CWLEP unveils strategic economic plan

The Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) has unveiled its strategic economic plan to deliver jobs and economic growth to help the area recover from Covid-19.

The board of directors, six business groups and executive team have worked together to create the CWLEP’s Strategic Reset Framework to focus on its short, medium and long-term priorities to help businesses adopt new practices and ways of working due to Covid-19.

The document sets out clearly defined objectives, outputs and outcomes, and progress will be reported to the CWLEP’s board at its meetings.

The CWLEP has also unveiled its 20-page Annual Review following its virtual Annual General Meeting which highlights the strength of its partnership working to help reset the area’s economy following a turbulent year.

Nick Abell, chair of the CWLEP, said the last nine months have turned everyone’s world upside down and have impacted every family and business across the world.

He said: “The sole purpose of CWLEP is to drive forward our local economy and LEPs exist because local factors, local intelligence and local connections can make a real difference if they are harnessed in the right way.

“Throughout the crisis we have worked very closely with our local authorities and business support organisations such as the CWLEP Growth Hub, the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, and Warwickshire and Coventry Federation of Small Businesses.

“Our Annual Review highlights the strength of our partnership working which has underpinned our past success – and it will deliver for the future.

“To achieve that and to return to economic growth across Coventry and Warwickshire, CWLEP must act in a very different way, as our businesses must – adopting new practices and new ways of working in facing a very different world.”

Marion Plant, vice-chair of the CWLEP and chair of the Productivity and Skills Business Group, said the Strategic Reset Framework was focused on helping the economy return to growth in all areas throughout Coventry and Warwickshire.

She said: “We need to deliver the right conditions to foster the creation of those next generation jobs, innovative new enterprises, and imaginative new business models that will be sustained and sustainable. 

“We will take a detailed look at how unemployment is affecting our young people, and determine actions to help tackle it.

“This has never been a more important time to capitalise on the expertise of our partners to deliver the jobs and growth we need to thrive again in Coventry and Warwickshire.”

To view the CWLEP’s Annual Review and the Strategic Reset Framework, please visit https://www.cwlep.com/key-publications

Captions: Nick Abell, chair of the CWLEP, and Marion Plant, vice-chair of the CWLEP