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This article marks the commencement of a five-part exploration into the crucial role of industrial policy in fostering local and regional economic development. The breadth and depth of this subject necessitate a series of discussions, and I trust your engagement, dear...

Strategy and policy work matters - if done well, the benefits can last for years, and establish your organisation or endeavour as a serious, creative endeavour which is attractive to major stakeholders Sometimes the strategy development work you commission as local...

February's high rate of GDP growth surprises many The UK economy surpassed analyst's expectations with its 0.5% growth in February. Growth was widespread across services and manufacturing, and marked the fastest monthly pace since March 2024. The GDP figures predate...

From the FT today: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙆 𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙫𝙪𝙡𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣. Post-financial crisis and pandemic struggles have only been worsened by unpredictable U.S. policies.𝗨𝗞 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲𝗱. Between 2007 and 2024, UK...

𝙀𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩The economic cycle can affect entrepreneurship rates. The 2022 GEM survey for the UK found that the market uncertainty caused by macroeconomic policy mistakes of the...

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙖 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙨.I've closely monitored three major recessions in my career now. The main things to remember are:- Don't rely on official statistics to define and inform the economic picure so much as they lag behind current event by quite...

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲- Reputation- Organisational performance- Value for money- Programme/project performance- Contract management- Risk appraisal- Financial due diligence, approval and management- Audit and external scrutiny𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣...

There's a scenario I get involved in every so often - "Glenn, can you evaluate this project for us?"... sometimes the scenario plays out as:-💰There's been some financial commitment (say, £10m) - to "do something about business growth"🌫️There was a lack of clear...

𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 (𝗟𝗦𝗜𝗣𝘀), launched in January 2021, empowered businesses in England, especially SMEs, to have a strong voice in local skills planning as they were led by local Chambers of Commerce. The LSIPs aimed to ensure skills provision is responsive...

It was an often used phrase when I was growing up in the North East of England, and in this short article I apply it to local economic development!Unfortunately it seems the new Labour Government's economic growth programme shows little prospect of significantly...

𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨? 𝘼𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚. 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚.One thing I encounter quite often is that stakeholders and people who work in economic development, employment and skills fields get concerned that they don't understand the nuances of the...

𝙊𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨, 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 "𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙨".Despite excellent research, often accessible, informing public policy, not enough people know about it. The methodology could be...