The West Midlands is scaling up a programme that embeds innovation experts directly into local business networks to accelerate regional economic growth. The problem is that innovation support in the region has been fragmented, with businesses in different sectors—such as manufacturing, health tech, and clean technology—working in isolation rather than sharing expertise and solving common barriers. The pilot phase proved this approach works, generating over £28 million in additional economic output (GVA). In this second phase, a Virtual Innovation Team of sector specialists will be placed within 10–12 industry bodies, running cross-sector working groups and events to build connections. A Flexible Innovation Pilot Fund will back around 15 new collaborative projects and help scale up about 5 successful pilots from the first phase. If successful, the programme will create jobs, attract public and private investment, and strengthen the region’s innovation ecosystem—making it easier for businesses in the West Midlands to develop new products and processes, particularly in health technology and clean technology, without needing to navigate a fragmented support system.
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The West Midlands Innovation Programme phase 2 (WMIP 2.0) addresses the **Capability and Capacity** strand of the West Midlands Innovation Accelerator**,** supporting cross-sector, demand-led innovation and enhancing the connectedness and operation of the region's innovation ecosystem. WMIP 2.0 consolidates and scales a highly successful pilot phase (WMIP 1.0) which independent evaluation found to have effectively _'coordinated development of the innovation support ecosystem'_ and grown _'expertise in innovation in different sectors',_ leading to generation of additional GVA of over £28m. WMIP 2.0 is led and managed by the West Midlands Combined Authority, enabling it to enhance other WM Innovation Accelerator projects and wider regional innovation activity, and constructively interact with further regional growth levers, e.g. skills. Central to WMIP 2.0 will be the Virtual Innovation Team (VIT) of sector innovation experts embedded in 10-12 diverse cluster/ sector bodies, bringing a strong private sector voice and capacity to identify and address business innovation barriers and enablers. The WMCA Delivery Team and the VIT will continue to operate and develop a diverse and inclusive series of thematic working groups and sector agnostic events that enable networking, good practice sharing, connections and partnerships around innovation, thus building cross-cluster capacity and capability across the WM innovation ecosystem. Together with other aligned (but not WMIP funded) stakeholder activity, these networks all operate under 'Innovation Alliance for the West Midlands' banner. In WMIP 2.0 a Flexible Innovation Pilot Fund will again enable the VIT to develop, with innovation ecosystem stakeholders, around 15 novel, collaborative interventions that overcome barriers to and exploit opportunities for demand-led innovation within and between sectors. WMIP 2.0 will also have a stronger focus on supporting about 5 successful pilot interventions (from WMIP 1.0 or 2.0) to scale within or into additional sectors, to attract investment and accelerate impact on WM growth. Whilst working across all the clusters identified in the WM Plan for Growth, WMIP 2.0 will support the WM Innovation Accelerator with additional resource and focus on the application of regional engineering, manufacturing and advanced computing strengths to the strategic priorities of Health/ Med Tech and Cleantech. WMIP 2.0 is expected to yield even greater GVA impact that WMIP 1.0, e.g. through business support, job creation, attraction of public and private funding, but there will be wider, sustained impact of a stronger, better connected innovation ecosystem in the West Midlands that will continue to enable demand-led and cross-sector innovation.
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