Business Support, Innovation and Skills

Recent changes through the government Levelling-Up white paper will further integrate the work of LEPs with local government. Going forward, GfirstLEP will work more closely with Gloucestershire County Council to deliver their agendas for Gloucestershire to include the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP). GFFP works with our partners GFirstLEP’s Agrifood and Rural Business group and GCC to support the ambitions of this Food & Farming vision.

 

The Agrifood and Rural Business group has identified the key areas of focus above and have convened two subgroups to develop their strategic aims:

 

• To be recognised as the county of best practice for the attraction, delivery and retention of  high level core and transferable skills and talent for the agri-food industry. 

• Gloucestershire’s food and farming sectors will be supported in the agricultural transition and become recognised as innovative, and the county’s business support initiatives will be looked to as best practice at a national level. 

 

Under consideration is an Agricultural Advice Hub aligned with the Esmee Fairbairn farm advice project.

 

Aligning local economic, health and environmental policies

 

GFFP has teamed up with the Countryside and Community Research Institute in a proposal to map farming and food related policies and funding across Gloucestershire’s public sector organisations and beyond.  This is the essential first step to identifying and prioritising how to tackle critical, long term social, health and environmental priorities while also deliver long-term economic benefits for Gloucestershire’s farming and food sector. It will also reveal existing, innovative initiatives which will demonstrate models for future policymaking and delivery.  GFFP is currently seeking funding for this project, and once this is secured, will be in touch with relevant partners to invite their involvement in what is believed to be the first such exercise in the country.