Collaboration is about doing the extraordinary

This was the key message from the Derby Property Summit held on 18 July.

Held by Marketing Derby, the Summit, now in its sixth year, is the largest commercial property event in the region, with around 300 senior-level delegates attending from across the UK.

Neil Rami, Chief Executive of the West Midlands Growth Board told delegates:

Cities like Derby can only benefit from collaborating with others to increase prosperity.”

Delegates heard from a range of speakers about the strength of cities working together and were encouraged to think beyond city boundaries regarding collaboration in order to increase prosperity as well as potentially unlock Government funds. They were told that to be successful, collaboration must have a shared vision focused on the future.

Attendees also learnt about the successes of ongoing collaborative projects such as the Derby-Nottingham Metro Strategy and the Midlands Engine, as well as developing oversea links for Derby and the University of Derby’s internationalisation plans.

Professor Judith Lamie Pro Vice-Chancellor of External Affairs for University of Derby said:

Collaboration means we can achieve more, in terms of putting Derby, Derbyshire and the East Midlands on the map and build its profile on a global stage.”

Chief Executive of City think-tank Centre for Cities, Andrew Carter said:

Bring people to live and work in city centres is the best way to create high-performing places.”

Talking about the public and private partnerships within a city Cllr Chris Pouter, Leader of Derby City Council also commented:

I am excited by the wide range of investments in the city. Derby must develop further, we are pro-business, pro-jobs and pro-Derby.”

Highlighting what a partnership approach can deliver delegates also took part in a choice of interactive focus sessions, delivered by Marketing Derby’s partners:

• Making the case: Build-to-Rent in the regions
• Investing in Derbyshire
• Say Hello to Proptech – How to use data to inform investment decision-making
• Unlock the secret to Derby’s hidden office spaces

John Forkin, Managing Director of Marketing Derby, said:

We know our strengths and weaknesses, we also know our opportunities. We believe in collaboration and also believe that is the best way to be competitive.”

Partnered by Smiths Partnership and supported by Faithful + Gould, Derbyshire Economic Partnership and fDi Intelligence of the Financial Times the event is part of the ‘Invest in D2N2’ project, which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Growth programme 2014-2020.

The project will bring new businesses and investment to the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership area (Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire) by raising the profile of the area as a business location of choice.