Enterprise UK Blog

Last Thursday saw the launch event of the South West Enterprising Places Network (EPN) in Plymouth. The event was hosted by our partner organisation Enterprise Plymouth and took place in the finery of the University of Plymouth’s Rolle Building, part of its brand new, space age campus. Our thanks to them for giving us and our delegates such as a warm and enthusiastic reception.

Plymouth has certainly changed in the last few years. As a moody teenager I can remember visits further west to the ageing grey metropolis. Now, as a moody adult, I visit a Plymouth that shines at you reborn- a wash with new retail, education focus, business and cultural space. There is also a vibe about the place that even a windswept stranger can discern.

Our EPN event started with a discussion about Plymouth’s lot. Placing the city in context and looking at the opportunities and challenges to enterprise that present themselves. Much has been made of the City’s past as a launching point, as a departure lounge- not just for the first Americans, but for streams of young folk taking flight for the bright lights elsewhere. However, the City’s new ambition is to retain, nurture, consolidate, and grow- to make the local lights the brightest, if you will. For this new industries, world leading facilitates and a strong local economy are fixed as key targets (and appearing at a rate of knots). More than the physical, however, the good burgesses of the city would need to buckle down and harness the talents of a generation. Our day sort to map out how this was starting to take hold and produce positive change.

“Police Entrepreneurialism” is a seldom used phrase that conjures up all manner of misunderstanding. However, Devon & Cornwall Constabulary have in recent years embarked on an impressive project called “Operation talents”. The aim of this project is to provide young people in the city with new opportunities and experiences -“To empower the future workforce and inspire innovation”. By getting local young people involved in creating new business ideas to tackle real problems or to grow existing businesses through new approaches, the “Operation” has proved a roaring success.

Two elements were striking. Firstly, that this was very much an initiative driven forward by the Chief Inspector- Leadership is key. Secondly, the funding from this endeavour had been gleaned from the ill gotten gains of society’s less desirable. Bad people helping good- albeit indirectly.

“Talents” is a very powerful example of community policing interfacing with businesses to contribute to the long-term regeneration of the City’s economy and culture. The model is attracting interest from across the country and it is possible that the Home Office may look at further funding for places further afield (perhaps across the Tamar!). Funding is obviously a touchy subject as the UK slips further towards the yah-boo of a general election. What ever the outcome of that, projects such as this have proved themselves in bridging the public-private divide and engaging young people in shaping the future of the City in which they will grow up.

Our lunch was happily interrupted by a quick browse around a number of exhibitors from the Manufactory Advisory Service who where holding an event looking at innovation in the sector. As there are obvious links to enterprise it was “the more the merrier” and a quick network around the sausage rolls.

Now then. Procurement isn’t the sexiest of subjects, I know. The doors stayed safely on their hinges when our second section started. However, beyond the initial “beige” reaction a very interesting a lively discussion ensued (yes! about procurement). Plymouth (like much of Devon) has an abundance of micro businesses, too small to be squeezed into the SME bracket (it has lots of those as well you see). An interview style section, led capably by the intrepid Andrew Ashley (Enterprise Plymouth), revealed a stronger working partnership between the City Council, University, NHS, and Federation of Small Business.

Sell2Plymouth is an on-line tool that has been developed to help boost trade, confidence, and access to the myriad of opportunities that have (and are still) sprung up across the City. Furthermore, it is capable of identifying and supporting those businesses that are struggling to make more of what they do and to plan for future growth. A heady mix of efficiency and local sourcing. A simple approach, effectively executed.

Unfortunately a planned trip to see some of the regeneration projects in Devonport was cancelled due to illness. We will return to this at a later date perhaps. This opening in our agenda made time for a wider discussion about the regional context and the impact of the U-shaped, L-shaped, re-bound-cession thing (or what ever Radio 4 have come up with this morning).

This was a great start to the EPN in the South West. Our thanks to all those that made it such an interesting and informative day.

For more info on forthcoming EPN event in your region check out www.makeyourmark.org.uk/epn

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 at 11:29 am and is filed under Enterprising places. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.