Project priorities

This is an outline of Pixel-Lab's work with Screen West Midlands:

Aim:

This project is an action-led initiative to deliver a Skills, Innovation and New Markets Strategy for growing the screen media industries in the West Midlands which positions Screen WM’s as the regional leader and deliverer for the screen sector.

Objectives:

•    To provide written documentation on the direction of travel and specific activities to be led by Screen WM’s from 2008 to 2011 in relation to developing the skills, innovation capacity and market growth for West Midlands screen media SMEs;

•    To ensure regional and national partners (commercial and public) are consulted and buy-in to the new vision and leadership of Screen WM, the Strategy’s key delivery agent;

•    To ensure that key stakeholders understand and are enabled to support and/or co-deliver Screen WM activities where this fits their own priorities;

•    To ensure commercial SMEs in the region (and prospective inward investors) can understand the Strategy’s key messages and that proposed activities align with their business needs.

Successful outcomes:

The outcomes of the successful delivery of the Strategy in 2011 will be:

•    A screen media sector equipped with the necessary skills, business development support and investment to enable the region to compete in the global marketplace; 

•    Screen WM’s support is successfully extended to the high value and growing sectors of new media, interactive and games;

•    Regional TV, film and digital media sectors are integrated, networked and collaborate across the region and beyond;

•    To support these outcomes, Screen WM’s must become viewed as the regional leader and deliverer for the screen sector by reaffirming existing regional partnerships and establishing new national and international public and private partnerships.

Report Itself wil contain :

Part 1: Background and evidence base

•     Introduction

Background to the project, aims and objectives, and priorities of Screen WM’s active investment funds. Overview of screen media in the West Midlands.

•    Media landscape

Background to the changing landscape and markets of screen media industries, focusing on the growth in convergent media technologies and platforms;

•    Strategic fit

Overview of key regional and national strategies (Screen WM to advise and supply key documentation) concerning innovation, screen media, creative industries, market development and media skills in relation to how this will effect the predominant media types and companies in the West Midlands;

•    Case studies

A small selection of case studies and analysis of current activities from primary research (interviews, focus groups) which illustrate market failure and opportunity.

•    Opportunities

SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) and PEST (Political, Economic, Social and Technology) analysis of Screen WM and West Midlands SMEs position in relation to the regional, national and global opportunities.

Part 2: Recommendations

•    All recommendations will contain indicative costs, RDA outputs (e.g. business assists) and outcomes.

•    Inward investment

Identify the types of target companies to benefit from inward investment and suggested approaches to attraction and retention – with particular reference to the 4 Innovation for Public fund;

•    New markets, business support and innovation

Recommendation for specific programmes of activity which support one, two or all three key themes;

•    Skills

Skills will be an underpinning, vertical theme which all activity will contribute towards (some activity more explicitly than others);

•    Approaches

Recommendations for ‘soft’ activity (e.g. PR, advocacy, attitude and profile) to support the Strategy;

•    Outcomes

Measures of success, monitoring growth and future activities.