Overview
As the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) continues to strengthen the region’s economy through impactful business support via Business Growth West Midlands (BGWM), a crucial priority is ensuring advisors are equipped with modern, structured tools that help SMEs visualise, plan, and act confidently. One such tool GrowthCanvas, now integrated into the Oxford Innovation Advice offer, is helping to raise the standard of delivery, improve advisor-client engagement, and accelerate SME outcomes.
What is GrowthCanvas?
GrowthCanvas is an AI Powered digital platform that enables advisors and SMEs to co-create business growth plans using a visual, interactive framework. It provides a structured yet flexible approach for diagnosing challenges, mapping solutions, and developing action plans across areas such as strategy, marketing, operations, leadership, and finance.
Since being acquired by Oxford Innovation Advice, GrowthCanvas has been embedded into business support delivery programmes across multiple regions, including the BGWM initiative.
Real-World Impact in the West Midlands
Business support advisors strengthening SMEs in the West Midlands have found that incorporating GrowthCanvas into 1:1 sessions significantly enhances client engagement and clarity. SMEs often struggle to articulate their challenges and goals clearly – GrowthCanvas enables a guided conversation that surfaces these insights quickly and logically.
Results:
- Faster Diagnostic Conversations: Advisors report that what used to take 2–3 sessions can now be achieved in 1.
- Stronger SME Buy-in: Businesses feel “ownership” over the resulting action plans, as they’ve helped create them visually.
- Improved Accountability: The canvas acts as a single source of truth — tracking goals, progress, and responsibilities.
- Standardised Advisor Delivery: Consistent structure across different advisors and cohorts improves quality control.
Feedback from Advisors
“GrowthCanvas™ is an easy-to-use, time saving tool that provides effective insight into your customers business and the market they operate in.” – Business Growth Advisor, Steve Dunn
“Using the GrowthCanvas tool has allowed me to cut back on admin time as I would normally spend hours trailing through our partners websites finding resources and typing up an action plan, this is done within a few minutes and using just words i.e funding, marketing or business plan to name a few, help the GC narrow down the support the business requires and generate the information for me, to help create an action plan for the business.” – Rizwana Kausar, Business Advisor, BGWM – Birmingham & Solihull.
Strategic Value for WMCA & Beyond
For regional economic development bodies like BGWM, incorporating GrowthCanvas into advisor toolkits means:
- Scalable advisor training and delivery
- Stronger monitoring and evaluation with digital records of support journeys
- Better SME engagement and outcomes, helping meet strategic KPIs
“GrowthCanvas has transformed the way our advisors engage with businesses. It provides a clear, visual structure that helps clients quickly articulate their challenges and work collaboratively towards practical solutions. We’ve seen a noticeable uplift in the pace and quality of support delivery – businesses feel more focused and empowered, and our advisors are better equipped to drive meaningful outcomes. It’s a fantastic tool that brings real value to our regional growth agenda.”
— Lynne Avery, Delivery Manager, Business Growth West Midlands
Ready to Scale Nationally
Oxford Innovation Advice is now offering GrowthCanvas licensing to Growth Hubs and business support providers across the UK, alongside onboarding support and best-practice training from our experienced delivery teams.
This is not just a tool — it’s a catalyst for higher-quality conversations and more confident, capable SMEs.
Want to Learn More?
To explore how GrowthCanvas can strengthen your region’s support offer and improve SME outcomes, get in touch with the Oxford Innovation Advice team.
