Some typically asked questions!
Q Why was Swansea Bay Futures set up?
A To bring together organisations and businesses operating in the Swansea Bay area to work jointly for the benefit of the city and the region as a whole.
Q What was Swansea Bay Futures set up to achieve?
A Its overall goal is to raise the profile of the Swansea Bay Region and promote its attractiveness as a place to live, work, study, invest in and visit.
Whilst Swansea Bay Futures aims are to raise the profile of the area and improve perceptions, the underlying goal is to support and develop the local economy.
Swansea Bay Futures is working to support delivery of the existing and developing strategies for the area, including Wales Spatial Plan, Community Plan, Economic Regeneration Strategy and Tourism Strategies.
Q What sort of company is Swansea Bay Futures?
A It is a 'not for profit' company limited by guarantee
Q How is Swansea Bay Futures managed?
A It has a Board of Directors drawn from local authorities, other public secotor organisations and key individuals from local, national and international businesses operating in the region.
Q How has Swansea Bay Futures been funded?
A Funding for the company is provided by Partners and Associates who are drawn from both public and private sector.
Q How does the work of Swansea Bay Futures fit in with other organisations
A The company's job is to get Swansea Bay onto the consideration list, whether someone is looking for at work opportunities, a place to study, a great holiday destination or somewhere with the key attractions for investment. Once the interest is there, the detailed conversion work is down to individual providers and specialists
Q How does that work in practice?
A One of the roles that Swansea Bay Futures has is Strategic Marketing Planning. This involves seeking to work with all the organisations and groups within Swansea Bay that undertake promotional activity to try to ensure that a way is found for it all to fit together – linking in with the 'Bay of Life' brand.
The company cannot force organisations to work together, but seeks to encourage all those promoting the region to embrace the strong quality of life message and work behind the 'Bay of Life' brand. The hope is that organisations will be persuaded by the added value and efficiency of joint working.
Another part of Swansea Bay Futures' remit is to improve communication networks to ensure flows of information to businesses and individuals within the region, including the public, in a timely way. This benefits all the organisations within the region as it facilitates awareness of what else is planned. At the same time it gives people the information that they need to talk positively about the region and informs one of the most important promotional tools - 'word of mouth'.
Swansea Bay Futures is a resource for other organisations to draw on. It holds images, facts, statistics and other valuable information such as contacts and the latest news on developments. The company also has a large image bank and a range of promotional materials that can be used to get across the general 'quality of life' message that is important in many fields when seeking to attract people to the area.
Q What is the link with City & County of Swansea and other local authorities?
A The City and County of Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire Councils are Partners of Swansea Bay Futures, supporting its efforts in promoting the region
Q What links are there with local businesses?
A Swansea Bay Futures works in partnership with local businesses via the Associate and Partnering schemes. More information on these schemes can be found elsewhere on this site.
With the goal of improving internal communications within the city and the region, Swansea Bay Futures aims to act as a central information source, able to keep businesses informed and up to date about positive developments within the whole of the Swansea Bay area.
Q Can I get involved in helping to raise the profile of Swansea Bay even if I don't want to become a Partner or Associate?
A Everyone can do something to help improve perceptions and raise the profile of Swansea Bay. Even if you only use the free resources available on this website - such as the screensaver or e-cards - you can help. Help us by making suggestions for opportunities to spread the word about Swansea Bay or improvements to this website. Make sure you are up to date on the latest good news on Swansea Bay by registering for the monthly Bay of Life Watch newsletter... and then send it on to family, friends and colleagues... who can all then feel positive about this fantastic area - and tell lots of other people about it too!
Q How many staff does Swansea Bay Futures have?
A Swansea Bay Futures is a small, efficient and responsive company but operates with a team of just 2 full time and 1 part time members of staff.
Q How big a budget does it have?
A Swansea Bay Futures presently works with a very tight budget, far less than is available to other destination marketing organisations for cities across UK. It makes very efficient use of the limited budget available through its partnership working approach.
Please contact us if you have a question and we’ll post all FAQs on the site
