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The West of England - A place of collaboration, ingenuity and creativity

The West of England Combined Authority and Local Enterprise Partnership have brought together businesses and organisations from across our region, working closely with government, to develop a Local Industrial Strategy.

The strategy draws on the unique strengths of our region and sets out our ambition to be a driving force for clean and inclusive growth.

At the heart of this approach are four key priorities:

Girl with a robotic arm Image credit: Open Bionics
Cross-sectoral innovation

Strengthening innovation and driving productivity by:

  • Connecting researchers, businesses and residents through a Global Centre of Innovation Excellence to focus the region’s innovative strengths on globally and nationally significant challenges
  • Developing, testing and preparing for market, user-centred products and services through a new West of England Network of Living Labs.
Meeting around a table
Inclusive growth

Introducing new measures to help all residents contribute to and benefit from our economic success by:

  • Targeting support to communities facing challenges
  • Delivering the right employment and skills provision so that businesses can find the talent they need
  • Linking everyone to jobs, training and services via improved physical and digital infrastructure that is accessible, sustainable and low carbon.
Man fixing an overhead light bulb strip
The productivity challenge

Providing businesses with the space, networks and skills they need to boost productivity, grow and thrive by:

  • Encouraging the uptake of modern technology, management and leadership practices to lift employee wellbeing, productivity and exports
  • Including more regional providers in businesses’ supply chains and widening access to public procurement for small businesses
  • Supporting and incentivising companies towards low carbon business models.
Solar panels
Innovation in infrastructure

Tackling climate change, addressing air quality and ensuring quality of life for current and future residents by:

  • Supporting businesses to drive productivity by adopting new clean technology and energy efficiency measures
  • Investing in infrastructure that reduces energy demand, lowers carbon emissions and is resilient to the impacts of climate change
  • Building new carbon-neutral homes, using modern methods of construction and other housing innovations.
Turning our plans into action

Next steps

We have a plan that will prepare us for a future where technology will be doing things that we haven’t even dreamt of yet. To deliver it, we need to continue to work together, sharing ideas, and bringing people together to celebrate our strengths and address our challenges. Our action plan Local Industrial Strategy: Next Steps sets out what we need to do to achieve our strategy’s objectives.

View Local Industrial Strategy: Next Steps