Business Growth Strategy - West Midlands Futures: Grand Challenges
The West Midlands Combined Authority has set out a series of Grand Challenges for the region that have informed elements of the West Midlands Growth Plan and have implications for the Walsall Business Growth Strategy.
| West Midlands Grand Challenge | Implications for Business Growth Strategy |
|---|---|
| Breaking out of the low productivity, low wage and high deprivation equilibrium: too many people in the region cannot access well paid jobs and experience high levels of absolute and relative poverty. There are high levels of inequality within the West Midlands and with other places in the UK. This reveals itself in worse health outcomes, lower skills, lower wages, and stretched public services. | The Business Growth Strategy must aim to create better work opportunities for those at the sharp end of this challenge so we can play our part in making the West Midlands a more productive and wealthy economy. |
| Making the most of the West Midlands’ national geography: the region sits at the heart of the UK transport network with enviable access to all parts of the country. The structure of the economy now reflects that importance of road access to markets for certain sectors. Walsall benefits from this geography and the access it provides to the wider labour market of the West Midlands conurbation. | The Business Growth Strategy needs to maintain and, where possible, strengthen the base of businesses and jobs that rely on the region’s location. |
| Maximising the benefits of the region’s demography and diversity: the West Midlands has a young population and an ethnic make-up that gives it strong cultural connections to many places around the world. There is more work to be done to capitalise on this potential and ensure all the people and communities of the region have a fair opportunity to benefit from its distinct diversity and demography. | Business Growth Strategy needs to ensure it understands the barriers different communities face in accessing education, employment or setting up in business, and is ready to offer targeted support to help residents and entrepreneurs succeed. |
| Creating effective regional institutions: The West Midlands needs effective organisations supported by its local partners that can focus on the long-term, unlock collaboration, develop shared policy, agree what works in the region, improve institutional memory and commit to strategic long-term objectives that will shape the future of devolution with government. | We know we share economic challenges with our neighbours and cannot solve our Business Growth challenges on our own. We need to play our part in helping West Midlands institutions accelerate progress towards creating solutions which allow us to achieve our ambitions more efficiently and effectively. |