LLEP priority areas

The priority areas for Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership are as follows. Below each priority area is a list of individuals within the voluntary and community sector who are interested in working in partnership to deliver collaborative projects within the priority area.

If you would like to get in contact with one of these individuals to discuss working in collaboration with them or if you would like to be added to one of the lists email information@one-em.org.uk.

Some organisations on the lists below are looking for partners to collaborate in delivering specific projects. For further information on these projects click on the organisation’s name.

For further information on LEPs and to view their strategies visit www.oneeastmidlands.org.uk/leps.

• Innovation
• ICT
• SME Competitiveness
• Low carbon
• Labour mobility
• Social inclusion
• Skills development

1. Innovation

• Promote entrepreneurship and business creation among students, graduates and staff by combination of training and business experience, start-ups and providing appropriate incubation space alongside expertise.
• Establish pilots, demonstration facilities and thematic innovation hubs around areas of expertise.
• Support SMEs to get funded to access graduate/post graduate placements or business input, supported by specialist academics.

2. ICT

• ICT business to enhance and add value to the mainstream transformational ICT offer by providing intensive support, which will target those individuals and businesses who either live or trade within the LEP and who would not normally access the support which is available through the mainstream service. Web development, e-business, online marketing and a series of other themes will be introduced such as cloud computer, social media, integration, mobile technologies and web content and conversion.
• Establish a community of SMEs with a programme of events to raise awareness of the capacity within the universities to support business opportunities based on big data and opportunities to raise skills through colleges and training providers.
• Broadband extension to remote rural areas. The county council is keen to ensure that all Leicestershire communities and businesses can access the benefits of super-fast broadband. It is working with BT and partners to explore opportunities to extend the rollout into hard to reach rural areas. This may include innovative solutions, including wireless schemes and working direct with target communities.

3. SME Competitiveness

• Coordinating business support through a business growth hub, which will provide a service to support local businesses and help them grow. It will provide a central first point of contact and eliminate current confusion about what is available to help local businesses and those wanting to start a business. This will include support to young entrepreneurs to start up businesses; support for the social enterprise sector, notably linked to clear opportunities for contracted income and in the delivery of local or rural services and overcoming local market failures; action to support an increase in female owned, BME owned and disability owned businesses with Leicester and Leicestershire; and activity that creates work placement and apprenticeship opportunities.
• Access to finance. The LEP wishes to express an interest in pursing a collaborative financial instrument to improve SME access to finance across the East Midlands.

4. Low carbon

• Development of low carbon infrastructure for business and housing promoting innovation and adoption of low carbon technologies. The focus will be on spreading best practice across the area and supporting the local emerging low carbon economy.
• A community energy scheme to support community organisations to undertake preparatory work to develop at least six community energy 1.5mw per unit across Leicester and Leicestershire.
• Development and investment support for a large scale district heating in a sustainable urban extension.
• Development and coordination of projects to deliver low carbon energy and retrofit for business and households.

8. Labour mobility

• Supporting NEETs and the young unemployed to acquire more relevant and higher level skills to improve their employability.
• Helping young people in the transition from education to work by providing good quality support, work placements, graduate placements and/or internships.
• Improve job readiness and employability skills and providing support at key transition stages for those aged 25+.

9. Social inclusion

• Tackling barriers to work including skills development, but also helping to overcome non-skills barriers, e.g. transport, childcare, surviving the first month when coming off benefits in a holistic and integrated way. They will focus on supporting early intervention before problems become entrenched, outreach activities and access to locally provided services.
• Activities that can develop some of the progress made by the pilot Talent Match programme.
• Vocational training in rural skills, e.g. heritage and environmental protection, where not available.
• Activities that support mainstream and other EU-SIFS activity to penetrate into rural communities, for example to expand the geographical coverage of the age range.

10. Skills development

• To develop the concept of a Skills Metro, developing a holistic approach to skills training by designing and implementing a process so individuals and businesses can have a flexible approach to meeting their needs.
• Activities with further education to support the development of a culture of entrepreneurship and greater consideration to starting businesses in areas with a better change of survival and more growth potential.
• Approaches to support the civil society to be more entrepreneurial and to explore different and innovative social enterprise models.
• Supporting the promotion and delivery of leadership and management training programmes delivering leadership and management training.