Driving our city forward through partnership
Driving our city forward through partnership
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It’s a varied job being a BID manager, especially at this time of year. We’re a small team here at Swansea BID — there are two of us full-time — so I have to get stuck into everything.
Take Halloween, for instance. The day started at 8:30 with a breakfast meeting to discuss a discount for all our BID members.
Then I was onto ballot consultation meetings, talking with the local authority regarding street cleaning, followed by work on communications to businesses about construction projects, and then a long chat with the local MP’s office regarding crime reduction.
After that, I hit the streets to help coordinate our late-night teams with South Wales Police and the local authority for the Halloween celebrations — the busiest night of the year on Wind Street.
I got home at 4am (Luckily, I have a very understanding wife).
No two days are the same, and I love it. Although I am getting a bit long in the tooth for 19-hour days, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Everything we do at Swansea BID is achieved through working in partnership. We work hand in glove with the council, businesses, and South Wales Police, to name but a few.
There are so many things we do that I’m proud of, but the one I’m most proud of is InvestSwansea.com. This project is probably one of the best examples of partnership working.
It all began several years ago, when the BID organised a meeting with the largest property developers in the city and the local authority.
We put them all in the same room and had a frank and open discussion about what they needed to invest more in, to attract more businesses to the city, and to drive our city centre forward.
The meeting highlighted the fact that, while the council had an inward investment team, they couldn’t do it all themselves. Thus, Invest in Swansea was born.
Invest in Swansea is a website that acts as a one-stop shop for anyone looking to invest in or bring a business to the city. It showcases the developments that have already taken place and highlights those still to come.
Some sections focus on our key industries and sectors, provide key information on our demographics, and outline all the support and funding available to businesses looking to move or set up here. There is more to come, too!
But that’s not the end of it. Invest in Swansea has a LinkedIn profile and uses targeted advertising to ensure the message reaches the relevant people.
Invest in Swansea also attends events across the country to raise awareness of Swansea’s unique offering, the latest being the GRO Retail event in London.
It’s a unique example of what can be achieved through partnership working. BID, the council, and developers are working together to drive our city forward, and all that hard work is starting to pay dividends.
Unfortunately, I can’t say how just yet, but a lot of commercially sensitive conversations are currently underway. Together, all the partners are greater than the sum of their parts, and I am truly excited about what the future holds for Invest in Swansea.
Has it been easy? No. Partnership working isn’t always easy, but that’s what makes it interesting. Each partner has their own challenges, but they also bring different skills and knowledge to the table, and that combined expertise is what makes the whole project a success — and something that I, personally, and I, as BID manager, am extremely proud to be a part of.
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