Supporting Local Businesses
Our proposed approach
Building on the West Midlands Business Support Review – creating a more effective, agile, collaborative, impactful and fit for purpose system for the region:
- Integrated customer journey built around the user
- New approach to account management
- New premium products aimed at specific sectors, supply chains and issues, and delivered region-wide at scale.
- Campaign to drive up demand and usage
Questions currently being discussed with local authorities/LEPs:
1. Balance between:
- Funding and structures for core business support activities to 2024/5.
- Funding for specialist commissioned activities
2. Relative priorities across those business behaviours the region has said are important (e.g. decarbonisation, internationalisation and exporting, cluster leadership, R&D investment, entrepreneurship and start-ups, leadership and management training, scale-up and access to finance, etc.)
3. Details of spending priorities:
- November 2022 – March 2023
- 2023/4 and 2024/5 – especially given how SPF is different to previous funding streams.