Abstract
An evaluation of the West Midlands Innovation Programme (WMIP) .
The West Midlands Innovation Programme (WMIP) acts as an umbrella programme for a set of initiatives to support innovation in the region. Its origins can be traced back to the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Innovation Working Group, which was reconstituted as the West Midlands Innovation Board (WMIB) in 2019. The Board brought key stakeholders together in the region including businesses, business support intermediaries and the region’s universities. It was tasked to:
• act as champion for innovation across the WMCA geography,
• act as the prime collective voice for encouraging innovation in the region’s firms,
• embed innovation in public service reform
The WMCA made available £2.96m in 2019 for three years (Phase 1) to test new approaches to supporting innovation in the region that could be scaled up into a larger programme (phase 2) capable of leveraging funding of £36 million over its five-year life. WMIP aims ‘to drive up levels of demand-led business innovation across all areas of the region’ by delivering:
1. A stronger, more integrated innovation support offer to business leading to more innovation active businesses and productivity gains in supported businesses
2. Targeted support for businesses to access more national innovation funding
3. The expertise needed to target and deliver a large scale (£30m+) phased innovation programme, accurately targeted at firms and commercial areas to focus on for future calls
4. Proactive communication of innovation opportunities
The West Midlands Innovation Programme (WMIP) acts as an umbrella programme for a set of initiatives to support innovation in the region. Its origins can be traced back to the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Innovation Working Group, which was reconstituted as the West Midlands Innovation Board (WMIB) in 2019. The Board brought key stakeholders together in the region including businesses, business support intermediaries and the region’s universities. It was tasked to:
• act as champion for innovation across the WMCA geography,
• act as the prime collective voice for encouraging innovation in the region’s firms,
• embed innovation in public service reform
The WMCA made available £2.96m in 2019 for three years (Phase 1) to test new approaches to supporting innovation in the region that could be scaled up into a larger programme (phase 2) capable of leveraging funding of £36 million over its five-year life. WMIP aims ‘to drive up levels of demand-led business innovation across all areas of the region’ by delivering:
1. A stronger, more integrated innovation support offer to business leading to more innovation active businesses and productivity gains in supported businesses
2. Targeted support for businesses to access more national innovation funding
3. The expertise needed to target and deliver a large scale (£30m+) phased innovation programme, accurately targeted at firms and commercial areas to focus on for future calls
4. Proactive communication of innovation opportunities
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publisher | WMREDI |
| Commissioning body | West Midlands Combined Authority |
| Number of pages | 69 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jul 2022 |
Keywords
- Evaluation