National Productivity Week is set to return in January 2025 - following the success of the inaugural event in 2023.
The campaign is organised by The Productivity Institute, a research body headquartered at Alliance Manchester Business School and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. It aims to raise awareness of, and offer solutions to, the UK's long-held productivity challenges.
Britain has a long history of poor productivity when compared to similar sized economies, at least dating back to the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.
Average annual growth in labour productivity, measured by gross value added per hour, was around 2% in the decade before the financial crisis. It has averaged less than 0.5% since.
The inaugural National Productivity Week in November 2023 saw the launch of The Productivity Agenda. This was a ten-chapter report that called on policymakers to build a comprehensive growth strategy that puts improvements in productivity across the country at its heart.
Supporting the productivity agenda
The second National Productivity Week will turn its focus to businesses supporting the productivity agenda. The week will provide businesses with insights on how to make strategic productivity gains, such as:
- Developing their people
- Making better use of emerging technologies, including AI
- Deploying finance and investment.
To achieve this, starting from 27 January 2025, the Institute will be running a week-long series of events, seminars, conferences and panel discussions across its eight Productivity Forums around the UK. This will include an event at Alliance Manchester Business School.
The events will draw on the expertise of leading academics from across the UK.
The Productivity Institute has also partnered with expert bodies such as the Institute for Government and the Institute for the Future of Work to help deliver this week-long programme.
Bart van Ark, Managing Director of The Productivity Institute and Professor of Productivity Studies at Alliance Manchester Business School, said: "The last two decades have been challenging for making productivity gains, which means it's harder to achieve economic growth and an improvement in living standards.
"This week will bring together key stakeholders from both the public and private sectors to shine a spotlight on the challenges the UK faces, but more importantly discuss and debate solutions and provide strategic advice for businesses looking to achieve their growth ambitions. That, in turn, will drive wider economic growth."
Learn more about the campaign on the National Productivity Week website