New business for a traditional industry
From 1996 to 2009 the City Fringe Partnership delivered major initiatives to improve the prospects of residents and support London's small businesses.
Download CFP research on the area and key employment sectors, as well as sector investment plans and evaluation reports of its programmes.
CFP projects, project delivery partners and links to organisations at the heart of CFP activities.
Project case studies:
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New business for a traditional industry - the City Fringe printer
The CFP's Funds for Print initiative helped hundreds of print businesses to improve production processes, workforce training, environmental impact and sales.
A dedicated print sector manager visited local businesses to help them assess their own training needs as well as identifying areas where the business could expand or grow. The print sector, like the manufacturing sector overall, had been heavily affected by the loss of light manufacturing jobs from London during the 1970s and 1980s and the workforce was ageing. Encouraging new entrants into the industry as well as supporting companies to adapt to changes in technology and stiff competition from overseas was a clear remit for the CFP's investment.
Working alongside key industry institutions, like the British Printing Industries Federation and Vision in Print, the CFP identified ways to improve environmental awareness, enhance general management skills and improve opportunities for women and people from minority ethnic groups in the sector.
Through the Newspaper Education Trust, the CFP helped familiarise school college students from the City Fringe with the newspaper and publishing industry.
The CFP established the Funds for Print website, providing a free directory for City Fringe-based printers to show what services they offer and how they have made strides towards improving their environmental impact via the site's own Green Rating.
New business opportunities
In November 2006,CFP worked with The Brokerage City Link, an organisation which raises the awareness and aspirations of young people at inner city schools to the sustainable career opportunities available in the City.
The Brokerage City Link printed a number of brochures and promotional material to attract new students onto their programmes and attract City firms willing to take on work placements. The Director of The Brokerage City Link approached Funds for Print to help them find a locally-based printer for a new brochure. The Brokerage were keen to place their print jobs with local suppliers but were unsure about the level of quality they could expect and where those printers might be found.
CFP identified a number of printers who could produce the required level of quality and The Brokerage asked CFP to conduct a tender selection process. Calverts printers, based at the Oval in Hackney, were selected and took on The Brokerage as a new customer. Arthur Stitt from Calverts said: "The Funds for Print tender process was well run and presented us with a good opportunity to demonstrate our expertise. We submitted our tender and are pleased to say we won the contract. The job was important for Calverts as we were able to demonstrate what we could do and The Brokerage were guaranteed a top quality product."
