Bristol & Bath Chinese Ecosystem Analysis

Mapping the Bristol & Bath region to identify challenges, opportunities and actions

Helping the West of England and China business relationship flourish to grow the local economy and enable local and international collaboration

Working with the region.

  • Working with key stakeholders in the region, we have conducted an analysis of businesses and organisations who are linked to/operating in or with China including business, investment and academia within the Bristol & Bath region.

  • The result is a freely available, published report which provides clear actionable recommendations as to how the region and Bristol & West of England China Bureau can look to develop new, and build upon existing, opportunities.

Sponsors

Supporters

Forging business, social and cultural links for the South West of England and China

It is acknowledged that a detailed analysis of the Chinese businesses and ecosystem in Bristol & Bath would benefit the economic development of the region, as well as providing benefits for local organisations operating in the region.

  • Although it is recognised that the Chinese community including students, entrepreneurs and investors is quite significant in the region, the extent of and knowledge of activity is not well documented. Supply versus demand for goods, products and services is not known. Impact of business activity and related investment on employment is not understood.

  • Many thousands of Chinese students attend local universities although levels of their post graduate retention in the local economy and involvement in entrepreneurship and employment is unknown. The impact of COVID-19 and visa changes needs to be understood.

  • Innovation is now even more critical for economic recovery and growth. It needs to be understood how the innovation of the region in partnership with China can be built upon through existing links, new developmental links and innovation that is happening through changing practices and in regional incubators/labs.

  • Providing this knowledge should generate opportunities for engagement on many levels both regionally and with China itself . The work will be published and be freely available to all later this year.

Research and report objectives.

Document

Provide a reference base of the partnerships, import & export activity, educational links and so on, of regional companies’
engagement with China (including specific regions).

Expand

Highlight the appetite for expanding engagement with China and the appetite within regional organisations for developing partnerships with the Chinese business community.

Develop

Provide clear recommendations as to how the region can collectively develop and capitalise on these areas particularly with competitive advantage in mind.

Demonstrate

Show the strength of key “anchor” companies and their impact on the chain of company development.

 

Advise

Provide recommendations on how the Chinese business community in the Bristol & Bath region can collaborate locally (including smaller traditional firms)

Promote

Provide marketing messages which can help promote Bristol & Bath as a centre of Chinese commercial activity and opportunity.

Grow

Raise the profile of the China Bureau’s operations as an important component and provide new connections and opportunities to collaborate for all.

Support

Identify barriers to collaboration with China and establish a network to help companies succeed by connecting, supporting and informing.

The research process.

  • Develop a detailed mapping of the organisations capturing key information including:

    • Categories (which segment of the “ecosystem” do they belong to?).

    • Interdependencies (how do the organisations fit with each other?) .

    • Key people (who are the key people and what roles do they perform).

    • Investment into the region both currently and that planned/required.

    Plus an open online survey with a supplemental question set to generate insightful data.

  • Through individual, one to one interviews gain deep insight including:

    • Validation of conclusions developed from the earlier stages

    • Key perspectives on the opportunities for growth and competitive advantage

    • Market opportunities and threats

    • Key objectives and priorities for individual organisations, and development of an initial recommendation for the region’s priorities

    • Consulting the private, public and education sectors.

  • The output will be a report combining all the key findings from the previous stages.

    Infographics and other visuals will be used throughout the report ensuring the output is engaging and suitable for social media and other promotional activity.

    The report will provide clear actionable recommendations for the region and organisations involved. It will be freely available for all.

    We shall present the findings at a launch event following publication.