Case Study

Ideopolis: knowledge city-regions - Bristol case study  explores Bristol’s strengths, challenges and opportunities within the framework of the nine Ideopolis drivers. It makes policy recommendations and shows what other cities can learn from Bristol’s experience.

Key findings include:

• Building on what’s there: Bristol has a well-established knowledge economy (for example, aerospace companies have been based in the city since the early 20 th century), with the economic structure reflecting earlier historical decisions.
• Diverse specialisation: This is one of Bristol’s key strengths, and one that has equipped the city to be “resilient in weathering economic change”.
• High skill organisations: Bristol has a highly skilled labour force, however there is also a significant group without skills. With the labour market expected to ‘tighten’ in coming years, skill shortages will potentially constrain economic growth and this is a key challenge for Bristol.
• Vibrant education sector: Bristol’s higher education sector is strong. A significant challenge for the city is the difference in educational attainment between state and independent school pupils.
• Leadership around a knowledge city vision: Partnership working between the key players in the city (including Business West, the City Council, HEIs and the RDA) and the recent formation of the West of England Partnership demonstrate leadership around the future vision for the city and wider region. There is an urgent need for Government to support the West of England to work at a city-region level.