09Dec 2017 by Andy No Comments

Designing a future economy

Charity, Research, analysis and evidence, Sectors
Published in 2017, this study for Design Council identifies the key skills which differentiate the design economy from other industries and the link between these skills and innovation and productivity within the UK economy. Using the O*Net database from the USA, the study investigates the skills which are associated with design occupations based on the Design Economy definition. It also identifies ‘design active’ occupations, which are those which use design skills but have not previously been associated with the design definition. Detailed analysis of other secondary data was then employed to understand the relationship between design skills and economic outcomes (i.e. business growth, productivity, innovation rates). Lastly, the study examined the training and recruitment patterns within the design economy as well as issues associated with skills gaps and vacancies. This…
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11Jul 2017 by Andy No Comments

Women Count 2017

News
The Pipeline have published Women Count 2017 the latest of their series of reports on the number of women on the Executive Committees of the UK’s FTSE 350 companies, and the resulting economic impact.  We're proud to have been responsible for analysis and report writing. The Pipeline delivers executive leadership programmes specifically designed for women. Research shows that organisations do better and are more able to succeed in our globalised world when they have greater gender diversity at the most senior levels. Women Count 2017 was picked up by BBC Radio 4's Today programme, and the Financial Times (paywall).  
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11Jul 2017 by Andy No Comments

Lake District World Heritage Site

News
We're delighted to see UNESCO have added the Lake District to their World Heritage List! The success of the Lakes World Heritage project is the culmination of a huge amount of work by a large number of people. We're proud to have been associated with one of the key reports in the evidence base, World Heritage Status – is there an opportunity for economic gain?    
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09Jul 2017 by Andy No Comments

Advanced Manufacturing sector profiling

Sectors, Strategy and policy development, University
The Ortus team, whilst at TBR, supported Sunderland University to assess the potential demand for and impact of planned investment in developing its offer in the field of advanced manufacturing and engineering. The study involved delivering a demand assessment which estimated the scale of demand for a range of courses, facilities hire and services, gathering evidence from stakeholders regarding potential delivery models and evaluating potential sites for new capital investment. We made recommendations to senior staff regarding a range of options for the location and design of new facilities and educational offers.Specific project objectives included: Produce a sector mapping exercise covering advanced manufacturing in Sunderland and the NELEP area (compared to the UK).Generate estimates of the demand for labour and skills arising from the advanced manufacturing sector in the next…
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09Jun 2017 by Andy No Comments

The role of culture, heritage and sport in place-shaping

Government, Place, Research, analysis and evidence
In 2015 the CASE programme commissioned our team (whilst working at TBR), along with Middlesex University and NEF Consulting, to undertake an important and ground-breaking study examining the role that cultural, sporting and heritage assets and investment play in shaping local places. This study focused on generating evidence to support the argument that culture, heritage and sports infrastructure and investment have the ability to promote economic and social outcomes. The stated aim of the study was to examine the extent to which culture, heritage and sport infrastructure and investment within a place influence (through direct and indirect impacts, tangible and intangible) the economy and society of that place. The published report is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-role-of-culture-sport-and-heritage-in-place-shaping
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09Jun 2017 by Andy No Comments

Heritage and place branding

NDPB, Place, Research, analysis and evidence
Whilst working at TBR, Andrew Graves and Andrew Rowell led a project (working in partnership with Middlesex University and Pomegranate Consulting) to deliver a project that explores the role of heritage in place branding. This work was designed to contribute to the annual Heritage Counts series and the subject matter was selected specifically by the Historic Environment Forum (HEF). At the time, there was an increasing focus on how heritage influences place and this study contributed to the evidence base in that theme. The project began with a conceptual review of effective place branding and how heritage features within this as well as a brief review of ‘agents’ involved in place branding around England and their roles. It proceeded to capture evidence of how heritage is employed within place branding…
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05Jun 2017 by Andy No Comments

Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea’s Article 4 evidence

Local Authority, Planning, Research, analysis and evidence
Having provided key evidence in support of RBKC’s successful application for a borough-wide exemption from office-to-residential permitted development rights, in this project we updated our analysis of key sectors and the relationship between commercial premises and employment across the borough. This study used new techniques to join business data together with premises data, creating an empirical link between the commercial premises offer and the businesses on the ground.
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04Jun 2017 by Andy No Comments

The Design Economy

Charity, Research, analysis and evidence, Sectors
Design Council commissioned our team (while at TBR) to undertake an important and ground-breaking research study which articulated the value of design in the UK. The key challenge for Design Council was to present a comprehensive assessment of the value and importance of design to the UK economy. Previous methodologies had been limited in that they relied on vertical definitions of design and therefore covered only a proportion of the sector. Advancements in measuring sector scale and importance had been made in the creative industries, leading to the adoption of new techniques and the acceptance of the results of these techniques by the UK government. Initially, Design Council employed us to deliver a scoping study which explored definitions of the sector and proposed a modified version of the creative industries…
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04Jun 2017 by Andy No Comments

Luton’s Future Labour Market

Economic growth, Local Authority, Research, analysis and evidence
We are developing a forecasting tool that Luton Borough Council will use to examine the impact of planned investment on the skills pipeline.  Luton has recently launched an investment framework that seeks to secure up to £1.5bn in inward investment that will be applied to a range of physical developments.  These developments are estimated to generate up to 18,500 jobs over the next 10 years.
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