Roundup of Geographical Information Day

This is a roundup of the presentations given at last week’s event in Birmingham focused on the importance of geographical information and systems. The event was targeted mainly at primary school teachers, though many delegates from the public sector attended.
The event which was chaired by Shona Frost from Staffordshire County Council.

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 [...]

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.

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 [...]

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 [...]

What will be the key drivers for the West Midlands’ future? Notes from ‘Regional Drivers for the Future’ workshop at the Observatory’s 2009 conference

There was little disagreement from workshop participants with Gill Bentley’s opening suggestion that ‘this recession is almost tantamount to war’ in terms of its impact on the region’s prosperity.
Dr Chris Upton’s account, in chapter 1 of West Midlands: Fit for the Future? (PDF, 5.7mb), of the devastating impact that the 1790s war with France had [...]

Presentations and speeches from Annual Conference

We held our Annual Conference, titled ‘West Midlands: Fit for the Future?’, yesterday in Sutton Coldfield.
The focus of the conference was on the economic recovery of the West Midlands, rather than the recession, and how we best position the West Midlands for the economic recovery.
The conference followed on from the book West Midlands: Fit for the [...]

Live blogging the Observatory’s Annual Conference

Our 2009 Annual Conference, titled West Midlands: Fit for the Future?, takes place tomorrow in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham.
You can keep up-to-date with comments and tweets about the conference as it unfolds on the day using this CoverItLive liveblog (replay the liveblog here).
You can add comments directly in the liveblog itself or by sending a tweet [...]

Feedback on Sharing Information Digitally event

We hosted an event on Sharing Information Digitally on 7th October 2009 at Millennium Point in Birmingham.
We tried a new structure for this event—part traditional presentations, part practical sessions—and thought we’d share some feedback on the event (from attendees and ourselves).

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.

Roundup from Sharing Information Digitally event

Yesterday’s event at Millennium Point looked at the whys and hows of making public data more accessible.
There were also some practical discussions looking at using social media and online tools to improve sharing data and information.
Richard Wilson, from Sandwell PCT and Chair of the Population & Society Group, chaired the day. You can listen to [...]

Follow ‘Sharing Information Digitally’ event live

You can keep up-to-date with comments and tweets about this event as it unfolds on 7th October using this CoverItLive page.
You can add comments through the CoverItLive page or by sending a tweet containing the hashtag #wmrosid.
All the content surrounding the event—photos, useful links, videos, blog posts, tweets, and so on—is aggregated on this Pagecast. [...]