Innovation boosts productivity by two-thirds

Innovation is an essential driver for regional economic growth and a new national report has revealed how significant it can be in closing the productivity gap.
Two thirds of private sector productivity growth between 2000 and 2007 was driven by innovation, claims a new report by NESTA.
The findings are revealed in The Innovation Index: Measuring the [...]

Research suggests mounting problems for gaming firms

NESTA’s recent report It’s Time to Play suggests the UK video games sector faces ‘serious and mounting problems’ as a result of a variety of factors including the emerging trend for experienced staff to leave the UK in favour of competitor countries where government support is strong.
The report, based on a survey of 30 leading [...]

Volunteers in West Midlands museums and galleries outnumber paid employees by more than 2:1

Forthcoming research from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council will highlight the abundance of volunteers working within local museums and galleries.
Given the increasing interest in the role of volunteering can play in keeping people ‘job ready’ during the recession, this finding may well attract interest from beyond the heritage sector.
Along with a detailed look at [...]

Interactive maps help monitor recession geospatially

We’ve produced a set of interactive maps to monitor the impact of the recession at different geographical levels in the West Midlands:

By West Midlands Local Authority
By West Midlands Census ward
Neighbourhoods in the Rural Regeneration Zone

The maps show Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) claimant rates (the proportion of the working age population claiming JSA), which gives an indication [...]

2011 Census and migration statistics roadshows

The Office for National Statistics are holding a series of roadshows in December 2009 to communicate the latest work being carried out to improve population statistics through the 2011 Census and the Improving Migration and Population Statistics projects.
There’s an event in Birmingham on Thursday, 3rd December at the International Convention Centre.
The Census seminars will outline [...]

West Midlands employment rate stabilises

Latest labour market data published today by the Office for National Statistics shows that the West Midlands’ employment rate has stabilised at 70.0%.
The region’s level of unemployment has fallen by 14,000. However, this seems to be due to people becoming economically inactive rather than entering employment. Previous quarters saw many people in the region moving [...]

Consumers choose to spend their cash on cultural attractions when the going gets tough according to West Midlands Cultural Observatory

They said it would happen and according to research published this week by the West Midlands Cultural Observatory it is happening: the recession has caused consumers to be more selective about what cultural products and services they spend their cash on.
Evidence cited in the latest recession paper suggests that over the Spring and Summer months, [...]

Regional innovation scoreboard imminent

Most of the time we compare the relative performance of the West Midlands to that of other English regions, but how do we compare with other regions in the wider EU?
INNO Metric’s 2006 Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS) (PDF, 644kb) made such comparisons, assessing data from over two hundred regions across twenty-five states of the EU to [...]

Volunteer work in the recession – a lost opportunity?

No increase in volunteering
New Citizenship Survey data published last week by CLG show volunteering levels have remained almost static over the past year in England.
Levels of formal volunteering at least once a month are unchanged since 2001.
This lack of increase in volunteering despite the rising levels of unemployment seems to confirm what many in the voluntary and [...]

West Midlands ‘output gap’ has risen to £15bn

The West Midlands’ economy is less productive than the national average, and the gap is growing, according to new research released by the West Midlands Regional Observatory.
In the 2009 ‘State of the Region’ report, the Observatory has revealed that compared to the UK average, the economic output gap of the West Midlands – caused by [...]

Innovating out of recession workshop summary

With innovation seen as a key way for businesses to navigate the recession, the Innovating out of Recession workshop at our Annual Conference brought together an interesting mix of speakers and delegates to discuss innovative practices, measuring innovation and how innovation may change the industrial structure of the West Midlands.
Cliff Dennett from thoughtengine, co-author of [...]

Roundup of workshop on skills for the emerging economy

‘Skills for the emerging economy’ was a lively and well-attended workshop held at the Observatory’s Annual Conference on 20th October 2009.
Steve Sawbridge, from the Association of Colleges, chaired the workshop, which featured presentations from Mike Beasley, Pat Jackson and Andy Phillips.

Environment and economy: Fit for the Future?

The 2009 Observatory conference, West Midlands: Fit for the Future?, provided a forum for debate on economic recovery in the West Midlands.
One element of the debate concentrated on how to link the environment and economy better, based on chapters 4 and 9 of the Fit for the Future? book.
Delegates at the Environment and Economy workshop discussed Green Infrastructure, leadership and [...]

Debate on the future of the region is picking up pace

The ‘West Midlands: Fit for the Future?’ debate is picking up pace, with the Observatory today publishing a new chapter. The Forestry Commission’s Bill Heslegrave felt so strongly about the inclusion of green infrastructure in a debate on the economic recovery of the West Midlands, that he submitted a chapter of his own.

Birmingham is ‘best performing city’

According to the Cushman & Wakefield European Cities Monitor 2009, Birmingham is the ‘best performing city’ in the country in terms of improvement on last year’s ranking.
The influential survey of 500 of Europe’s largest companies shows Birmingham rising seven places from 21st to 14th as the best European city for business, overtaking Manchester in the [...]