North West Business Leadership Team forges new strategic partnership with Northern Nuclear Alliance
We are pleased to announce a new strategic partnership with the Northern Nuclear Alliance (NNA), part of which will involve the NNA’s chair and NWBLT member Rachel O’Donnell also chairing the NWBLT’s innovation and growth subgroup.
The purpose of the partnership is to support the shared goal of advocating for the ongoing success of, and investment into, the nuclear sector in the region, which is home to a nationally significant hub for the industry and 28,000 people employed in power generation, research and decommissioning in Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire.
NNA members are a group of like-minded nuclear industry organisations who share their collective business knowledge and who collaborate to make nuclear a success. The Alliance also works closely with similar groups representing Cumbria, and nationally through the Nuclear Regions initiative.
This partnership will involve both parties working collaboratively in several areas, including:
- Joint advocacy, with the coordination of joint responses to policy consultations, government initiatives and industry developments and promotion of the strategic importance of the nuclear industry to the North West
- Public and stakeholder engagement, including organising joint events, roundtables and forums to promote innovation, sustainability, public engagement, awareness and investment in the nuclear sector
- Knowledge sharing and exchanging information, research and best practices related to nuclear industry developments and broader economic backdrop in the North West
- Skills and workforce development, by supporting initiatives that promote skills development, training and recruitment in the nuclear industry, including participation in the NNA’s skills subgroup and the NWBLT’s people and skills group
“This partnership will cement the importance of the nuclear sector to the North West,” commented Simone Peppi, Chair of the NWBLT.
“With so many people in the North West being reliant on the industry, it is vital that we work closely with each other and share knowledge to ensure that the region is best-placed to benefit from the considerable rewards that can come from the sector,” she continued.
As part of the strategic partnership, NNA chair Rachel O’Donnell will also chair the NWBLT’s innovation and growth subgroup. Its principal aim will be to spearhead innovation within the NWBLT that will boost productivity and improve the long-term prospects for the diverse places of the North West and its businesses across a wide range of sectors.
“The subgroup has three main focuses,” explained Rachel O’Donnell.
“We want to boost finance for innovation, as our research has shown that many businesses in the region continue to face challenges in securing the early stage finance they need to grow. We are working with a range of partners and places to identify ways to improve the investible, innovative businesses and raise awareness within the investment community of the potential that the region offers,” she continued.
“A successful transition to a net zero economy is a top priority for the North West as we are home to the highest concentration of advanced manufacturing and chemical production in the UK. We have already helped establish, and remain a strategic partner to, Net Zero North West, which is an industry-led initiative working to make sure that the transition creates long-term economic opportunity for the region.
“Lastly, we want to make the region more productive. Like much of the UK, it continues to underperform economically against international peers, particularly in terms of productivity. Increasing this will mean greater potential for higher earnings and a re-balancing of some of the inequalities that have characterised some of our towns and cities for too long.
“We were a driving force behind the North West’s ‘Made Smarter’ pilot and we continue to advocate for investment in science-based assets and champion the benefits of digitalisation, high-performance computing and AI,” O’Donnell concluded.