The West Midlands Regional Observatory has been the source of regional research, facts and figures since 2002.
We're responsible for helping the region to develop better access to well organised information.
Better evidence will lead to better policy, strategy and funding in the West Midlands so that services and ultimately people’s lives are improved.
We're based in central Birmingham at Millennium Point.
Monitoring the region's progress
The research teams deliver the State of the Region report, monitor the progress of regional strategies, and support partners in meeting their data and intelligence needs.
This includes the coordination of the evidence base to support the work of the Regional Skills Partnership, a mix of employers, skills providers and other public bodies who take the lead on the regional skills agenda.
People and networks
We coordinate a community of data and intelligence users across all sectors within the West Midlands. This network is our main point of contact with the West Midlands region and, through this network, we are able to ensure that we can respond appropriately to the needs of the region.
Access to data and intelligence
We're responsible for providing data and intelligence to the region through this website. We ensure that the body of knowledge that is available within the region is sought out and made available to a wider audience. Our main tool in this work is the Regional Resource Catalogue.
Highlights from our work
Rosie Paskins, the Observatory's Chief Executive, highlights our work over the past year and launches the State of the Region Report 2009 in this video from our Annual Conference on 20th October 2009:
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