Why is Futures West needed?
Nationally, the UK urgently needs to find and grow key businesses and sectors of the economy, against challenging pressures on trade, investment, fiscal positioning and rising international competition. The UK needs to grow its comparative advantage in high knowledge assets across both manufacturing and services and support high value or high growth potential businesses.
Our region has fantastic assets, people, natural environment, world leading research and business sectors, yet our productivity is weak relative to London and the South East and international comparators. We need more higher paying jobs and could provide even greater revenue to help pay for vital services the UK needs.
We also need to work collectively to tackle the major challenges of climate change and ensure all groups benefit from our shared prosperity.
With more public and private investment we can unlock the potential for our region for all our communities.
Organisations like Cambridge Ahead demonstrate how businesses and universities working together can make long term significant improvements to the region. Futures West will do the same here.
Partners
Our business partners are committed to promoting a new narrative for the region and will build consensus behind the region’s vision and ambition. This will include high growth innovative companies, in the initial stages of their growth journey.
Proposed Research and Impact Work Programmes
Economic performance and productivity
Understanding the key challenges to unlock higher productivity, more and better jobs, and increased investment.
Risks Report and Qualitative Deep Dives
Identify risks to business investment and growth strategies and produce an ‘inner cockpit’ of business intelligence.
Sector focused work strands
Deep dive project groups to understand and project the needs for our key sectors.
Long term challenges
Working with experts to gain insights.
Data capability – in partnership with Universities
Provide an accurate and accessible source of growth and business data understand our key economic strengths and clusters better, and future growth pathways.
