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
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...
𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲
That's 15 hours of online courses, access to exclusive online ebook of the Local and Regional Economic Development Handbook (cost £59.99 on Amazon), 27 workbooks, and 1 to 1 time with the Founder, Glenn. Tonight at midnight the...
𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚?
I've been working on mapping what a genuine competency framework for local and regional economic development actually looks like — and it's both broader and deeper than most people assume.Some observations from the past 20 years:𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆...
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...
External news
Local Economies (UK): UK seeks EU deals on steel and EVs in push for closer economic ties
Source: Local Economies (UK) Author: Jennifer Rankin in Brussels Date published: 2026-04-19 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Downing Street hopes to secure deals on steel and electric cars with the EU as it seeks to upgrade the post-Brexit...
Supercool Ltd: Henry Parkes discussing child poverty at Parliamentary Work and Pensions Committee
Source: Supercool Ltd Author: Liam Evans Date published: 2026-04-17 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is an independent charity working towards a fairer, greener, and more prosperous society....
Upjohn Research: Are the Self-Employed Really Their Own Boss?: Evidence on the Degree of Autonomy and Control the Self-Employed Have Over Their Work
Source: Upjohn Research Author: Katharine G. Abraham et al. Date published: 2026-04-17 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Self-employment is commonly equated with being one’s own boss. This implies that, compared to employees, the...
Regional Economies: World Bank and IMF See Economic Slowdown Across Central Asia and the Caucasus
Source: Regional Economies Author: OilPrice.com Date published: 2026-04-17 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] The World Bank and International Monetary Fund are predicting growth rates to slow in the coming years across Central Asia and the...
SmartCitiesWorld News: Los Angeles releases latest Climate Action Plan
Source: SmartCitiesWorld News Author: SmartCitiesWorld news team Date published: 2026-04-17 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Los Angeles releases latest Climate Action PlanBass made the announcement at the Donald C Tillman Water Reclamation...
Local Growth and the United Kingdom: Towards an industrial skills strategy
Source: Local Growth and the United Kingdom Author: Charlie Jeffery Date published: 2026-04-17 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] If there is a persistent theme in the ambitions of the Labour government elected in 2024, it is growth: growth to...