive team and the Board. I want to extend enormous thanks to my fellow Board Directors for their uncompromising dedication to build the economy of our region.
Whilst much has been achieved, there is much to be done in the year ahead to aid a swift recovery and sustainable growth. We will continue to collaborate closely with all our partners to bring forward investments and see the full potential of our region realised.
Foreword,
Katie Trout GBSLEP Director
“Our Local Growth Fund reached a major milestone at the beginning of this year, with investment surpassing £180 million, creating 5764 new jobs and unlocking 1379 homes since its inception in 2014.”
Through the course of 2019-20, GBSLEP has made substantial progress in key areas of activity, including delivery of our Growth Programme and bringing forward interventions to; unlock business growth; stimulate innovation; increase skills levels; develop vibrant and thriving places; and harness the potential of the cultural and creative assets across the region.
Our Local Growth Fund reached a major milestone at the beginning of this year, with investment surpassing £180 million, creating 5764 new jobs and unlocking 1379 homes since its inception in 2014. Projects that have received investment have had a positive impact on key growth sectors such as low carbon and energy technologies, life sciences, manufacturing and creative sectors, all of which are crucial drivers for the region’s ongoing success.
Working in partnership with 10 towns, we launched our Growing Our Towns report to provide a series of recommendations based on clear evidence about strengths, challenges and opportunities for the future prosperity of our towns. Building on our Towns and Local Centres Framework we launched and delivered a second round of funding to support smaller, focused projects that develop communities and add to a distinctive sense of place. In addition, we committed over £81,000 to cultural organisations via our Cultural Capacity Fund.
Although we have seen much success, we must also acknowledge that Covid-19 has taken a heavy toll on our economy, bringing about fast-paced and unparalleled changes to our working practices and everyday lives. Businesses, their employees and the self-employed have all been seriously affected and we have seen firsthand how quickly they have needed to adapt. GBSLEP has expanded its support available through our Growth Hub, diverting more of our resources to ensuring businesses can readily access the advice they need. We continue to work closely with partners to gather intelligence on local impact and design and fund our own set of interventions aimed to respond to identified needs.
Close partnership working with the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and our neighbouring LEPs has seen great strides taken toward the implementation of the Local Industrial Strategy for the West Midlands. In consultation with local businesses, the development of Sector Action Plans has provided a critical foundation from which to build well-evidenced Sector Recovery Plans. It is important we continue meaningful engagement with industry and partners across the public and education sectors as we drive these plans forward.
To bolster our key sectors, we have delivered a number of sector-specific activities, including publishing the most in-depth and far-reaching report on our burgeoning Fintech sector, formation of a Health Technologies Cluster Organisation to further strengthen Greater Birmingham’s Life Sciences sector as well as allocating funding for state-of-the-art facilities and business support services at Birmingham Health Innovation Campus, co-developing the region’s new screen industry body, Create Central, supporting rail suppliers to access new contracts via our High-Speed Mentor programme in collaboration the Rail Alliance, and developing the region’s first low carbon action plan. These interventions will help to ensure we are well positioned to seize new opportunities for an accelerated and sustainable recovery and support businesses with changes emanating from the end of the transition period for leaving the European Union.
All of this activity, and much more, is borne out of strong collaboration across the public, private and educations sectors. I’d like to give my immense thanks to our dedicated Board and talented Executive for their hard work and commitment.
Despite the difficulties the Covid-19 pandemic, we continue to have an exciting pipeline of important projects and I am looking forward to continuing to work with partners, to harness our resources and deliver a tangible benefit for all our businesses and residents.
