Today another important report has been published on the role of cities in the English economy by the City Growth Commission. The report titled Connected Cities: The link to growth argues that investment in infrastructure in UK has historically been low compared to our competitor countries and argues that a focussed approach on investment in […]
I went to a really interesting talk recently in London given by Bruce Katz (@bruce_katz) from the Brookings Institute hosted by the Centre for London. He talked about his report ‘The Rise of Innovation Districts: A New Geography of Innovation in the USA co written with Julie Wagner (@wagnerjk). These Innovation Districts are urban centres where innovative […]
This is just a short post to let you know about a fantastic event that happens every year in Brussels – EU Open Days – where cities and regions and a range of experts get to talk about how they are investing EU structural funds but also to consider deeper things like the review of […]
This is a quick and dirty look at the growth deals – including total figures for the full period up to 2021 and per capita awards. (These latter figures do not take account the issue of overlapping LEP areas.) Looking at the per capita LGF awards it is clear there is varying […]
I am returning to an old bug bear today. This was not planned but I was following by chance a public event/debate in Manchester relayed on twitter about #joiningtherevolution . This was a public debate with Howard Bernstein and others talking about the importance of working together with Liverpool and Leeds to further the economic […]
I just came across this video from Hub Westminster which really neatly describes the growth of co-working/co-enterprise spaces and what Hub Westminster entails. Up until recently co-working had largely passed Birmingham by but now things are stirring in the forest and I think it is worth noting the rapid progress that is being made. […]
There has been a lot of comment in recent months and years about the imbalance of transport investment between London and the rest of the English cities and regions and undoubtedly it is fair comment – investment is hugely imbalanced as the following graphic from the recent IPPR North report Still on the Wrong Track (May […]
It is strange how some posts come out of little things. I replied to a tweet (@globalbirminghm – if you didn’t know) yesterday about how France is having problems getting its plans for Next Generation Broadband part funded by the European Commission using ERDF. I tweeted, as shown, suggesting that the UK had had similar […]
Not many people know it but there is a Greater Birmingham and West Midlands office in Brussels run by Birmingham City Council but with partner support from a number of the region’s Universities and other organisations. This office keeps partners informed about funding opportunities and provides the space for events (it has an excellent location) […]
Are you like me; you see something new in your city – you want to check it out? Well- emblazoned all over Birmingham in recent weeks are flags and posters announcing – Festivals Birmingham – A City of Surprises. Well the idea wasn’t a big surprise to me as way back in 2012 Albert Bore […]
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