Key Data:

• 41,000 people, employed in approximately 3,000 businesses
• (ICT) Represents:
  • £4.4 bn turnover or 5.4% of the UK’s overall ICT output
  • 6% of the Region’s economy
• Major ICT players located within the Region e.g. AT and T, Celestica, Ericsson, Fujitsu, IBM, Ricoh
• Consists of two broad sub-sectors: Services/Software (56% of regional ICT employment) and Electronics (44%)
• Major sub-sectors in terms of Output include:
  • Computer Services (£1.4billion)
  • Telecommunications (£0.67 billion)
  • Components (£0.5 billion)
  • Telecoms services (£0.38 billion)
• High regional densities in Telecommunications and Computer Equipment sub-sectors compared with the national average

The COG, as champion of the region's ICT industry, welcomes interaction from both businesses and public sector organisations. To promote the work of the COG information on its the activities, projects commissioned and the performance of the cluster will be published on a regular basis on this website. The Cluster also produces an e-Newsletter which is designed to benefit ICT businesses through disseminating best practice, information on services and funding together with market intelligence etc.

Getting Involved

There are a number of ways in which you can get involved in the creation of a strong ICT cluster in the Midlands:

• Suggest a New Project: Suggestions for innovative, forward thinking projects to meet the business requirements of the strategy framework are welcomed. If you have an idea, then get in touch
• Joining an Existing Project: Many projects operate a membership scheme (eg WMita, iCentrum). If a project is already operating in an area of interest to you then join it now and participate in its activities
• Attending Events: Most projects run events and these events are usually open to members and non-members. Go along, find out more about the project and network with other local ICT organisations
• Partnering: If you have a project you want to bid on, look for a local partner to bid with and fill vital skill or credibility gaps
• Use Local Suppliers: Look for local ICT suppliers for your own ICT needs
• Sharing Knowledge: Let others know what you know and what you can do. Efficient markets need open information
• Sharing Data: If you have your own information about ICT supply and demand in the region, share it. We need to build a co-operative cluster, not one that jealously protects information
  

Cluster Opportunity Group - Terms of Reference

Objective

The Cluster Opportunity Group (COG) will work with Advantage West Midlands to improve the competitiveness of industries within the cluster.

Tasks

To agree Strategic Priorities for the industries concerned with the cluster; To review the Strategic Priorities annually. To request and consider any specialist reports needed to inform this review. To review the project portfolio, identify any Strategic Priorities that are not being addressed and request that the Cluster Executive Group commissions projects to cover these Priorities. To review Outline Applications against the Strategic Priorities and recommend to AWM whether they should proceed to Full Applications. To prepare a three year plan for the development of the cluster. To approve an annual report of Cluster activities and outcomes prepared by the Cluster Executive Group (CEG) and ensure a cluster forum is held annually.

Accountability and Relationships

The COG shall be accountable to Advantage West Midlands for its actions.

The COG will engage with other Groups working to deliver the Regional Economic Strategy, both groups focussed on Strategy/Policy (e.g. Enterprise Board, Regional Skills Partnership) and groups focussed on Delivery(e.g. Regeneration Zones, High Technology Corridors)

Membership

Membership will be specific to the individual named COG member with a nominated second.

Private sector COG members should be drawn from the industries represented in the cluster, selected for their ability to make strategic decisions on behalf of all the industries in the cluster and should be recognised for this ability by these industries.

Individual members will be expected to have decision-making powers within their organisations;

Individual members shall refrain from representing the interests of their individual businesses (public or private) in relation to specific proposals;

Individual members will not be required to comment on matters of detailed delivery which will be dealt with by the Cluster Executive Group (CEG)

During the early part of 2003 the Cluster Opportunity Group (COG) commissioned SQW to conduct a consultation exercise across the region with both public organisations and the private sector. The findings of the consultation process were then validated through a series of workshops with private and public sector attendees. A copy of the subsequent report entitled "ICT Strategy and Action Plan" is available from our Document Library.

The Strategic Framework for the ICT Cluster developed in consultation with partners during 2003, guides and structures ICT Cluster activity as we work to achieve our Vision.

The Framework, shown below, identifies four key areas, or Strategic Directions, which define the prime objectives for all activities we will undertake to move the sector forwards towards the cluster goal. 

The Directions are:

• Community of Interest: Creating a well networked sector, with strategic co-ordination of small firms to raise competitiveness and market access and a strong reputation and credibility both within and outside the region.
• Managing Transition: Effective diversification to increase the percentage of companies engaged in high value added ICT manufacturing activities and in growing services market sectors. Developing recognised competence in the application of ICT technologies to target market sectors.
• Targeted Sub-Clusters: ‘Pick winners’ for a small number of niche sub-sectors, where our current assets and knowledge give the West Midlands a comparative advantage nationally and internationally.
• Exercising the Knowledge Muscle: Appropriately targeted, and well disseminated, research in ICT, effective collaboration and spin-out activities resulting in leading-edge knowledge based firms in the sector. The use of our extensive knowledge resource to develop the management competence of the sector.

The Strategic Enablers are:

• Hard and soft infrastructures – Includes knowledge, facilities, infrastructure, people, business expertise and finance. A challenge for the cluster strategy will be to draw out the ICT-relevant support from infrastructures that are generally configured to work across the spectrum of industry sectors.
• Data and intelligence – vital to underpin strategy and decision-making in a rapidly changing industry environment.
• Active links to other sectors – ‘oiling the wheels’ for ICT firms to access the local market, whilst at the same time reaping the benefits of ICT solutions for other sectors in the regional economy.

 Delivering on the Strategic Directions will require a broad range of Actions. Much progress has been made, or has already been planned, by a wide variety of delivery partners. However, there remain significant gaps which will need to be filled by new and innovative projects. Below we highlight the lead that projects established by the ICT Cluster are addressing and promoting. A full list of current projects, and more details on these projects can be found under activities on this website.

• Establishment of an integrated regional IT association bringing together existing sub-regional IT associations and WM Digital.
• Build a "state of the art" IT complex providing advice consultancy and high-level training to SMEs in high growth sectors.
• Application of expertise in Computational Intelligence to industrial problems in optimisation, machine learning and data mining and design.
• Provide awareness for ICT SMEs of latest technology developments and demonstrate business benefits of implementing IT.
• Establish and support a network of photonics companies, universities and research bodies and promote the application of photonics technologies to industries in end user market sectors.
• Assist development, promote and encourage take-up, increase awareness of Open Source. Become a regional and national focus for OSS developers and users.
  

• Business productivity: Companies operating in a cluster operate more efficiently by taking better advantage of economies of scale and shared resources
• Innovation and knowledge transfer: As part of a cluster, companies can better source new knowledge and pursue innovation opportunities through stronger links with institutions, service providers and educational establishments
• Market awareness: Clustering allows companies to serve existing markets better and to respond to future market changes, through the establishment of closer links with local clients and markets.
  Companies in a cluster can also act co-operatively in sourcing market data.

Clusters provide benefits to individual firms and differentiate regions. They take time to establish but, when they are fully functioning, provide a vital and dynamic engine for growth and productivity.

An often cited example of a successful cluster is the High Technology Cluster in Cambridge. A brief summary of the ‘Cambridge Phenomenon’ is provided below.

High Technology Clustering in Cambridge, UK

The high-technology cluster centred around Cambridge serves as a model of how successful clustering activity has led to a world-renowned competence. Growth in output and employment has been sustained since the mid-1980s and, in a highly dynamic and competitive sector, the cluster continues to develop and evolve.

By 1998 there were 1,350 high-tech firms employing some 32,500 people in the area. As well as development of established specialisms, such as in software, there has been significant penetration of new markets in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. The success of high technology companies in Cambridge corresponds with many facets of the classic clustering model. As well as hosting offices of leading multinational companies (e.g. Microsoft) there is a significant group of go-ahead independent companies. New firm spin-outs, often with high-growth ambitions, continue to be a feature of the Cambridge scene, with founders coming from both existing high-tech firms and the research community.

Cambridge University, regarded as the UK’s leading university for teaching and research, has actively sought to engage with front-ranking science-based companies. Within the Cambridge locality, a significant support infrastructure now exists following a proliferation of specialist incubators and science parks.

Technology consultancies, a distinctive element of the cluster, have continued to prosper and are evolving into more rounded technology houses, acting as a major source of spin-outs and providing seed and venture capital. Legal specialists on intellectual property rights and related issues operate from Cambridge. Also, financial and professional services companies and the local investor community have increased their scale and have focused on the needs of high-tech businesses.