The Marchmont Observatory conducts academic research in support of local government policy formation concerning skills, employment and education for adults through networking, the development of learning programmes and research.
[2] The early focus of the Observatory centered around the field of ICT and a collaboration with the University.
Through this, intelligence and statistics on the labour and skills markets are provided to stakeholders in the South West.
[5] The aim of the Marchmont Observatory is to improve evidence-based practice in the field of lifelong learning.
This occurs through: The Skills and Learning Intelligence Module (SLIM) provides information on the skills and learning needs of individuals and businesses in the South West for policy decisions, funding programmes, organisational and partnership strategies and individual projects.