The cities of Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry will be covered in the tech upgrade initiative.
West Midlands Combined Authority has published a commercial notice for its £5million plan to overhaul public services. It is hoped the reforms will begin to take shape in March 2026 with a two year pipeline for full delivery.
Interested parties have until 12PM on 28th November to submit bids, which will be judged on quality (65%) and commercial viability (35%). The notice includes a number of other criteria and requirements:
‘West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is undertaking a significant digital transformation programme. This encompasses a range of activities from refining the digital operating model and implementing foundational systems improvement to ensure secure and compliant services, to introducing the skills and capabilities needed across the organisation for it to become truly digital by default.’
Last year, WMCA published an updated digital roadmap, which emphasised the importance of leveraging innovative companies based in the region. This would process would be expedited though the appointment of a Tech Commissioner. The West Midlands region – which includes the cities of Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry – is home to a £15billion technology economy.
Earlier this week, a House of Lords Committee report delivered a cutting assessment of innovation sectors in the UK. According to this assessment, failure to nurture, retain and grow domestic science and technology companies was causing the British economy to ‘bleed out’. A number of significant recommendations were made, including incentivising public sector bodies to invest in homegrown systems and solutions.
Image: Brian Lewicki / Unsplash
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