The West Midlands Futures Green Paper sets a bold agenda, but risks leaning too heavily on AI. Cyber must be treated as a foundational enabler across every sector, from advanced manufacturing to healthcare, and anchored in a practitioner-led West Midlands Cyber Hub. Such a hub can drive assurance, skills conversion, supply-chain uplift, and regional equity, ensuring growth is both resilient and inclusive.

Contents

Synopsis

The West Midlands Futures Green Paper (2025) sets out a ten-year pathway to “Growth for Everyone,” anchored in six interlocking components: (1) high-growth clusters and innovation, (2) business leadership and investment, (3) the everyday economy, (4) places (including a new Spatial Development Strategy), (5) people and skills, and (6) economic networks and narrative. It frames the region’s £77bn economy as under-performing relative to its potential but advantaged by demography, connectivity (HS2, airport, NEC), and an improving FDI position (7th in Europe by project count in 2023). The Green Paper proposes a Growth Plan to convert these advantages into higher productivity, better jobs, and inclusive living standards, while using a public consultation to shape the final plan.

What’s Inside (At A Glance): Key Points

• Scale & foundations. A £77bn regional economy, almost twice Oxford and Cambridge combined, the youngest population outside London, “goldilocks” geography, and major national infrastructure (HS2) create headroom for growth.
• Six components of the Growth Plan. High-growth clusters; business leadership & investment; everyday economy; places & SDS; people & skills; economic networks & narrative.
• Clusters & innovation. Five priority growth areas (building on the Plan for Growth), including advanced engineering/EV & batteries and Cleantech/smart energy systems; strong R&D assets (UBIC, APC, WMG, ESC, Tyseley).
• Investment & FDI. 127 new FDI projects in 2023 (second fastest-growing in England; 7th in Europe); aim to maintain a top-tier FDI position via a joint International Strategy.
• Productivity gap. GVA/hour: £34.50 (WMCA) vs £39.50 (UK); management capability and a thin Tier-1 supplier base are identified constraints; business leadership uplift and capital access are explicit targets.
• People & skills. Elevated youth claimant count (9.1% vs 5.5% national); focus on economic inactivity (notably caring responsibilities) and Level-3+ skills pipeline to match a high-skill economy.
• Place & SDS. Brownfield-first housing, denser, transit-connected centres, and identified corridors of opportunity to unlock growth; a formal Spatial Development Strategy is planned.
• Institutions & narrative. A new regional economic delivery vehicle and an annual Regional Partnership Summit aim to reduce institutional fragmentation and sharpen the “story of place”.
• Consultation. A structured question set (Annex 3) seeks views across foundations, investment, skills, institutions, place, public services, and net zero; the final Growth Plan is due after engagement.

Critical Appraisal

Strengths

1. Coherence across levers. The six-component structure links clusters, human capital, investment, place, and institutions—mirroring how productivity is actually created (not in silos).
2. Evidence-led honesty. Clear articulation of the productivity gap, youth inactivity, management capability deficits, and weak Tier-1 presence—naming problems that are often ducked.
3. FDI momentum + joint internationalism. Using an International Strategy to institutionalise investor-facing coordination is smart—and builds on real FDI gains.
4. Spatial realism. A polycentric region needs connective tissue; the SDS, corridors of opportunity, and density around hubs are all directionally right.
5. Governance upgrades. A reformed economic development vehicle and an annual partnership summit are practical moves against institutional balkanisation.

Gaps & Risks

1. Execution metrics & accountability. The paper sets outcomes (e.g., “tackle youth unemployment”) but is light on binding KPIs, data room cadence, and owner-by-owner delivery plans (who does what by when, with what money?).
2. Finance stack for the ‘everyday economy’. There’s less detail on capital models for non-frontier firms and social economy actors, who need patient, mission-tied finance to lift productivity.
3. Scale-up and supply-chain depth. Acknowledging the thin Tier-1 layer is good; the plan should go further on how to manufacture Tier-1/2 density (e.g., OEM-anchored procurement compacts).
4. Skills conversion at speed. The Level-3+ focus is right, but employers cite experience gaps; without large-scale paid industrial placements and rapid conversion academies, vacancy friction will persist.
5. Net Zero investability. The intent to reduce energy demand via smart systems is strong; the plan should specify investable programme bundles (e.g., local flexibility markets, heat electrification zones).

Cyber (Not Just AI) Plus A West Midlands Cyber Hub

Why this matters now. The region’s growth narrative cannot be AI-only. Cyber is a foundational, horizontal capability that underwrites every priority in the Green Paper — advanced manufacturing and EV supply chains, smart energy systems, health/med-tech, digital public services, and FDI aftercare. Treat cyber as critical economic infrastructure, not a sub-theme of “digital.”

What “Good” Looks Like

• Cyber as a core cluster (with its own targets), not a bolt-on to AI/digital.
• A practitioner-led West Midlands Cyber Hub: a networked focal point for assurance, skills conversion, SME enablement, and scale-up support across the region (not just one city).
• Market-making role for the Hub: convene buyers (OEMs, NHS trusts, councils, utilities), vendors (startups/SMEs), universities, and investors; run pre-procurement pilots; publish reference architectures and shared threat intel.

The West Midlands Cyber Hub: Mission & Services

• Assurance & readiness. Regional cyber MOT for SMEs (controls, MFA, patching, backups); secure-by-design clinics for manufacturers and smart energy projects; supply-chain uplift for Tier-2/3 firms.
• Safe environments. Persistent testbeds and cyber ranges for OT/ICS, cloud/SaaS, and health data pipelines; red-team/blue-team exercises open to SMEs and anchor institutions.
• Skills & conversion. Paid 6–12-month residencies with anchor employers; neurodiversity-positive pathways; returner programmes; rapid conversion academies mapped to NCSC-aligned roles.
• Commercialisation. Spin-out acceleration, IP liberation frameworks with universities, investor-readiness, and co-sell programs with primes.
• Local enablement. On-the-road hub: clinics in Black Country, Coventry & Warwickshire, Solihull, Herefordshire, Worcestershire — not just Birmingham.

Where It Touches The Green Paper

• Clusters & innovation. Cyber hardening for EV/batteries, med-tech, and smart energy projects; region-wide reference stacks for secure OT/ICS and data sharing.
• Business leadership & investment. Management uplift on cyber risk reporting; investor-grade assurance packs to accelerate FDI and procurement.
• Everyday economy. Low-cost controls for retail, care, logistics, and hospitality; pooled procurement for cyber hygiene tools.
• People & skills. Fast experience bridges (residencies), neurodiversity-forward recruitment, and targeted women-in-cyber cohorts.
• Place & SDS. Corridor-based cyber services aligned to growth zones (station areas, innovation districts); local authority roll-outs via one playbook.
• Institutions & narrative. A visible regional beacon: quarterly scorecards, shared pipeline with WMCA trade/FDI teams, and an annual West Midlands Cyber Forum.

Suggested KPIs (12–24 Months)

• 20,000 SME “cyber MOTs” completed with over 60% beyond Birmingham and Manchester commuter belts.
• 2,000 organisations adopting MFA/backup/patch baselines; 1,000 supply-chain uplift attestations for Tier-2/3 firms.
• 1,000 paid conversion residencies; 40% neurodivergent and/or women participants; 75% in-role after 6 months.
• 10 pre-procurement pilots (NHS trusts, LAs, utilities, OEMs); £50m aggregate contract value influenced.
• 8 university spin-outs supported; 4 IP-liberation agreements signed; £25m follow-on investment catalysed.

Governance & operating model

• Practitioner-led CIC as the hub operator (network-of-networks model) with a small executive and rotating working groups (OT/ICS, health, local government, start-ups, education).
• Advisory board drawn from anchor employers, local authorities, universities, investors, and user communities (with mandated regional seats beyond “cyber-affluent” centres).
• Open metrics, open playbooks. Publish quarterly dashboards and reusable playbooks (assurance, procurement, skills) under open licences to avoid vendor lock-in.

Recommendations: Pragmatic, Measurable, Investable

1) Make The Growth Plan “Operationally Hard-Edged”

• Publish a Delivery Ledger per component: lead institution, budget line(s), milestones (Q/Q), KPIs, and open data updates (quarterly). Tie to the Integrated Settlement and local authority MTFS cycles.
• Mandate a Regional Productivity Barometer (GVA/hour, GDHI, Tier-1 density, management scores, business investment per worker) with dashboards at LA and corridor level.

2) Deepen Clusters With Supply-Chain Instruments

• Establish OEM-anchored Supplier Lift Compacts in auto/EV, med-tech, and smart energy: multi-year purchase commitments + vendor development + export credit support to graduate Tier-3/4 firms into Tier-2/1.
• Create a WM Advanced Manufacturing Testbed network (with MTC/WMG/UBIC/ESC) offering shared equipment, certification, and industrialisation sprints tied to procurement.

3) Close The Management & Capital Gap

• Launch a Management 10k programme—10,000 leaders through applied management improvement (shop-floor to C-suite), assessed against WMS-derived diagnostics; link completion to preferential finance.
• Stand up a West Midlands Productivity & Inclusion Fund blending regional, UKIB, pension, and foundation capital for the everyday economy and social enterprises (revenue-share, outcomes-linked tranches).

4) Convert Skills Into Jobs (Fast)

• Implement paid, 6–12-month conversion residencies at cluster anchors (EV/batteries, smart energy, med-tech) for Level-3+ and recent grads; WMCA to co-fund wages with employers. Target: 20,000 placements in three years (align with the Youth Employment Plan).
• Scale care-aware employability (wraparound childcare, flexible training, micro-credential ladders) to cut inactivity linked to caring responsibilities by 25% over five years.

5) Make Place-Led Growth Bankable

• Package corridor-level investment cases (station-area densification + brownfield remediation + grid upgrades) with pre-approved design codes and value-capture (LLIT, JV LVC).
• Pilot local flexibility markets and whole-neighbourhood retrofits via Tyseley/ESC and DNOs to bring down energy bills and carbon while creating local green jobs.

6) Institutional Spine & Narrative

• Fast-track the economic delivery vehicle with a single CRM, account-management standard, and joint pipeline for trade/FDI/aftercare; hold an annual Partnership Summit to publicly report progress.
• Expand It Starts Here into a Global West Midlands brand platform aligned to the International Strategy (priority markets, cluster proofs, alumni/investor network).

Conclusion

The Green Paper has the right scaffolding and a credible reading of strengths and constraints. Its strongest cards are FDI momentum, R&D assets, and a polycentric but connectable geography. To land the prize, higher GDHI, productivity, and good jobs, the region must now operationalise with hard KPIs, investable programmes for both frontier clusters and the everyday economy, and large-scale talent conversion that tackles youth unemployment and caring-linked inactivity head-on. If the WMCA uses the coming Growth Plan to set measurable delivery terms, backed by a single economic delivery vehicle and corridor-based propositions, it can deliver compounding, inclusive growth. Embedding cyber as a foundational cluster through the West Midlands Cyber Hub will ensure resilience and trust run through every strand of growth.