Manchester Independent Economic Review

1. ManchesterIndependentEconomicReview

2. MIER is… Independent process basic on empirical evidence Comprehensive literature review Detailed economic baseline A series of reports Investment Understanding thick markets, skills and talent Daresbury Sustainable communities Innovation, connectivity and trade The case for “Agglomeration” The Review

3. Manchester is… a single functional economy • Single effective Travel to Work Area • Single significant labour pool, of 3.2m residents and 5m within 1hr travel • Single economy of £50bn economy • Integrated road, rail, motorway network

4. Changing global context Game-changing economic downturn Uncertain fiscal, monetary, regulatory interventions New waves of creative destruction Opportunity to reconsider conventional approaches Review sets out difficult choices driving long term sustainable economic growth And help to navigate short term challenges

5. Investment Getting FDI into Mcr is a “good thing” Investment is largely by big/R&D intensive domestic firms, probably because of pool of skilled labour/talent Positive “spillovers” not sectoral, but from supply chains Overly high reliance on G7 and debt-based finance So… More FDI needed, will take opportunism, new sources Policy focus to attract large domestic firms’ investment Networking should focus not on sectors but supply chains

6. Skills MCR has high concentration of knowledge sector workers, and best attraction and retention of “talent” outside London... ...however, no more than to be expected for our size, and no “tipping point”, so brain drain to London/SE still very strong High-level of skills not matched by productivity Main issue: high-value jobs. Where they exist, skills found/ attracted Broadly, Manchester city dominates knowledge-based industries; evidence of highly-skilled workers concentrating

7. Skills / 2 So… Focus on highly-skilled jobs to retain/attract brightest, as best guarantor of long-term prosperity Demand and supply can be scaled up in tandem Need to incentivise MCR firms to up their skills requirements... ...and to remove blockers of upward educational mobility, build ladders of opportunity, release talent Improve transport access to key employment centres Accept that the highly-skilled increasingly want to live in certain places and that coalescence increases productivity

8. Daresbury Daresbury not yet one of UK’s two “big science” facilities Current operation/management structures un-coordinated Daresbury risks losing current partnerships, esp. Universities Benefits of research activity need spreading beyond campus So… Gvt needs “walk the walk” of UK di-polar big science model Will not do so unless new overall operating structure Daresbury needs to become major asset for MCR

9. Sustainable communities Economic growth benefited all parts MCR, but impact uneven Reductions in worklessness not driven by most deprived areas Where neighbourhoods have improved, may be displacement Formula for improving most deprived areas includes growing skills (to L3), less social housing and proximity to ec growth Access to entry-level jobs key factor in improvement Educational disparities and housing key factors in embedding deprivation

10. Sustainable communities/ 2 So… Policy needs better understanding of challenged area trajectory, i.e. gentrifier, escalator, transit or isolate If gentrifier, leave well alone, concentrate on displacement Escalator/transit, focus: housing, transport, entry-level jobs Isolate areas need coordinated, multiple interventions & l-term commitment (>10 yrs) to policy; and less soc housing Worklessness symptom not cause: the need is to address education, skills and access to jobs... ...through attracting entry-level jobs to population and/or improving transport access to jobs Incentivise full policy integration, esp housing, worklessness

11. Innovation, connectivity & trade MCR firms not globally-engaged, too inward-facing Many links to London/SE, as strong as to North No good understanding of how MCR innovation works To “exchange”, firms/people need to trust each other; sector-based networking doesn’t achieve this Large number of firms have no linkages within MCR Some aspects of universities’ modus operandi incentivise secrecy (spin-offs). Incentivise to act as low-secrecy collaborative spaces

12. So… Need to engineer stickiness to MCR into bright young firms Bring firms with international linkages into MCR “society” (re)Create social market: like-minded leaders meet, interact Opportunity cost of sectoral networking activity: cut across Need exposure to international competition International activities should shift esp. to emerging mkts Mechanism/brand to promote “Mcr plc” to world Innovation, connectivity & trade

13. MIER’s main message: “agglomeration” MCR has scale and density so bigger potential... ... but punches below its weight due to low productivity Agglomeration is the spatial clustering of the skilled, jobs, amenities, icons, influence... …and what can drive MCR’s long-term economic growth Need is for laser-like policy focus on: - driving up productivity - increasing agglomeration benefits - reducing agglomeration costs Nurture and grow strategic urban assets, incl. in particular the airport, universities

14. The “Review” recommends: Emphasis on high skills and basic skills Focus on early years experience in deprived areas Make housing and planning policy more responsive to market demands Ensure viability of Manchester Airport Transport: focus on productivity and realistic traffic management

15. The “Review” recommends: Move quickly to unified regime for planning, regeneration & neighbourhood renewal Prioritise location of key science/non-traded (quasi) public sector investment Move on from sector-based clustering policy Develop more robust city region governance able to take big decisions

16. The “Review” recommends: Develop objective pan-GM systems for evaluating policy, programmes & projects Explore potential for delegation and devolution Empower private sector more Recommendations of individual reports