Sub Groups - Swindon Strategic Economic Partnership (SSEP)

Role and purpose

To support existing business growth opportunities, and attract new investment to Swindon, alongside support for new and existing small and medium enterprises

Background

The Investment and Enterprise Group is charged with delivering the ‘Business Creation and Growth’ block of the Swindon Economic Development Vision and Framework (2006). It also takes ownership of achieving Outcome 1 of the Swindon Local Area Agreement, which focuses upon increasing the total number of VAT registered businesses in the Borough, and increasing the percentage of Swindon employees who are self employed.

Priorities

To encourage young people in Swindon to become entrepreneurs
To promote the sharing of good practice, peer learning and business to business mentoring to support businesses with growth potential
To stimulate and encourage innovation amongst Swindon
To facilitate and stimulate inward investment
To promote and improve the Swindon Business Charter

The core steering group has the following roles:

Set up the task groups, provide support and receive reports
Develop future ideas for future task groups (such as Creating opportunities for social enterprise)
Oversee business support in the Borough
Complete the development of a Business Charter and champion it amongst stakeholders
Communicate sideways and upwards including reporting on agreed LAA targets
Communicate as broadly as possible with local business and receive thoughts back from business representative groups

Membership

The group is intended to be, firstly, business led, and secondly, inclusive of those organisations (public, private and voluntary sector) that have a role in the delivery of business development services.

Vacancy - Chair
James Lockhart – Whitmarsh Lockhart
Ramona Derbyshire – Thring Townsend
Lawrence Murphy - SBC
Phil Merrick – SBC Econ Dev (Manager)

Sub-Groups

The thematic sub groups comprise key individuals from those organisations that can make a difference to the subject matter, be it through strategy, funding or delivery of services. Each group is led by someone with a particular expertise in the subject area.

Sub-Groups include: