Investment prgramme earns award nomination
Birmingham City Council’s Business Development and Innovation Team has been shortlisted for a regional award after securing £1.8m of funding to set up a development programme to help the city’s retailers.
The 15-strong team, which works with the city’s retail sector, has been shortlisted in the ‘Partnerships for Birmingham’ category of the Chamberlain Awards. The group introduces the Retail Development Programme (RDP) after securing the finance from the government’s Working Neighbourhoods Fund.
Nominations in each category are sought internally, with shortlisted entries agreed by an appointed panel of judges and the resulting finalists announced at an awards ceremony, held at The International Convention Centre on 12 November.
The Business Development and Innovation Team has been shortlisted for the results it is achieving via the Retail Development Programme (RDP).
The RDP allows the Business Development and Innovation team to work with 12 town centre managers to offer independent retailers and restaurateurs a 50 per cent match-funded grant of £2,500 to £10,000.
Councillor Alan Rudge, cabinet member for equalities and human resources at Birmingham City Council, said: “The RDP is a great example of how building close working relationships between the public and private sectors can prove highly effective in fostering prosperity and growth among the wider business community.
"This is a well thought-through, accessible initiative, with the grant process designed to be as streamlined as possible, and with the requirement for match-funding ensuring that all applicants have a very strong chance of succeeding in the long term.”
