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 32 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
The Local and Regional Economic Development Handbook
The Practitioner’s Guide for Everyone Whose Work Shapes Places and Economies
Whether you work in planning, property, higher education, skills, government, or community development — the economic forces reshaping UK places are directly reshaping your work. And if you work in economic development itself, you’ve never had a handbook like this one.
The Local & Regional Economic Development Handbook is the comprehensive, honest, practitioner-authored guide to how local economies work, why economic development so often fails to deliver what it promises, and what those working in and around the field can do differently.
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 32 Years of Supporting UK Economic Development
LPIP Fellow, University of Birmingham
Author of "The Local and Regional Economic Development Handbook"
Latest News and Advice
𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀
Not because they weren't smart. Not because they didn't work hard. But because nobody had ever explained to them what economic development actually is. What is the mission? What is the function? What are the dilemmas you'll face when public purpose and private...
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗺𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁? 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴
I sat in meetings early in my career where decisions were being made and I didn't know the local backstory. Who had tried what before? Why certain approaches had been abandoned? What are the political sensitivities? What the community actually needed versus what...
𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆
𝘔𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝟣𝟫𝟫𝟢𝘴 I thought I was reasonably well prepared. I had read the research, understood the theories, sat in plenty of meetings with practitioners. What I wasn't prepared for was the reality of...
On Sale Today! The Local and Regional Economic Development Handbook
Today's the day. The Local and Regional Economic Development Handbook is now available in hardback via amazon. After two years of writing — and thirty-two years of practice behind it — the book is out! I've also recorded a ten-minute video walkthrough that takes you...
The Arithmetic of Business Survival
What Every Economic Development Practitioner Needs to Know About Business Finance Enterprise support is one of the most well-intentioned areas of economic development work — and one of the most frequently misdirected. We celebrate entrepreneurship, fund business...
𝗠𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁
I've put out some drafts of The Local and Regional Economic Development Handbook to a few colleagues and collaborators for their response, insights and hopefully some words of recommendation... WHAT PROFESSIONALS AND EXPERTS ARE SAYING ABOUT THIS BOOK: “The breadth...
External news
SmartCitiesWorld News: UK awards almost £50m to advanced air mobility sector
Source: SmartCitiesWorld News Author: SmartCitiesWorld news team Date published: 2026-05-06 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Government investment aims to support regulatory, digital and security foundations to bring drones and AAM, such as...
RSA Main: 2026 Regional Studies Policy Debates Section Best Paper
Source: RSA Main Author: Alex Holmes Date published: 2026-05-05 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Watch as Phil Tomlinson, Editor of the Policy Debates section of Regional Studies, presents the 2026 Regional Studies Policy Debates Best Paper...
Local Economies (UK): New threat to Labour spending plans as UK long-term borrowing costs hit highest level since 1998
Source: Local Economies (UK) Author: Heather Stewart and Alex Daniel Date published: 2026-05-05 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] The risk to Labour’s tax and spending plans from the war in Iran was underscored on Tuesday, as long-term...
Local Growth and the United Kingdom: Local growth is not a zero-sum game
Source: Local Growth and the United Kingdom Author: Dan Thorp Date published: 2026-05-05 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Innovation hubs like Oxford and Cambridge don’t operate in isolation. Nurturing their growth will benefit Liverpool,...
SmartCitiesWorld News: Birmingham boosts accessibility with personal navigation app
Source: SmartCitiesWorld News Author: SmartCitiesWorld news team Date published: 2026-05-05 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Birmingham boosts accessibility with personal navigation appLucy Edwards and Miss Molly make use of the Waymap app...
Econ Dev Show Podcast – Economic Development: Why Economic Development Fundraising Matters More Than Ever with Brian Abernathy and Clint Nessmith
Source: Econ Dev Show Podcast - Economic Development Author: unknown Date published: 2026-05-04 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Social Network Quick Links View original article at: