The Mag 7 is a taskforce of leaders from the high growth sectors in Norfolk & Suffolk who can speak to and for their community & help to identify key opportunities for rapid change and economic recovery.
Over the last 9 months we have been working across the seven highest growth sectors in our region:
To identify both a set of specific proposals for how to support a stronger recovery in these areas, and a Vision for how these sectors together could shape and support a genuine New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership for more sustainable growth.
As entrepreneurs busy running their own businesses, the Mag 7 can all see real growth potential in their sectors, but they can also see something else: how a joined/up Vision for a more sustainable local economy could accelerate the leadership of this area in the green growth required to reach Net Zero.
Our shared belief is that there is a real opportunity to seize and shape a genuinely different post-Covid model of growth which is both more productive, competitive AND more sustainable, and that is in line with the LEP recovery plan and the Government’s agenda for the ‘Roadmap to Net Zero’.
Key Considerations
The Mag 7 are strongly and unanimously committed to making sustainable local growth a reality through building a grassroots network of local entrepreneurial leadership and engagement so that Net Zero goes from being a “Government Target in London” to a local lived reality with tangible local benefits. That requires ongoing interaction and engagement - digitally and face to face - as well as high impact one-off events.
To make “sustainable growth” and Net Zero real, inspiring and challenging goals which mean something tangible to local people, the Mag 7 believe it is KEY to set out at the beginning some properly evidenced Data and Heatmaps showing the scale of the local Net Zero challenge i.e:
How the New Anglia LEP ranks on Net Carbon Emissions and Sustainability
What the Best and Worst practices are that we need to build our plan around
Simple Comparative metrics which allow different LA areas, Towns, Parishes and Businesses to actually track, compare and be incentivised by progress and success
The Mag 7 sees digitalisation as KEY to this whole Vision and Plan: without reliable digital connectivity and data we haven’t a chance of delivering success: from mapping emissions to introducing on-demand buses to car share to smart energy to eco-tourism to digital health and decentralised growth - digitalisation is a fundamental necessity.
I am proud to work with the NEF team to support this truly wonderful group of local, innovative entrepreneurs.
Members of the Mag 7 include:
Rosie Begg
Ali Clabburn
Juliana Meyer
Genevieve Christie
Louise Jopling
Robert Ashton
Rob Field
