Economic growth for the East Midlands addressed at conference

Innovation, making productivity gains and empowering the workforce were among themes explored by the region’s businesses at the East Midlands Future Flux Economic and Innovation Conference on 28th November.

Held at Leicester's De Montfort University, a series of talks and panel discussions sought to reflect on performance of the East Midlands economy across 2025 and identify opportunities for future growth.

East Midlands Chamber Director of Policy and Insight Richard Blackmore shared key asks to political leaders from the Chamber’s recently launched Framework for Growth, alongside research data gathered from firms across the region.

Speaking afterwards he said: “Research carried out by the Chamber across 2025 has continually shown a sense of fragile confidence among businesses in the region and getting firms, the education sector, economic experts together in one place starts conversations, builds ideas and helps navigate the economic pressures collectively faced.

“Holding this conference in the same week that the Chamber’s Framework for Growth for the East Midlands was released – a landmark document setting out key asks to political leaders across are areas like infrastructure, innovation, skills investment and planning – made the event all the more timely. 

“That document outlines what the region needs to enable growth and a conference that unpicks the economic challenges and explores opportunities firms have identified with sharing of research data, insight from academics and from the Bank of England is extremely useful in achieving growth as we go forward.” 

DMU Director of Research, Business and Innovation Helen Donnellan introduced the conference.  Afterwards she said: “We wanted to partner with the Chamber on this event because it's so important for us to bring stakeholders together. We are all custodians of our place and we all have a role to play in economic growth within our place. That economic growth is only going to come through more and more collaboration. The more we collaborate, the more we innovate.

“The opportunity to have these events, to innovate in small circles and engage more people, the better we are. Leicester and Leicestershire currently has a form of isolation around having wider discussions because there are very few organisations that have cut across the whole East Midlands and its geographical span. The Chamber is a key organisation that has the ability to bring people together and talk about things in a strategic context.”

East Midlands Chamber former President Stuart Dawkins chaired a panel discussion on the conditions needed to support economic growth in the region. Speaking afterwards he said: “It's always important to bring not just businesses but academia and the bodies that speak on their behalf like the Chamber. It's doubly or trebly important for somewhere like the East Midlands, a region that is not understood, that's underfunded by central Government and arguably underinvested in by everyone. 

“The region doesn't help itself by not having a political structure but there were very firm views in the room that our region has strengths and we need to shout about them. The only way we're going to do that is by getting people together. The Chamber provides a good catalyst for that and can be the megaphone for that.”