Matt Powell Email & Phone Number

Birmingham, United Kingdom

A resource for all elements of town and city centres, Revive & Thrive unites residents and businesses together with Local Authorities to work together to address local issues and create solutions. Add to this some innovative and quality assured businesses who have goods and services designed to improve and generate opportunities for communitiesUsing the £150,000 Revive & Thrive Challenge to prove the viability of a corporate and commercial approach, Revive & Thrive is inviting all businesses who provide services to towns and cities to join the Business Group where they can enjoy recommendations and sales leads as well as promotion to a very relevant marketplaceThe funding from the Business Group enables projects such as 'Ask the Partnership'​ and the Revive & Thrive Challenge to be freely available to communities along with the Revive & Thrive Town and City Centre Community . This approach creates a virtuous cycle for all involved.In 2014, Revive & Thrive worked with business communities in Birmingham and London on developing and delivering their respective BIDs and in 2015, this work continued in Wales and Northumberland.Revive & Thrive hosts events across the country for communities and solutions providers to talk with and learn from each other, from our successful series of "talking towns" events to a major regeneration event at the Black Country Living Museum in September 2015.Using the success of Retweet For Towns Day where our rt4towns hashtag was delivered to nearly 6,000,000 accounts in 18 hours, we offer the Revive & Thrive Twitter Service and pride ourselves in helping communities across the UK to find solutions that are appropriate to their needs, challenges and budgets.

Stratford Road Area

Working with businesses in the Sparkbrook and Springfield areas of the city on proposals to deliver a Business Improvement District.The BID was successful at ballot in October 2013 with a 25% turnout and 85% Yes vote by number, 87% Yes by RV

Acocks Green

Implementation and creation of a company to run the Business Improvement District in Acocks Green following its successful "Yes" vote in October 2011.Company formation, recruitment of Board of Directors, dealing with the logistics of starting a new company, kicking off some projects outlined in the BID proposal and liaison with colleagues wtihin Birmingham City Council to ensure smooth transfer of funds, operations and responsibilities to the private sector

Stirchley And Cotteridge

• Development of partnerships and town centre management in three local centres in Birmingham (Stirchley, Cotteridge and Selly Oak)• Identification and delivery of initiatives to support and promote these local centres and working as part of a team of town centre managers across Birmingham• Successfully scoped a project for a “BIDs Academy” which took 10 Town Centre Managers through the process of developing a Business Improvement District in a local centre• Associate member of the Institute of Place Management• Chair of TCM operational group, driving forward range of city-wide areas of common concern including marketing and continuation of the project as well as sitting on Local Centres Strategic Board, influencing place management at senior level with directors of service and cabinet member for regeneration

• Leading on the delivery of projects and initiatives that increase the trading viability of Camborne and Redruth town centres and developing partnerships and stakeholder groups to support that• Acting as the first point of contact for all business-related enquiries coming in to the company and offering advice, guidance and mentoring support to those businesses that require it• Management of all project budgets, 2 support staff within the project and ensuring that all funder requirements are met• Development of medium-term strategies and action plans for the two town centres• Organisation of events that showcase the towns and that engage the business community with the regeneration agenda• On-going management of the marketing and positive PR of the towns to the business community, local residents and a Cornwall-wide audience• Engagement with the business community, providing them with the tools they need to grow, develop and sustain their businesses profitably and collaboration with town chambers of commerce to strengthen their presence in the towns and across the region• Work with town centre managers and other place management professionals across Cornwall to lobby and influence the local authority to meet the needs of the towns represented• Work with the town councils to develop their competencies and better co-ordinate existing activity in the towns• Attracting new investment into the towns from funded projects, the local authority and the private sector to improve the viability of the towns• Ensuring the delivery of an integrated approach from CPR Regeneration and other agencies that best serves the needs of the business community• Attended a variety of Association of Town Centre Management events including 2009 Summer School in Belfast

• Direct financial, strategic and operational management responsibility for the successful delivery of two major European-funded projects (Objective 2) with a value of £5 million as well as other multi-funded projects• Responsible for attracting matched funding from a variety of sources for projects to deliver capital schemes of shop-front improvements, asset development, tacking vandalism and improving trade waste facilities.• Managing partner agencies as well as project beneficiaries and the business communities of inner-city Bristol.• Relationship building with priority stakeholders, most notably project funders. Writing and communicating regular project progress reports, negotiating on project spend and regular monitoring of project performance.• Line management of six full-time members of staff, including project monitoring and support officers, a property services manager and a team of three Enterprise Managers, each of whom carry out high street management roles, working in some of Bristol’s more neglected, yet most colourful and diverse areas.• Member of BEST’s Senior Management Team, which is responsible for the strategic, financial and operational management of the company. The team is empowered to take executive decisions and reports directly to the board of directors, which is made up primarily of local businesses and entrepreneurs.• Representing BEST and its agenda externally at forums such as Bristol City Council’s Clean and Green project board.• An elected board member of both Community at Heart and the Portland and Brunswick Squares Association. This increases the ability to influence on behalf of BEST and to maintain its high profile.• Successfully raised funds from local authority for the first time in the history of BEST. As a publicly funded organisation this is essential to achieving the business objectives and goals of the company.

Charlton Park

• Approached to manage the passes office for WOMAD’s biggest annual festival, including the introduction of new procedures following lessons learned analysis of previous years’ events• Creation and management of a team of 12 staff• Liaison with WOMAD officials, festival organisers; high level security arrangements; dealing with numerous crews, guests and artists at a festival that attracts over 40,000 visitors each year

Ba (Hons), Modern Languages

Education record