A City Region Insights Programme was launched by Liverpool City Region LEP today, Thursday 12th October 2017.
The Programme has been put together by the LEP working with many of its partners to help businesses in the City Region gain insight into some of the key issues that will impact upon business and economic growth over the coming months and years. It will comprise of a series of events, business briefings, workshops and roundtables spread around the City Region over the next 8 months.
The first event in the Programme is the Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor’s Digital Summit on October 19th. The day event, sponsored by LCR Activate, will showcase local talent and bring together industry leaders including; Dr. Irene Lopez de Vallejo, Director of Collaborative Research, Regional and International Development at Digital Catapult; Dr Jon Hague, Vice President Operations & Open Innovation, Unilever, and Kelvin Prescott, O2 (Telifonica UK). The event will focus on learning from successes, addressing challenges, identifying key action points and working together to ensure the City Region leads the way on future proofing this growing and economically vital sector.
Also in October is ‘What Brexit means for the Manufacturing Community?’ Local manufacturing firms will have the opportunity to voice their concerns and questions regarding the future of the industry once the UK leaves the EU and hear about the support and funding that is on offer to help them become more efficient and competitive in the face of Brexit.
November sees Innovate UK deliver a briefing event to raise awareness of the funding opportunities for SMEs in health and life science sector. Delegates will be able to gain specific information about the £15million fund, who can apply and how.
Also in November is a ‘Delivering our Skills Ambition’ workshop designed to discuss the future skills agenda for an inclusive, sustainable and transformational growth across Liverpool City Region.
Insights will take place every month and will cover activity in the key growth sectors, as well as issues around topics such as innovation, digitisation, business growth and scale up, exports and Internationalisation. Forthcoming events in early 2018 include: RIBA North West presents- Entrepreneurship: Creativity and Innovation; Visitor Economy Week; LCR Energy Strategy and Driving Profitably through Diversity & Inclusion, amongst others.
The Programme will culminate with the LEP Annual Conference to be held on 8th May 2018, at ACC Liverpool. The Conference will provide a wide ranging insight into the opportunities and challenges facing the City Region, the plans to realise its economic potential and the key role business has in driving the economy forward.
Chair of the Liverpool City Region LEP Asif Hamid MBE said: “The public and private sectors are working together to drive growth more urgently, passionately and collectively than ever before. We have a raft of extraordinary investment and growth opportunities right now and a clear strategy to realise that growth. As portfolio lead for business and brexit for the Combined Authority the LEP has a vital role to play in ensuring that business informs and drives this growth. The Insights programme launched today is one way in which we want to work with business on the issues that matter to them to help realise their prospects, and therefore the prospects of the whole community.
“The calendar of events is really taking shape with plenty more topics to be announced and I am really looking forward to some interesting debates, fantastic thought-leading speakers and for business to get the most out of this Insights programme.”
Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said: “This is a really important and valuable programme that brings business and policy-makers together to look at the big opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for our City Region. Engagement, dialogue and collaboration are vital to the development of a thriving business environment and intelligent well directed public policy.”
These events are open to all businesses, subject to availability. Any business interested in registering for events should visit the LEP website www.liverpoollep.org/events