The West Yorkshire Economic Partnership Research Group takes a proactive role in the commissioning and publication of research relating to its sphere of influence, i.e. the Investment Planning process in West Yorkshire.

The purpose of the research is to provide underpinning evidence, understanding and insight into the issues affecting local stakeholders, which will lead to improved services and performance for client groups.  In particular, the group seeks to strengthen its understanding of the issues raised in the West Yorkshire Strategic Economic Assessment.

A wide range of partners make up the WY Research Group membership, from local authorities to sub-regional and regional partners.  The Research Group acts as the sub-regional observatory working closely with Yorkshire Futures to encourage evidence-based policy-making and effective dissemination of data and research findings.

The Group is currently working to develop research projects around culture, worklessness and social enterprise and will look to hold seminars early in 2007 to further disseminate other information of key interest to partners.

For further information about activities and membership, follow the link in the right-hand column.

The West Yorkshire Economic Partnership co-ordinates the production of Progress in West Yorkshire, an annual review of the progress that West Yorkshire is making as a sub-region against the region’s high level Advancing Together indicators.  The report is a statistical assessment of economic, social and environmental issues facing the area.  The reports are available from the link in the right-hand column.

Completed research projects funded through the West Yorkshire Research Programme can be accessed online.

Measuring the Value of the Cultural Sector

This was a small scoping study to explore the most appropriate method for valuing the culture sector and focused on contingent valuation, a government-recommended method for estimating the non-market values of public goods.  The report concludes that contingent valuation is the most appropriate method for deriving the economic value of a social good and it could be beneficial to use this methodology alongside other valuation techniques to estimate the total economic value of the culture sector.  This scoping study represents the first step towards developing an important baseline evidence to make the case for investment in culture and raise the understanding and confidence of policy makers, investors and funders. (see link in right-hand column)

The Needs of Cluster Businesses in West Yorkshire

The West Yorkshire Research Group commissioned this research in 2005 to explore the needs of businesses in the region's six key clusters.  The aim of the research was to establish the main difficulties faced by these businesses when overcoming barriers to growth and increased competitiveness.  See link in right-hand column.

The Office Property Market in West Yorkshire

The purpose of this study was to establish the economic trends that are driving the demand for office space in different parts of West Yorkshire, identify trends in supply and demand in the main towns and cities including town and city centres and out-of-town office parks and identify areas of market failure, barriers to investment and appropriate intervention measures.  Follow link in right-hand column.

Developing Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Rural Areas in West Yorkshire

The aims of the study were to examine the characteristics of entrepreneurs, their motivations and the barriers they face in setting up and running small businesses in rural areas.  The work also involved developing outline initiatives for the way forward in encouraging entrepreneurship in rural areas of West Yorkshire, particularly in knowledge-based and creative sectors as it was felt that the promotion of these sectors in the rural areas of West Yorkshire could complement the growth of the knowledge economy in the sub-region.  See link in right-hand column.

There are three ongoing research projects that will be made available online when completed:

Increasing Innovation in Healthcare in West Yorkshire

This research looks at supporting improvements in West Yorkshire’s innovation performance in the health-focused / enabling technology sectors by identifying strengths and weaknesses in the West Yorkshire Innovation Supply Chain and mapping those West Yorkshire organisations that are active in innovation in this field.  This research is now available from the link in the right-hand column. 

Relating the Housing Offer to Economic Growth

The West Yorkshire Research Programme has also contributed funds to a Leeds City Region study examining the implications of economic growth forecasts for the housing offer in the wider City Region.  This project has now been completed and may be accessed from the link in the right-hand column.

Ethnic Minority Businesses in West Yorkshire

The aim of this study is to estimate the scale of Ethnic Minority enterprise in the sub-region and to establish how they are distributed across the different industries.  The research will also seek to understand the characteristics of Ethnic Minority businesses in West Yorkshire and their needs and aspirations.  There will also be some analysis of the opportunities and threats they face in operating successfully and achieving their growth aspirations.  This project has now been completed and can be accessed from the link in the right-hand column.

For further information about the research activities you can contact:

Ellen Graham, Research Co-ordinator, West Yorkshire Economic Partnership
Business Link for West Yorkshire, Unit 4, Meadow Court, Millshaw Business Park, Leeds LS11 8LZ

Tel. 0113 385 7615
Email: ellen.graham@wyep.co.uk