Local Action Plan: one year on in the West Midlands

The Innovate UK West Midlands Local Action Plan outlined a shared commitment to harness the region’s innovative and entrepreneurial spirit to drive economic growth, boost productivity and fuel innovation.

Today’s ‘One Year On’ event united the region’s business and innovation leaders, investors, and universities to celebrate achievements of the past year. It also provides a catalyst for future thinking that will define the ambitions and discussions for the year to come.

Keynotes by Richard Parker (West Midlands Mayor) and Indro Mukerjee (CEO, Innovate UK) provided regional and national insights into the innovation ecosystem, introducing Dr. Stella Peace, Executive Director of Healthy Living and Agriculture, as interim leader of Innovate UK from 1 October 2024.

Co-created programmes for innovation

A co-created approach has helped drive Innovate UK’s targeted funding programmes over the past 18 months. This includes the Innovation Accelerator in the West Midlands with £33 million to boost clean tech, health tech, and med tech, led by Connected Places Catapult, Coventry University, University of Birmingham, and Aston University.

The Connected Places Catapult has been pivotal in working alongside industry and academic partners to deliver DIATOMIC and Clean Futures, as part of the wider West Midlands Innovation Accelerator.

The Launchpad programme for Coventry & Warwickshire champions technologies for the creative industries and immersive experiences, with £7.5 million invested to pave the way for groundbreaking innovations in the region.

Regional Talent & Skills have also been bolstered in the region, with £2.4 million going direct to colleges in the West Midlands through the Further Education Innovation Fund (FEIF) to empower further education colleges (FECs) to accelerate local innovation.

Looking to the future

The panel discussion brought the Action Plan achievements and regional partnership to life with dynamic insights taken from the last 12-months.

In the session we heard from Aditi Desai (Founder, Aditi Desai), Les Gill at Global Nano Network, Becky Lane (Founder & CEO, Furbnow), Paul Cook (CEO, Carbon1), Rosie Peacock (Lead Specialist – Innovation Skills , Innovate UK), Clare Green (Associate Director, University of Warwick), and Alex Cousins (Regions Director, Connected Places Catapult).

Mike Wright (Chair, West Midlands Innovation Board) and Dean Cook (Executive Director – Place, Innovate UK) led a session on Innovation Growth Support. The Action Plan’s achievements serve as a model for co-creation, sparking discussions on collaborative innovation, ecosystem support, and future opportunities for the West Midlands.