What We Offer

Currently The EIU provides a range of products to support the strategic intelligence needs of the City of Wolverhampton and the Borough Councils of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall, the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and the Midlands Engine.

The EIU has the skillset and expertise to apply all of its activities to various geographical levels including low level geographies and can provide a flexible intelligence response to meet bespoke requirements on a one-off or ongoing basis.

Business

The EIU team is equipped at providing a variety of intelligence and information around business competitiveness and business dynamism. We are able to analyse low level data to form a fully researched picture of local business bases, sector strengths, dynamism issues and gaps in the make-up of local economies. Some examples of this:

• Business base segmentation including strategic companies’ identification, high growth / scaleup / innovative companies identification.
• Current business insights from existing networks (such as business representative organisations and trade bodies); including macro and firm-level intelligence.
• Creating an understanding of business dynamism, looking at quarterly / yearly trends in business births and deaths.
• Sector profiles and sector intelligence – barriers and future growth opportunities – linked to skills opportunities and trade / investment opportunities.

Place

The EIU team is highly skilled at providing a variety of intelligence and information around place based agendas due to the fine granular and low level geographic data and knowledge base. We understand the communities across the Black Country and this is evident in the work produced. Some examples of this:

• Measuring Success via an Annual Economic Review – a Place Based Narrative comprising a range of indicators across productivity, employment and skills, infrastructure, competitiveness, sustainability, and public service reform - and covering economic, social, fiscal and environmental impact across the 4 Black Country Local Authorities, creating a one-stop-shop for data and intelligence across the sub-region.
• Provision of extensive GIS and mapping facility. Because we understand the ‘total place’ – strategy and delivery we are the only intelligence unit that brings it all together in one place so we have the full Evidence-Strategy-Delivery-Impact story for all areas down to postcode level.
• Uniquely we can support via joint working the cross-thematic spatial analysis of all activity across an Authority to understand the outcomes required against priority areas, what activities is going on to support them, how far it will get us and what else is required. This includes development of Place based storymaps and dashboards which provides that critical link from evidence based approach to strategy development leader to delivery and ultimate impact.

Economy

The EIU team is equipped at providing a variety of intelligence and information around local economies to inform evidence basis and support the growth of strong and inclusive economies across the region. Some examples of this:

• Creating an understanding of the total economy, looking at yearly trends in GVA.
• Provide the latest regional business activity intelligence – enabling real time monitoring of the impact of major economic shocks such as Covid19, Brexit, the war in Ukraine and the cost of living / doing business crisis.
• Using the commissioned Oxford Economic model and inhouse capacity to access a rich array of consistent and timely economic, social, demographic and environmental data as well as modelling alternative futures.

People

The EIU team have expertise to help partners understand the communities and people living and working across the Black Country and how new policies or economic shocks will impact on people. Some examples of this:

• Clear understanding of the local demographic profile of people who live and work in the local area
• Ability to develop a series of storymaps highlighting key areas in need of investment, with the aim to attract investors and new businesses to the borough to create more jobs and higher skilled, better paid jobs.
• Bespoke Analysis on local skills needs, mapping and gapping need across the Borough and the performance of local schools.
• Labour market intelligence, looking at key indicators such as employment levels and mapping of claimant counts
  

Our Partner Impact

By providing a robust evidence base we have enabled partners to:

• Better understand local needs and opportunities therefore targeting investment for the greatest economic and social impact.
• Produce stronger business cases which have secured greater investment for the region. 
• Evidence local insights and impact in response to Government policy.
• Compare and benchmarks areas. 
• Partners have continued to value the assets of The EIU and its reputation and expertise has grown and it is valued regionally and nationally. 
• The EIU represent the area on a number of national Boards including ERC, ONS and City Redi.

Examples of evidence in action: