{"title":"WEST MIDLANDS COMBINED AUTHORITY AI UNIVERSE","built":"2026-11-01 08:14 UTC","last_checked":"2026-10-28","checked_range":["2026-10-28","2026-10-28"],"as_of":"2026-10-28","buckets":[{"key":"unit","label":"Units and teams","color":"#8E2433","count":1},{"key":"system","label":"AI systems in use","color":"#1F2F4F","count":0},{"key":"prog","label":"Programmes and funds","color":"#2F5A45","count":1},{"key":"skills","label":"Skills and training","color":"#6E5716","count":0},{"key":"infra","label":"Compute and data infrastructure","color":"#54476E","count":0},{"key":"gov","label":"Governance and assurance","color":"#3E4555","count":0},{"key":"part","label":"Partnerships","color":"#5C5240","count":0},{"key":"rule","label":"Rules and law","color":"#A3394B","count":1},{"key":"reg","label":"Regulator actions","color":"#3D5A80","count":0}],"divisions":[{"key":"economy-and-innovation","label":"Economy and Innovation","count":1,"depts":[{"dept":"Economy and Innovation","count":1}]},{"key":"culture-and-digital","label":"Culture and Digital","count":1,"depts":[{"dept":"Culture and Digital","count":1}]},{"key":"birmingham-city-council","label":"Birmingham City Council","count":1,"depts":[{"dept":"Birmingham City Council","count":1}]}],"colleges":[],"nodes":[{"id":"GOV-LOC-WMCA-001","name":"AI and Tech Adoption programme (\"Leading with AI, Blueprint for the West Midlands\")","type":"Programmes and funds","category":"West Midlands Combined Authority","affiliation":"Group page (one sub-page per strategic authority)","status_group":"current","status":"current — 2026-10-28","function":"Part of the West Midlands Growth Plan. In early 2025 the WMCA commissioned ANDigital to produce an AI Blueprint (strengths, barriers and recommendations on leadership, funding, governance and investment), AI Adoption Roadmaps for clusters (generic plus Aerospace & Manufacturing, Creative, Health Technologies) and five AI proposals to support funding bids. Further publications are planned. The page does not describe AI use inside the WMCA.","composition":"","parent":"West Midlands Combined Authority","parent_research":"West Midlands Combined Authority","relationships":"","notes":"","checked":"2026-10-28","website":[],"sources":["https://www.wmca.org.uk/what-we-do/economy-and-innovation/ai-and-tech-adoption/","https://www.wmca.org.uk/what-we-do/economy-and-innovation/"],"source_quotes":[{"url":"https://www.wmca.org.uk/what-we-do/economy-and-innovation/ai-and-tech-adoption/","quotes":["Targeted initiatives designed to address critical gaps in the West Midlands' AI ecosystem."],"accessed":"2026-10-28","secondary":false,"raw":""},{"url":"https://www.wmca.org.uk/what-we-do/economy-and-innovation/","quotes":["AI and Tech Adoption"],"accessed":"2026-10-28","secondary":false,"raw":""}],"bucket":"prog","depts":[{"dept":"Economy and Innovation","div":"economy-and-innovation"}],"colleges":[],"directorate":"Economy and Innovation","previous_parent":null,"parent_changed":null,"head":null,"established":"2025 (commissioned early 2025)","location":"West Midlands","money":"null (not stated)","supplier_id_guess":"biz-andigital","system":null,"rule":null,"topics":["investment and growth","health and care","copyright and creative industries"],"confidence":"single_source","confidence_raw":"single_source (one publisher)","one_source":true,"as_of":"2026-10-28","rec_table":[],"ext_links":[],"link_texts":[{"kind":"buys_from","target":"ANDigital","ids":[]},{"kind":"parent","target":"WMCA","ids":[]}],"div_label":"Economy and Innovation","degree":0,"related_ids":[]},{"id":"GOV-LOC-WMCA-002","name":"West Midlands Digital Roadmap 2021–26","type":"Rules and law","category":"West Midlands Combined Authority","affiliation":"Group page (one sub-page per strategic authority)","status_group":"current","status":"current — 2021 (period ends 2026)","function":"The WMCA's digital strategy for 2021 to 2026, on digital connectivity and inclusion. The Culture and Digital page does not mention AI or data.","composition":"","parent":"West Midlands Combined Authority","parent_research":"West Midlands Combined Authority","relationships":"","notes":"","checked":"2026-10-28","website":[],"sources":["https://www.wmca.org.uk/what-we-do/culture-and-digital/"],"source_quotes":[{"url":"https://www.wmca.org.uk/what-we-do/culture-and-digital/","quotes":["Digital connectivity is going to be vital to our economic bounce back.","West Midlands Digital Roadmap 2021-26"],"accessed":"2026-10-28","secondary":false,"raw":""}],"bucket":"rule","depts":[{"dept":"Culture and Digital","div":"culture-and-digital"}],"colleges":[],"directorate":"Culture and Digital","previous_parent":null,"parent_changed":null,"head":"Ed Cox, Lead Officer","established":"2021","location":"West Midlands","money":null,"supplier_id_guess":null,"system":null,"rule":{"kind":"strategy","stage":"published","stage_date":"2021","sponsor":"WMCA","applies_to":"West Midlands"},"topics":["compute and infrastructure","education and skills"],"confidence":"single_source","confidence_raw":"single_source","one_source":true,"as_of":"2026-10-28","rec_table":[],"ext_links":[],"link_texts":[{"kind":"parent","target":"WMCA","ids":[]}],"div_label":"Culture and Digital","degree":0,"related_ids":[]},{"id":"GOV-LOC-WMCA-003","name":"Birmingham City Council: 'Foundry' digital transformation (LGA case bank)","type":"Units and teams","category":"West Midlands Combined Authority","affiliation":"Group page (one sub-page per strategic authority)","status_group":"current","status":"current — null","function":"Birmingham set up 'the Foundry' to speed up digital transformation; listed in the LGA's AI case studies.","composition":"","parent":"Birmingham City Council (constituent)","parent_research":"Birmingham City Council (constituent)","relationships":"","notes":"Note: West Midlands Local Growth Plan priority: \"Boost the generation of innovation and its adoption and diffusion across businesses\" (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-growth-plans-england/agreed-shared-local-growth-plan-priorities). WMCA and Birmingham are PropTech Round 6 partners (GOV-LOC-025). £30m local AI partnerships: not named. The MHCLG homelessness AI hackathon (12 December 2025 blog) took place in Birmingham; councils involved not named.","checked":"2026-10-28","website":[],"sources":["https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/cyber-digital-and-technology/artificial-intelligence-hub/artificial-intelligence-case"],"source_quotes":[{"url":"https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/cyber-digital-and-technology/artificial-intelligence-hub/artificial-intelligence-case","quotes":["established the ‘Foundry’ to accelerate digital transformation"],"accessed":"2026-10-28","secondary":false,"raw":""}],"bucket":"unit","depts":[{"dept":"Birmingham City Council","div":"birmingham-city-council"}],"colleges":[],"directorate":"Birmingham City Council","previous_parent":null,"parent_changed":null,"head":null,"established":null,"location":"Birmingham","money":null,"supplier_id_guess":null,"system":null,"rule":null,"topics":["public-sector adoption","local services"],"confidence":"single_source","confidence_raw":"single_source","one_source":true,"as_of":"2026-10-28","rec_table":[],"ext_links":[],"link_texts":[{"kind":"parent","target":"Birmingham City Council","ids":[]}],"div_label":"Birmingham City Council","degree":0,"related_ids":[]}],"links":[],"placement_method":{"tree":2,"head":1}}