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High Technology Corridor
COVENTRY, SOLIHULL & WARWICKSHIRE TECHNOLOGY CORRIDOR
Moving The Agenda Forward
(An Updated Strategy for the Corridor)
“The Vision for the CSW Corridor is that over the long run, it should develop a globally significant and self-sustaining cluster of innovative, knowledge-based businesses. The cluster should embrace both inward investors and indigenous spin-outs, Its technological focus will be diverse but there will be particular specialisms across the areas of motorsport, transport technology and design, ICT and medical and healthcare technologies”.
Strategic Context
The key technology business strengths of the CSW Technology Corridor, identified from the outset, are ICT technologies and Transport related Design. In both these areas the businesses in the Corridor represent a major part of the Regional capability and both continue to be significant in terms of employment generation and high value added business activity. In both these areas the CSW Technology Corridor would expect to take a position of leadership within the Region in developing infrastructures (hard and soft) that will improve the competitiveness of these types of business. The intention would be to spread successful interventions to other similar businesses elsewhere in the Region either through similar actions in other Corridors or through Cluster Action plans.
However Partners are keen to ensure that other technology sectors that lie within the RES priorities, which are either well represented, or have good potential, within the CSW Corridor area are also appropriately addressed. These sectors include: Medical and Healthcare technologies, High Performance Engineering / Motor Sport, Building technologies, Transport technologies and Interactive Media. There is no doubt that in Transport technologies and HPE / Motor Sport the Corridor again plays home to a considerable wealth of business and R&D capability.
In the field of Medical and Healthcare technologies the Corridor contains one the Region’s two “hotspots” for relevant R&D. The key CSW Corridor organisations have a strong desire to work forward to develop increasing levels of business activity from this base and they have the skills to achieve it. The Corridor is therefore in a strong position to work constructively with the region’s Medical technology COG with a view to building the depth and breadth of the cluster. Therefore it is proposed that in this area the Corridor action plan and the Cluster action plan might usefully evolve together to take advantage of the opportunities each can offer.
The CSW Corridor contains the Region’s most significant density of businesses in the High Performance Engineering / Motor Sport sector. This representation is paralleled by others in three neighbouring Regions. Thus, the strategy for this element of the Corridor is driven by national strategy with Regional plans coordinated through the four RDAs involved.
The Transport technologies sector (aside form Design) is again well represented in the CSW Corridor area. However, it is recognised that this remains a primary wealth creating cluster for the Region with strong representation in many parts of the Region. The development of actions within the Corridor are therefore more likely to evolve from Cluster Actions with the Corridor contributing to the thinking and planning activities.
In all the other Cluster action areas mentioned above the CSW Corridor has some useful representations, but as far as is known, they are not generally dominant within the Region. The Corridor would therefore expect to play into the relevant regional Cluster strategies and action plans. Where the Corridor has special skills or resources relevant to the Cluster as a whole, then it would seek to ensure that these are identified and incorporated into regional plans.
PLEASE NOTE a revised strategy and three year action plan is presently being developed for 2005/2008. This will be available on this site shortly.
For further information about the Corridor, please CSWP on 02476 707562
ICT survey report.
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