Diversity week in the West Midlands 16th-20th November 2009

Monday 16th November heralds the start of Diversity Week 2009, promoted by Advantage West Midlands in partnership with the West Midlands Employer Coalition.
Around 35 events are taking place across the West Midlands between 16th-20th November 2009, aiming to help businesses appreciate the real benefits of a diverse workforce.

State of the Region dialogue on climate change published

We’ve published the State of the Region dialogue Challenge or opportunity? How to plan for Climate Change (PDF, 1.3mb).
This report aims to help decision makers understand how climate change will impact on their areas and also give practical ways of adapting to, and taking advantage of, the opportunities and challenges presented by climate change.
The report [...]

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 [...]

What does a sustainable city look like?

The event ‘Voices from the futur 2020:how are we housed?’ delivered an great example of a sustainable city … Hammarby Sjöstad in Sweden.

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 [...]

Engaging communities in the new economy – Observatory conference debate

Support the community organisations who are working on the ground, was a strong theme in both workshops on ‘engaging communities in the new economy’ at the Observatory’s 2009 Annual Conference.
The workshop heard from voices working with communities in the region who articulated their frustrations in having to fit their work around funders’ requirements, rather than [...]

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 [...]

Challenge or opportunity? How to plan for climate change

Today is Blog Action Day 2009, when more than 8,000 blogs from 146 countries are discussing issues around climate change.
Here’s our contribution to this global initiative.
In a few weeks’ time, we’ll publish the findings from our State of the Region dialogue on climate change titled Challenge or Opportunity? How to plan for climate change.

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.

Blog Action Day ’09 Climate Change

15th October is Blog Action Day 2009, an annual event when bloggers around the world post about a common issue on the same day.
The aim is to raise awareness and encourage discussion around a global issue.
This year’s topic is climate change.

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 [...]

Local Government Association research bulletin September 2009

A new edition of the LGA analysis and research bulletin (PDF, 220kb) has been published by the Local Government Association (LGA).
The bulletin features research from the LGA group, as well as the wider research community, on key issues and developments in research impacting on, or of interest to, local government.