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
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...
𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻
After reviewing dozens of local skills plans, I see the same fundamental misunderstandings repeated. Here's what actually matters: 𝟭. 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 An aerospace manufacturer needs accountants, IT staff, administrators, and delivery drivers - not just...
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 “𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆” 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝘆
Most economic developers treat net zero as a compliance exercise. They shouldn't. Here's what the evidence actually shows: Green industries in the UK already contribute £71 billion in GVA. They support 840,000 jobs at an average wage of £42,600 (versus £33,400...
Free Resources and Workbooks for Economic Developers
17-lesson, 2.5 hour foundation course for local and regional economic development The 17 lessons are structured as follows: 1. Rationale for Local and Regional Economic Development2. Overview of themes and functions3. Understanding economics and economic trends4....
External news
Econ Dev Show Podcast – Economic Development: Economic Development 209: Building a Cross-Border Economic Engine with Heath Vescovi-Chiordi
Source: Econ Dev Show Podcast - Economic Development Author: unknown Date published: 2026-02-16 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Social Network Quick Links View original article at:
Regional Economies: India has highest level of AI skill penetration, adopted policy of avoiding over-regulation: Jitin Prasada
Source: Regional Economies Author: unknown Date published: 2026-02-16 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] New Delhi, Feb 16 (PTI) India has the highest level of artificial intelligence (AI) skill penetration and has adopted a policy approach of...
Combined Authorities (England): Could Manchester be a model for the UK to kickstart growth?
Source: Combined Authorities (England) Author: unknown Date published: 2026-02-15 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Manchester is known for its music scene [Getty Images] There is a buzz around Manchester that is difficult to truly understand...
Local Growth and the United Kingdom: Scotland’s councils face £42m cut after UK Government changes Brexit cash rules
Source: Local Growth and the United Kingdom Author: andrew.learmonth@newsquest.co.uk | Andrew Learmonth Date published: 2026-02-14 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] However, while around 70% of the UKSPF in Scotland could be spent on resource...
Regional Economies: Europe surges, US stumbles, China cools: EV sales dip in 2026
Source: Regional Economies Author: Michelle Lewis Date published: 2026-02-13 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] The new MG4 EV Urban (left) and 2026 MG4 EV (Source: MG Motor) 1.2 million EVs were sold globally in January – but the market...
Local Economies (UK): Global stadium boom accelerates shift to residency-style tours
Source: Local Economies (UK) Author: Hanna Ellington Date published: 2026-02-13 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] As residency-style tours reshape the live landscape, with millions of fans travelling for destination-based runs like Harry...