About Furness Economic Development Forum

Welcome to Furness Economic Development  Forum (FEDF).

The FEDF Board has a Delivery Plan 2018-2023 which sets out the priorities for growth in Barrow and Furness Parliamentary Constituency Area. The plan can be read here. FEDF’s flagship schemes are designed to

• strengthen supply chains; 
• transform skills;
• invest in infrastructure;
• improve quality of life;

Carl Bevan is the Chairman of FEDF, he is also Associate British Ports Northwest of England Ports Manager. FEDF Board Members are drawn from 10 organisations:

BAE SYSTEMS MARITIME SUBMARINES	GSK ULVERSTON
ASSOCIATED BRITISH PORTS BARROW,	CUMBRIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
THE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR BARROW AND FURNESS	SOUTH LAKELAND DISTRICT COUNCIL
CUMBRIA COUNTY COUNCIL,	FURNESS COLLEGE
BARROW BOROUGH COUNCIL	BARROW BID

FEDF Provides the secretariat for the Board.

FEDF’ Delivery Support Group includes officers of FEDF, Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council, Furness College,BAESYSTEMS, South Lakeland District Council with help from Cumbria Council,

FEDF works closely with Cumbria LEP, private sector partners, Northern Powerhouse, Transport for the North, trade unions and organisations such as;

• Cumbria LEP;
• Cumbria Growth Hub;
• Cumbria Chamber of Commerce;
• Federation of Small Businesses;
• University of Lancaster, University of Cumbria also UCLAN;
• trade unions principally UNITE and GMB;
• Cumbria Growth Hub’s  Adrian Luckham. assists; 
• Growth Deal Funding is supporting other measures that businesses can call on to add value to this group of assistance measures.

The Coastal Communities Fund via direct grant from MHCLG to Barrow Borough Council has been a foundation of past activity. Through the Fund businesses and individuals are offered support through work-streams which include:

CONTRACT PIPELINES AWARENESS RAISING

FEDF supply chain assistance is open to all companies. it delivers bespoke information without the need for any special registration.We help you understand minimum requirements for pre-qualification to tender for work.

We enable help companies to identify upcoming pipelines of contracts then prepare to access them, Major Projects Briefings called “opening doors to major projects” facilitate access to these.

The briefings cover packages of work  underway and planned for the area.This covers new life sciences, defence, subsea, electronics, energy, road, power, transport and rail developments and more,

FEDF’s  introduces you to planned and current investments in SW Cumbria across a broad spectrum of new investment activity ranging from supplier potential associated with operations and maintenance of energy generation facilities through o the delivery of nuclear powered submarines and sub contract engineering.

We facilitate access to information on public sector schools, health care and business park development that offer supplier opportunities.

The aim is to inform company owners, procurement and marketing teams of the huge amount of new investment and to facilitate access to key contacts within the organisations proposing developments, their main contractors or suppliers.

We can also help companies access local and national supplier opportunities on projects such as Hinkley C power station, HS2 Rail and other schemes in either the private sector, local authority, Utilities, NHS capital programmes or the National Infrastructure Programme. This information is offered on a 1-to-1 basis,through targeted events, web or app services.

INTENSIVE ONE-TO-ONE SUPPORT

To help firms with assistance which can include for example identification of who to contact in large companies, understanding and developing accreditation or pre-qualification registrations, access to finance grants, finding sites for suppliers or skills or developing systems and processes to become fit to bid for and win contracts. Expert advisers can be provided to help businesses develop responses to contracts’ requirements and understand accreditation needs, pre-qualification requirements and put in place processes, procedures, capacity and capability to then go on to bid for contracts. Where required training and advice can be offered through the scheme to address these factors;

CAPABILITIES GUIDE DEVELOPMENT

Informs large companies about capacity and capabilities in the coastal area’s business base and enable sme sized companies to explore collaborative ventures by understanding what is on offer in other businesses. This information is available on a 1-to-1 basis.

GAP ANALYSIS OF SUPPLY CHAIN CAPABILITY

Identifies opportunities for companies to exploit gaps with new market offerings. It also helps to attract inward investment whereby incoming firms can work with local suppliers or foster growth of new businesses locally which seek to fill identified gaps.

 THE FURNESS ENERGY FORUM, a SUPPLIER GROUP 

FEDF acts as lead for bringing together the Furness Energy Forum  a gathering of companies which seeks to share  ways of identifying new supplier potential, ways of overcoming supply chain barriers, and ways to develop innovative supply chain offers.Its networking events give access to best practice. 

BROKERING LINKS BETWEEN SUPPLIERS AND BUYERS

So that meaningful relationships can be forged and businesses can be encouraged to develop supply chain partnerships. Also to enable project contract needs and innovation requirements to be better understood. We will provide this help on a 1-to-1 basis or through events seminars, workshops or small groups. Specific meet the specifier or meet the buyer opportunities also emerge from this work-stream;

DELIVERY OF SUPPLY CHAIN GROWTH BEST PRACTICE ASSISTANCE

Through conferences, workshops, seminars to help build capacity, these to include; – bespoke workshops and events to de-mystify the tender process and brief firms on pre qualifying requirements; – supplier to supplier networking and help to build collaborative ventures were SMEs can pool their resources; – facilitating access to finance such as Cumbria Chamber of Commerce’s Growth Hub, Cumbria Growth Fund grants, innovation, export and other help including University expertise;

CAREER PATH AND NEW JOBS AWARENESS RAISING

Alerting residents to all of the great career and job opportunities as they emerge from  new  developments is part of the task we have enabling individuals to take up new career paths, jobs or apprenticeships.

FEDF works with employers, DWP, through its education Employment and Skills Delivery Group led by Mark Nicholson of Furness College to  facilitate provision of information on skills demand,supply and access to resources of Furness College, Universities, private sector providers and bodies such as National Skills Academy Nuclear, Choose South Cumbria @southcumbria.

APPRENTICESHIP BURSARIES – SUBSIDIES

FEDF has delivered recent programmes offering Discretionary bursaries  to assist sme owners  to take on new apprentices that can then become the supply chain workforce of the future. The scheme is currently closed to new applications.

FEDF has also worked alongside the Ogden Trust to offer bursaries for summer interns to experience work placements where they can use their science and physics skills.