4. Developing a Local Economic Assessment Review and Revision Vision, Scope and Purpose Initial Evidence Collation Final Assessment Testing and Refinement Draft Assessment Commission Additional Evidence Gap Analysis
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8. Devon’s Approach Devon Economic Assessment Core Data Transport Sector Analysis Future Growth Economic Inclusion and Well-being Worklessness and Skills Devon Low Carbon Economy State of Devon Economy Functional Economic Areas Stakeholder Engagement
When Lorna asked for volunteers to present in this session – I was a little nervous about putting ourselves forward as a shining example of good practice. However – a key point that was made at the LGA conference on Local Economic Assessments a couple of weeks ago was that this is the first time we are doing this and it should be treated essentially as a dry run for a much fuller assessment to be carried out when census data becomes available in 2013. So with that in mind I’d like to spend a few minutes talking through our approach and then happy to take questions and points you’d like to make afterwards.
Useful to start by reminding ourselves why we are doing a Local Economic Assessment – its easy to get to a point where you can’t see the wood for the trees. 1 – Govt duty 2 – It is a right thing to do – shared evidence base we can all agree on to inform decision and underpin strategies 3 - Guidance suggest it will inform next iterations of …. 4 – Evidence will inform the new Regional Strategy.
Having said that – the Duty will require certain things On top tier and unitary authorities In 2 tier areas CC duty to consult Districts Corresponding duty on Districts to cooperate Consult named partners Take account of guidance
Helpful guidance from IDeA on how to develop a Local Economic Assessment.
At Devon County Council – we were very clear from the start that we wanted an economic assessment that not only ticked all the boxes in terms of complying with legislation and guidance, but also something that worked for us too. A USP of Devon’s Assessment will be an assessment of the current carbon impact of Devon’s economy and a roadmap showing how we can move to a Low Carbon Economy within a realistic timeframe
Having decided on the vision for our assessment, CLG published guidance which set out the themes that each assessment should address Bus and Ent Structure of local economy – in partic identifying sectoral structure with comparative strengths and significance of particular businesses. The assessment should reach a judgement about the overall competitiveness of an area Examine business start ups, trends, proportion of SME’s importance of knowledge intensive industries as well as links to HEIs in the area Importantly gauge the views of local businesses on what they see as constraints to investment and growth. People and Communities Labour market issues, employment, worklessness skills and skills gaps Also an examination of areas of deprivation and identify the underlying economic and social barriers to economic participation Sustainable economic growth Look at how the local economy needs to adapt to meet commitments to protecting the environment. This theme recommends looking at the challenges and opportunities presented by the move to a low carbon economy. Finally also suggests local authorities should as far as they can assess whether there is sufficient housing and infrastructure to support economic growth and inclusion.
Stakeholder engagement and involvement will be a key strand running through the project. Includes internal stakeholders to ensure LEA is embedded within the authority – also considering Audit Commission has stated it will be looking at the LEA as part of the evidence when conducting the CAA. In particular they will be looking to ensure the economic evidence base has been taken into account. As such there are a range of strategies and plans that may need to consider the LEA. 14-19 strategies Child poverty strategies LDFs, SCS, LAA and potentially many more. Externally we will be looking to set up mechanisms to involve our District colleagues throughout the process as well as consulting businesses and other key stakeholders. Elsewhere we are commisioning a number of internal and external projects to contribute to the assessment Functional economic analysis will be important – crucial that this is done by cooperating with our neighbours The development of a core evidence base is work we have already started and this evidence will underpin many of the other strands.
Wanted to share this tree with you. As part of my training to equip me with the skills for project managing the LEA – I was sent on a Prince 2 training course. An aspect I found particularly useful is the Prince 2 focus on products. Start with the end product in mind and drill down. Using this approach we have drilled down with each of the themes so we understand what needs to be produced in each.
Clash of cultures – speak a diff language GVA and sectors vs brownfield sites and greenfield sites Honest about growth – won’t return to 2007 emp levels until 2014 -16 – some areas even longer. LEA may conflict with RSS. Understand our spatial and economic assets and make the most of them How are our towns going to earn a living Number of other assessments going on at the same time LEA and PPS4 and LTP3, Developing a sustainable transport Strategy – work for DfT, as well as the child poverty strategy, recs from Houghton Review etc etc etc. Ensuring these projects are all aligned and can feed into each other is proving to be a real challenge in terms of scheduling and timetabling. FEA proving to be a particularly crucial issue amongst our colleagues in District Authorities and may be something that could bring us into conflict.