The festival promotes debate on devolution and the role that regions play in the country’s economic prosperity and this year marked the milestone publication of The Brunel Centre’s Strategic Economic Audit for the West of England and the launch of its new economic Data Hub and Observatory.
The Brunel Centre is a newly established university-business partnership, led by the University of Bath, UWE Bristol and Futures West, and the audit is their first major research publication providing an evidence-led assessment of the region’s economy. The report provides economic intelligence for businesses, local authorities, regional government and national policymakers to drive forward sustainable and inclusive economic growth, raise productivity and employment, and make investment decisions. It found that the West of England is England’s most productive Combined Authority area outside London.
Opening the event, Dr Lucy Martin, Director for The Brunel Centre said:
We are delivering the evidence to power sustainable and inclusive economic growth, ensuring that we're adding value to the pre-existing knowledge base and leveraging our unique expertise. Unless decisions start to be made that have been informed by our work we will not have succeeded. We want the strategic economic audit of the West of England to become an authoritative evidence base, supporting one voice for the West of England to help the region make better choices to enhance future prosperity.
Andrea Dell, Director of Futures West, said: >We are really excited to launch the new Strategic Economic Audit from The Brunel centre which is going to be a crucial part of our ammunition for us as a region in creating one voice and one evidence base. It’s really exciting to see how this independent research backs up the ambitious plans of the West of England Combined Authority with their growth strategy.
Nick Pearce, Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Institute of Policy Research (IPR) at the University of Bath, and former Head of the No10 Downing Street Policy Unit, led the application for funding from Research England to establish The Brunel Centre. Speaking on the launch of the audit at the festival, he said:
The Brunel Centre really is an attempt between the universities and business community to put our data, research resources, expertise, and our skills as academic researchers at the service of the common good for the region. The audit will help the region to grow and change, meet the challenges it faces, and speak with a single voice to Whitehall and Westminster. On behalf of its business community, it will set out the evidence and research necessary for overseas investors and others thinking of bringing their capital into the region.
Councillor Tony Dyer, Leader of Bristol City Council, also provided a welcome address. He said:
I think what increasingly we are now recognising is that we are stronger together. We have a voice and thanks to the Brunel Centre providing that additional data, that additional information, we can go forward with a stronger voice, working in unity to get the investment that we need in our area to deliver the futures for our residents, right across Bristol, across the West of England and across the South West.
Mayor of the West of England, Helen Godwin, provided a video welcome at the festival, welcoming the audit in supporting our case as a region to do business. This was followed by a series of panel discussions and fireside chats from high profile speakers. Highlights included a morning panel chaired by the Chief Executive of the Centre for Cities, Andrew Carter, on delivering devolution and growth that works for the UK with panellists including Sophie Broadfield, the CEO of Bath and North East Somerset Council (BANES).
Strategic thinking about regional policy was shared by Henri Murison, CEO of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, and Andy Williams, Chair of the Oxford and Cambridge Super Cluster Board on a panel chaired by Dan Thorp, CEO of Cambridge Ahead, on ‘Connected Clusters, Connected Corridors’.
A highlight of the afternoon was a fireside chat on ‘National Learnings for Regions’ chaired by the Economics Editor of The Guardian, Heather Stewart, with the former Chief Economist of the Bank of England, Andy Haldane, now President for the British Chambers of Commerce; and Rt Hon Greg Clark, former Secretary of State for the both Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Photo left to right: Dr Jo Dally, Chief Business Officer, National Composites Centre; Rt Hon Greg Clark, former Secretary of State for DBT and MHCLG; Andrea Dell, Director, Futures West; Andy Haldane, President, British Chambers of Commerce; Dr Lucy Martin, Director, The Brunel Centre; Andrew Carter, Chief Executive, Centre for Cities; Tony Dyer, Councillor, Bristol City Council; Professor Nick Pearce, Director, Institute for Policy Research (IPR) at the University of Bath.