Advantage West Midlands
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Advantage West Midlands was established in 1999 as one of nine
regional development agencies In the United Kingdom, regional development agencies (RDAs) were nine non-departmental public bodies established for the purpose of development, primarily economic, of England's Government Office regions between 1998 and 2010. There was one RD ...
(RDAs) in England. RDAs were created by the UK Government to drive sustainable economic development and social and physical regeneration through a business-led approach. Operating at arm's length from government, RDAs had business-led Boards that were appointed by the
Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills The secretary of state for business and trade (business secretary), is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central go ...
. Advantage West Midlands was closed on 31 March 2012 as part of the wider closure of the RDA network.


Investment

Between 1999 and 2012 Advantage West Midlands invested £3 billion to support sustainable economic development in the West Midlands region, generating a range of outputs including: *150,000 businesses assisted to improve their performance; *10,000 businesses created; *140,000 jobs created or safeguarded; *160,000 people assisted to improve their skills; *£2 billion of private sector investment levered in; and *1,200 hectares of
brownfield land Brownfield is previously-developed land that has been abandoned or underused, and which may carry pollution, or a risk of pollution, from industrial use. The specific definition of brownfield land varies and is decided by policy makers and l ...
reclaimed or redeveloped. (The above outputs are based on Government-defined measures. Each RDA reported performance against these measures in their Annual Report and Accounts.) The Government also commissioned independent evaluation and assessments of RDA performance. *In 2007, the Government commissioned economic development consultants Price WaterhouseCoopers to evaluate the effectiveness of RDA investment programmes. Their final report was published in March 2009. It indicated that every £1 invested by Advantage West Midlands was returning £7.45 of
gross value added In economics, gross value added (GVA) is the measure of the value of goods and service (economics), services produced in an area, industry or sector of an economy. "The ''gross value added'' is the Value of output (economy), value of output minus t ...
(GVA) to the regional economy. Subsequent evaluations commissioned by the Agency indicated that, by 2010, this return had increased to £8.14 for every £1 invested. *The National Audit Office undertook two detailed assessments of RDA performance – the Independent Performance Assessment of 2006–7 and the Independent Supplementary Review of 2009–10. In each, Advantage West Midlands achieved the maximum possible rating. In addition to Government-commissioned evaluations or assessments – and as part of its own continuous improvement programme – from 2007 Advantage West Midlands participated in the annual "Midlands Excellence Awards," with the following results: *2007 – Achieved the “Investors in Excellence” standard *2008 – “Finalist” *2009 – “Finalist”, “Highly Commended” and “Most Improved Organisation” *2010 – Overall award winner (“large public sector” category)


Key regional projects

Projects enabled with investment from Advantage West Midlands include: *redevelopment of New Street station, Birmingham – at £100 million the largest single project investment by any RDA and expected to create 10,000 jobs and generate £2 billion in wider economic benefits; *a £58 million joint-venture with Urban Splash to regenerate the
Fort Dunlop Fort Dunlop (), is the common name of the original tyre factory and main office of Dunlop Rubber in the Erdington district of Birmingham, England. It was established in 1917, and by 1954 the entire factory area employed 10,000 workers. At one tim ...
building alongside junction 5 of the M6 motorway; *creation of a strategic development site and construction of new premises for Ericsson and the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) at Ansty Park, Coventry; *regeneration of a major site to create the "i54" development opportunity in Wolverhampton/Southern Staffordshire, which has attracted investment by Jaguar Land Rover, U.S. aerospace company Moog and specialists food and feed testing company Eurofins Laboratories; *Science park developments at Keele, Aston, Wolverhampton, Worcestershire, Coventry and Warwickshire – including the UK's first virtual-reality, Advanced Construction Centre; *392 inward investment projects by international companies, which have created or safeguarded 12,161 jobs in the West Midlands. The Agency also led the region's response to major economic shocks such as the sale of MG Rover in 2000 and its subsequent closure in 2005, the Foot and Mouth outbreak of 2001, the 2007 Floods and the global economic recession that struck in 2009.


The RDA Act

Advantage West Midlands was established by the UK Government (Labour administration: 1997 – 2010) under the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998. The Act set out the five statutory purposes for England's RDAs: *to further economic development and regeneration; *to promote business efficiency, investment and competitiveness; " *to promote employment; *to enhance the development and application of skill relevant to employment; and *to contribute to sustainable development. To fulfil these goals, RDAs used economic data and analysis to develop Regional Economic Strategies, invested their resources to deliver their share of the strategy and influenced partner organisations to do likewise.


Changing Government approach to economic development

In June 2010, the new Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition Government announced that it would pursue a different approach to economic development. This new approach would work at a smaller geographical scale than regions – and reflecting the administration's "Localism" agenda. At the same time, it was announced that all RDAs, including Advantage West Midlands, would close down by March 2012. Responsibility for economic development in England would pass to successor bodies, including Government departments, other national agencies and newly created
Local enterprise partnership In England, local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) were voluntary partnerships between local authorities and businesses, set up in 2011 by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to help determine local economic priorities and lead ec ...
s.


Geographical Coverage

The West Midlands comprises the counties of Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire; the unitary authorities of Herefordshire, Stoke-on-Trent and Telford and Wrekin; and the seven metropolitan districts of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.


References

{{Authority control West Midlands (region) Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Regional development agencies 1999 establishments in England