Our new business columnist Ian Mean, the Business West Gloucestershire Director, calls for your help with a new strategy.

Every company in this area has the opportunity to influence the future of Gloucestershire’s economy through the county’s new Local Industrial Strategy.

It will be published early next year and is being developed by GFirstLEP, Gloucestershire’s Local Enterprise Partnership.

Your ideas need to be with the LEP by May 31 and we are particularly looking for submissions from businesses with specialist industrial knowledge. The LEP’s Call for Evidence structure, based on 10 questions, will help with submitting ideas:

1.What are the main barriers to future economic growth and productivity in Gloucestershire?

2.What skills issues are impacting negatively on economic growth and productivity?

3.What infrastructure improvements are needed to support future economic growth?

4.What support is needed to help businesses to grow, innovate, become more productive and access new markets?

5.What specific economic challenges are faced by the urban and rural areas of Gloucestershire.

6.Which industrial sectors will drive future economic growth and productivity?

7.What can be done to ensure that all Gloucestershire residents benefit from future economic growth?

8.What can Gloucestershire contribute to the four Industrial Strategy Grand Challenges: artificial  intelligence & data, ageing society, clean growth and the future of mobility?

9. What opportunities are there for collaboration within the M4 corridor region and/or M5 corridor region and wider UK to improve economic growth and productivity?

10.What other economic challenges, opportunities or information do you think should be taken into consideration when preparing the Local Industrial Strategy’s emerging priorities?

Send your ideas with any attachments via email to jute.blackmon@gfirstlep.com.You can call him on 01242-715474.