A food and drink sector study for Birmingham City Council, which is informing a range of interventions and support programmes including the development of a new ‘Food Hub’ in Witton. The study reviews the recent performance of the sector in Birmingham, the wider GBS LEP area and the West Midlands as a whole, its potential to attract inward investment and create new jobs and the key issues and challenges that need to be addressed to maximise the potential for growth. The study was undertaken in conjunction with the Regional Observatory.

Compilation of the sixth edition the UK Market for Pumps, analysing the key product segments, in terms of market size and trends and key factors influencing the market. The report also reviewed major manufacturers and provides an insight into the distribution chain for pump supply.

The research focussed on the key drivers and barriers to growth and support needs of fast growth SMEs in key sectors (notably growth sectors identified by the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP Employment and Skills Board (ESB) such as advanced manufacturing and engineering, ICT and environmental technologies. The research has informed work by Marketing Birmingham and Winning Moves to design of a business support programme for SMEs funded by ERDF.

Compilation of the first edition of the UK Facilities Management Outsourcing: Manufacturing and Warehousing Sector Report - UK 2011-2015. The report specifically focused on bundled, outsourced management and delivery of services within the Manufacturing and Warehousing Sectors, including Total Facilities Management (TFM) providers that undertake contract management and which also procure, manage and/or deliver facilities services; and Contractors that undertake 'bundled' or 'one stop' multi-service contracting, but do not typically manage individual FM contracts.

A range of assignments for the ‘cleantech’ sector on behalf of Oraca Research (A London based independent equity research company). This involved extensive research relating to companies in the wind, solar, wave and nuclear energy sectors.

The production of 25 sector profiles for Scotland (one for each Sector Skill Council) and an overview report for the Scottish economy as a whole.

The research involved a survey of a random sample of 1,000 voluntary and community organisations in Birmingham & Solihull, which was representative of the sector as a whole, and a targeted survey of known/potential social enterprise organisations that fell outside of the representative sample. The study obtained a detailed understanding of the scale, characteristics and the potential of social enterprise within Birmingham and Solihull.

The goal of the research was to provide a detailed assessment of the current and future skill needs of employers for each local LSC in the East Midlands for different occupational areas within each key sector. The main focus of the research was on priority sectors and Sector Skill Council 'footprints', but encompassed a total of more than 50 industrial sectors.

This research project was concerned with determining the workspace requirements of creative businesses in Birmingham. The research specifically focused on the demand for creative workspace within the creative industries in Birmingham in the context of existing and planned workspace developments.

The aim of the research project which was undertaken on behalf of the BAPC, was to summarise the skill and learning issues facing small print establishments in the West Midlands. The approach adopted was to integrate detailed telephone interviews with available secondary data.