24jun03 prod that deserved response to their public arena never mind private reply but was not even acknowledged
Cllr Philip Davis WMRA Floor 4 Lombard Hse 145 Great Charles St B’ham B3’3LS
678’10-10V-49F
“WM RA/2003/011 28 April 2003 NEWS RELEASE: REGIONAL
ASSEMBLY BACKS ADVANTAGE WEST MIDLANDS’ STRATEGIES FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT”
Uhm! … with double demise of
Culture City Competition and evaporation of £100M Alsthom deal it doesn’t look
like the RA will be any better than AWM in picking winners. Moreover both these
were for real money jobs unlike Rover Task Force finance and property
speculation masquerading as tech transfer tinkering. Castrates credibility of advert claims that RAs will boost
democratic delivery for real benefit of real people ~ thinking here of the
radio spot that prompted mine below. And even more embarrassing should be back
bouncing of emails by the guy charged with popular promotion of WMRA ~ was it
just mine or is this the default so as to save time eliminating obligations for
considered responses to reasonable doubts.
It’s all rather a mess isn’t it, and the
“rather” is perhaps kinder than deserved. Why hasn’t the region’s real resource
been tapped as it could and should have been ~ there were plenty of people
ready willing and able (keyword) at the time AWM was being launched but they
went way when they were not so much ignored as discouraged from thinking they
could play a role. I’m not expecting any reply any more than I ever got from
AWM but it wouldn’t be nice to think that negative views might be taken on
board as offering avenues for remedies ~ unlike purely positive rubbish which
helps only to amplify dangerous delusions delivered by spin without substance.
As emperor here, do you find yourself asking yourself about your own clothes?
PS Just spotted another howler in the cluster
concept for business stimulation ~ Porter’s original work found no positive
correlation from clustering per se … what he found (and that twenty years ag!)
was an association via successful companies preferring certain sites but that’s
obvious anyway (viz Oxbridge-London triangle) as he was also the first to say. Subsidised success (like the tech transfer tinkering) creates only an illusion ~
has anyone asked how long those adventurous academics will hang around after
the subsidy stops? Bet not!
13/06/03 p.beadle@wmra.gov.uk
~ Seems extraordinary that first I heard about this was by chance as advert
on SAGA, more so for deafeningly trumpeted mission messages since retrieved
from your website. Also surprising so much of your stuff is presented in pdf
format when the vast majority of your public audience is amateur narrowband and
would find htm far more convenient to capture for offline digestion. Anyway it
was remarks on SAGA especially extraordinarily fulsome praise for AWM that
prompted me to check out the RA website but I failed to spot any clue to the
guy who made the remarks. Maybe you’d be kind enough to relay his name and
@ddress so I can gat back to him directly ~ after all, the RA’s mission message
is emphatic about enthusiasm for open exchange. Many thanks.
WM RA/2003/011 28 April 2003 NEWS RELEASE: REGIONAL
ASSEMBLY BACKS ADVANTAGE WEST MIDLANDS’ STRATEGIES FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
> The West Midlands Regional Assembly has given
its backing to the work of Advantage West Midlands, following its first review
of the development agency’s strategies to boost the region’s economy.The
Assembly’s Strategic Review report, published today/Monday, supports Advantage
West Midlands’ approach of concentrating the region’s economic development on
three key initiatives: High Technology Corridors; Regeneration Zones; and
Business Clusters. Now the Assembly says it is looking forward to the strategies
delivering real benefits to the West Midlands region, and has made a series of
recommendations it believes will make Advantage West Midlands’ work even more
effective.
> The recommendations are: Greater
integration between the three main delivery mechanisms: High Technology
Corridors; Regeneration Zones; and Business Clusters, developing more
cross-cutting projects • More engagement of businesses and stakeholder groups
to encourage their involvement in Advantage West Midlands’ work • Increasing
the number of skilled personnel within Advantage West Midlands and its partner
organisations to implement development strategies • Developing processes to
monitor and measure the effectiveness of Advantage West Midlands’ programmes
and initiatives
> Cllr Philip Davis, chair of the West
Midlands Regional Assembly, said the Strategic Review had been useful for both
the Assembly and Advantage West Midlands. He explained: "This first
detailed look at the Regional Development Agency's priorities has given the
Assembly a better understanding of the economic issues facing the region and
strengthened the partnership between us and Advantage West Midlands in trying
to address those issues. “This is just a first stab, however, and there is a
lot more to be done in monitoring the regional economy. Part of the Assembly's
role in this is to keep Advantage West Midlands fully informed of wider social,
community and environmental concerns as it promotes a prosperous region. “This
Assembly review looks at the content of the key economic strategies established
by Advantage West Midlands and it is clear that there has been a lot of good
progress here. Our recommendations complement these plans. In future reviews
the Assembly will look at how these plans are working out on the ground in terms
of building prosperity for the region's five million people.”
> Nick Paul, Chairman of Advantage West
Midlands said: “We welcome the Assembly’s report and that both Advantage West
Midlands and the Assembly learned much from the scrutiny panels. “The Panel
Recommendations generally provide good advice on the implementation of the key
aspects of the Regional Economic Strategy and Agenda for Action. They are
helpful in identifying some of the issues which the Agency will need to address
in its ongoing policy development and in delivery activities. Some of the recommendations
will provide useful input into the discussions on the update of the Regional
Economic Strategy. “I would also make the general observation that the
implementation of the recommendations will of necessity take some time and
results will not be apparent for some years. Caution will therefore need to be
exercised in revisiting progress against some of the recommendations in the 2003/04
Strategic Review Process.”
> Advantage West Midlands has set out an
Agenda for Action with a commitment to three mechanisms for delivering economic
growth to the region. These are: • High Technology Corridors (A38, Coventry/
Warwickshire, Wolverhampton/Telford) • Regeneration Zones (Rural West, East Birmingham/
North Solihull, West Birmingham and South Black Country, Coventry/ Nuneaton,
North Staffordshire) • Business Clusters (Transport Technologies, Medical Technologies,
Environmental Technologies, High Value Consumer Products, Building Technologies,
Specialist Business Services, ICT, Food and Drink, Tourism and Leisure). These
initiatives are designed to deliver the objectives of the four pillars of the original
West Midlands Economic Strategy: Pillar 1 - Developing a Diverse and Dynamic
Business Base Pillar 2 – Promoting a Learning and Skilful Region Pillar 3 –
Creating Conditions for Growt Pillar 4 – Regenerating Communities The Strategic
Review of Advantage West Midlands is one of the West Midlands Regional
Assembly’s primary functions, as laid down by the Government. The Review was
carried out over several months via a series of four hearings during which
Advantage West Midlands was questioned about its work by a panel made up of
Assembly members. ENDS
> For further information contact: The
Strategic Review summary can be obtained by contacting Paul Beadle,
Communications Manager, WMRA tel 0121 678 1044, e-mail p.beadle@wmra.gov.uk
mobile 07884 110499
> Note to editors: 1. The West Midlands Regional Assembly (WMRA)
aims to represent a wide range of democratic, social and economic interests
throughout the region. The Assembly is made up of the membership of 100
nominated representatives: 68 local authority representatives, 16 representatives
from the business sector and 16 other economic and social partners (trades unions,
health, FE, HE, culture, housing associations, environment, parish councils,
voluntary and community sector, black and minority ethnic community, disability,
gender and faith communities) 2. The Assembly already provides a platform for
organisations to consider matters of common concern through on: regional
planning, transport, economic prosperity, sustainability, culture and Europe.
The Assembly also supports regional policy forums and task groups on: social inclusion,
faith, housing, life long learning/skills, health, rural and community
safety/crime reduction. 3. The Assembly works in partnership with Advantage West
Midlands (AWM) the regional development agency (RDA), the Government Office
West Midlands (GOWM), Regional Action West Midlands (RAWM) the West Midlands
Local Government Association (WMLGA) and other regional and local organizations
from across the West Midlands. Visit our website at www.wmra.gov.uk
RO22/MJW/JI January 21, 2003: WARM WELCOME FOR
NEW CULTURE CHIEF
> The West Midlands Regional Assembly has welcomed
the appointment of Brian Woods-Scawen as the new chair of West Midlands Life,
the regional cultural consortium for the region. Commenting on the appointment,
West Midlands Regional Assembly chair, Cllr. Philip Davis, said the
announcement was good news for the whole region and would boost Birmingham’s
bid to be Capital of Culture in 2008.
> Cllr. Davis said: “Brian’s position as
chair of the Capital of Culture bid and in his capacity as a board member of
Advantage West Midlands affords the opportunity to promote cultural issues
across the region, and help the area as a whole to enhance its thinking and
objectives. “His experience and connections in the West Midlands will help the
West Midlands Regional Assembly to develop new and existing links across a
whole host of issues, whilst continuing to speak out as the voice of the
region.” Mr Woods-Scawen, 56, takes over from Baroness Crawley. One of West
Midlands Life’s aims is to work closely with the West Midlands Regional
Assembly and other partners to promote the region. Ends
> For further information contact: Simon
Hodgson – WMRA head of secretariat – 0121 678 1043, mobile – 07748
775800 Paul Beadle – WMRA communications/policy
officer – 0121 678 1044, mobile – 07884 110499 Mark Whitehouse, Clarke
Associates, 0121 702 2525, mobile 07764 145698
> Note to editors: 1. The West Midlands
Regional Assembly (WMRA) is a nominated body recognised by Government that aims
to represent a wide range of democratic, social and economic interests
throughout the region. The governing body is made up of the membership of 100
nominated representatives: 68 local authority representatives, 16
representatives from the business sector and 16 other economic and social
partners (trades unions, health, FE, HE, culture, housing associations,
environment, parish councils, voluntary and community sector, black and
minority ethnic community, disability, gender and faith communities) 2. The
Assembly already provides a platform for regional bodies to consider matters of
common concern through strategies on: regional planning, transport, economic
prosperity, sustainability, culture and Europe. The Assembly also supports
regional forums and task groups on: social inclusion, faith, housing, life long
learning/skills, health, rural and community safety/crime reduction. 3. The
Assembly works in partnership with Advantage West Midlands (AWM) the regional
development agency (RDA), the Government Office West Midlands (GOWM), Regional Action
West Midlands (RAWM) and the West Midlands Local Government Association (WMLGA)
and other regional and sub-regional partners.