CPD, training and skills in Local and Regional Economic Development
Expert knowledge, proven frameworks, and practical tools for local authority officers, consultants, and practitioners delivering regional growth strategies, innovation programmes, and place-based policy – built from 31 years of working in the field
- 15 hours of on-demand courses covering the 8 disciplines of local and regional economic development
- Practical workbooks (e.g. FDI from scratch; develop a great project idea)
- Community, chatrooms, discussion
- Mentoring and coaching support
- Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
- Skills and training in local and regional economic development
Endorsements
“A big shout out to Glenn Athey who has taken his many years in economic development consultancy and created Economic Development World (www.economicdevelopment.world), the UK’s first online community for local and regional economic development that provides CPD, on-demand lean learning, a community of peers and workbooks. Built on three pillars of accelerated learning, shared knowledge and community support, it is a fabulous resource for our industry.
“From what I have seen already, this has the potential to create a step change in how the UK delivers economic development, putting the skills and development of practitioners, whether newbies or old hands, front and centre. Get yourselves signed up, get involved and support this great initiative.”
Adam Breeze, Breeze Strategy
“2026 has to be the year that economic development professionals take the important steps, from policy comment, strategic views, to decisive practictioner application and delivery. Critical is to have an accessible platform for CPD, training, and a focused community to ask questions and discuss best practice and aspects of local and regional economic development. I am delighted that an established and respected colleague Glenn Athey has founded and created this resource on www.economicdevelopment.world .”
Mark Pearson, Head of Economic Development, Reading's Economy & Destination Agency (REDA)
Want Local and Regional Economic Development Strategies that Actually Get Implemented?
Want to Persuade Political Leaders to Invest in Economic Development?
Struggling to Make the Case for Innovation Funding?
Founded by Glenn Athey, an Economic Development Professional and Advisor With 31 Years of Supporting UK Economic Development
LPIP Fellow, University of Birmingham
Author of "The Local and Regional Economic Development Handbook"
Latest News and Advice
EDW Founder Membership Open Until 20 April 2026
After 32 years working in economic development, I've noticed something. There's no real home for people doing this work in the UK. No professional community where practitioners can share what's actually working, get honest answers to difficult questions, or access...
What the Experts Are Saying About The Local And Regional Economic Development Handbook
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨! 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘧-𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥! And the first review has landed from a world-renowned professor of innovation: “𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸...
What do 100+ Labour Market Research and Policy Reports Tell Us About AI and Occupational Change?
The Impact of AI on Occupations, Roles and Skills I've read 140 UK labour market research and policy documents over the past four months. Here's a precis of what they are saying about AI and occupational change. The Scale and Pace of Change Across all the documents...
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄: 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀
Political pronouncements don't shift markets unless they are backed by tangible co-investment, legislation, incentives, changes to tax codes and/or demand stimulus This is the first article in a regular weekly series, where I reflect on a common issue that I see a lot...
Free Executive Track Course in February: Poverty, Inclusion and Inequality
We've just made the Executive Track course module on poverty, inclusion and inequalities free on ourCPD site - which can be accessed by joining with the free membership 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙧 tier at https://www.economicdevelopment.world/joinThis 1 h course includes a workbook to...
Best Practice Supporting Industries and Clusters
The book I'm launching next month - 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 - is packed with practical advice and case studies. Here's a sample of what's in the book regarding industrial clusters...The UK has oscillated between active industrial strategy...
External news
Combined Authorities (England): The People’s Network: South Yorkshire Takes Back Control of Transport
Source: Combined Authorities (England) Author: Jane Thomas Date published: 2026-03-23 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Like a phoenix rising the people of former “socialist republic of South Yorkshire” now have their own transport network I...
Regional Economies: The Iran oil crisis is the worst energy shock ever recorded. World leaders aren’t ready, says IEA chief
Source: Regional Economies Author: Jake Angelo Date published: 2026-03-23 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] The oil crises of the 1970s prompted a range of policy changes that still exist today. For one, we invented the high occupancy vehicle...
Combined Authorities (England): How the Midlands Defence and Security Industry Council is set to boost jobs and regional growth
Source: Combined Authorities (England) Author: unknown Date published: 2026-03-23 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] As the Midlands continues to strengthen its role in the UK’s defence future, we reflect on the Midlands Defence and Security...
Econ Dev Show Podcast – Economic Development: How a Town of 30,000 Competes (and Wins) in Economic Development with Tim Hanigan
Source: Econ Dev Show Podcast - Economic Development Author: unknown Date published: 2026-03-23 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Social Network Quick Links View original article at:
Combined Authorities (England): ‘The new deal for young people goes to the heart of Labour’s mission’
Source: Combined Authorities (England) Author: Andrew Pakes MP Date published: 2026-03-17 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Peterborough helped to build modern Britain through our bricks, engineering and railways. This industrial heritage...
Regional Economies: ‘Very damaging’: how the Iran war is hitting energy-intensive industries
Source: Regional Economies Author: Alex Daniel and Lisa O’Carroll Date published: 2026-03-17 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] In its 160-year history, Somers Forge’s furnaces in the Black Country have cast steel columns for the Bank of...