Member Article

Businesses urged to attend key consultation event

Businesses and organisations are urged to attend a consultation event to determine the investment priorities for encouraging growth in Coventry and Warwickshire.

The next seven-year programme of the European Structural and Investment Funds Strategy for 2014-2020 is designed to boost growth within member countries, with Local Enterprise Partnerships in England being responsible for developing a strategy on using the funding.

The Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) has initially been allocated 136 million Euros and 85 guests attended a meeting in August to test priorities with the findings being used in a draft report which was submitted to the Government last month.

CWLEP has now organised a follow-up meeting next month to discuss the Government’s feedback, pass on further information and to determine the pin-pointed areas to receive the finance.

John Latham, deputy vice chancellor at Coventry University, who is the lead for CWLEP on the strategy, will give an overview and highlight the targeted growth priorities.

“This second consultation event will provide an opportunity for businesses and organisations to hear further information on the strategy as well as the response from the government which at this stage has been encouraging,” he said.

“There will be presentations on each of the theme priorities – research and development and innovation, SME competitiveness, ICT, low carbon, climate change, environment and resource efficiency, social inclusion, employment and skills.

“We will also be giving information to enable businesses and organisations to formally provide their feedback in a consultation questionnaire because we need to submit our final strategy at the end of January.

“This is a crucial piece of work and we would like to hear the views of businesses from all sectors whether they employ five people or have 500 members of staff.

“This funding will play a major part in providing jobs and growth – the key objective of the LEP – up to 2020 in Coventry and Warwickshire and we want to give the business community the opportunity to put their views forward.”

The meeting is between 9am and noon on Tuesday, December 10 at the Technocentre in Puma Way, Coventry. To register to attend, email events@cw-chamber.co.uk and consultation questionnaires should be returned by December 19 to contact@cwlep.com

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership .