Category Birmingham
UK City Productivity Musings
There has been much comment (and some puzzlement) in the last year about how and why productivity growth at national level has not returned back to pre-crisis levels. This article in the Economist goes over some of the theories behind why this might be happening. Given the publication of a broad measure of productivity […]
Open Work Spaces in London
I came across two things of interest today relating o the creative industries in London today. Firstly this mini report and ongoing survey of open work spaces in London being undertaken by IPPR supported by the GLA. Secondly this report on Creative Factories – focused on the creative community in Hackney Wick and Fish Island […]
The Rise of Collaborative Working in Birmingham
This is a copy of a presentation I gave at the launch of a new co-working space – The Transfer – in Birmingham on March 5th. This is not definitive and I would welcome comments/additions etc. The Rise of Collaborative Working in Birmingham More details on this authentic new space located in a community […]
Overseas Visitors to England’s Core Cities
The ONS has just release figures for overseas visitors in England broken down at a County or Unitary Authority level. I have just had a quick play with these to pull out figures for the Core Cities (Not there CA/FUA definitions). These figures are averages from the period 2011-2013. The following graphic and table show […]
Are Life Sciences a Goer for Greater Birmingham?
In the quiet of the early summer holidays the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP (GBS-LEP) published with little hoohah the report of the Silk Commission on Greater Birmingham’s Life Sciences sector. This was a much needed independent look at the potential of growth in this sector in Greater Birmingham. Life Sciences have often been touted […]
The Importance of Local Economic Leadership
I attended an event a few weeks ago in Manchester hosted by the Council and the OECD LEED programme on the importance of local economic leadership in promoting sustainable inclusive growth. This was the LEEDs annual meeting and also highlighted a recent publication looking into such matters. I feel that the publication is worthy of […]
Innovation Birmingham – An increasingly important asset for Birmingham’s Digital Sector
Innovation Birmingham – An increasingly important asset for Birmingham’s Digital Sector Birmingham launched its Smart City Road Map in 2014 and a key component in delivering its vision around growing the digital economy, is Innovation Birmingham. I talked to the CEO David Hardman recently to find out more. Innovation Birmingham is located in the emerging […]
What is Driving this Devolution Push
This is started out as a short post to get behind what is driving devolution to cities in England. It got a little too long. Apologies. Well what is this all about; why is it happening and what can we expect from it. There is much talk about how centralised the UK’s decision making is […]
Is Birmingham a Digital Hotspot?
Is Birmingham a Digital Hotspot? Birmingham has designated itself as a Smart City and at the core of any smart city is its strength in the Digital economy. This post explores how the city compares to elsewhere in the UK and what is being done to strengthen this increasingly important economic sector/ engine for growth. […]
Progress on Birmingham’s Green Commission Vision
Birmingham’s Green Commission launched its Carbon Road Map in November 2013 and prior to that its vision in March 2013. This post highlights a report and presentation that went to the Connectivity and Sustainability Overview and Scrutiny Commission in March 2015 about the progress so far and the priorities for 2015. The covering report, which is brief, can […]
UrbanPivot 