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Combined Authorities (England): Lancashire Growth Plan sets focus for £20bn investment
Source: Combined Authorities (England) Author: Charlie Valentine Date published: 2025-09-18 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] The combined authority has unveiled a prospectus highlighting its strategic focuses and key opportunities, such as...
Local Economies (UK): The UK is getting a bite-sized version of Stargate, a sweeping AI infrastructure project from OpenAI and Nvidia
Source: Local Economies (UK) Author: tspirlet@insider.com (Thibault Spirlet) Date published: 2025-09-17 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Donald Trump arrives for his second UK state visit.ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty...
International Lessons From City Deals
𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀 I was lucky to participate in a 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀 last week. Here are the key lessons from the UK and Australia on City Deals. It was a chance to reflect on the great report I wrote with Professor...
Local Economies (UK): Google sets out $6.8 bln UK investment ahead of Trump’s state visit
Source: Local Economies (UK) Author: unknown Date published: 2025-09-16 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Google said on Tuesday it would make 5 billion pounds ($6.80 billion) in new investments into Britain ahead of U.S. President Donald...
Combined Authorities (England): Regional authorities on piecing together a potential future rail plan for growth in the North of England
Source: Combined Authorities (England) Author: Rob Hakimian Date published: 2025-09-16 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] The previous government cancelled HS2 North and slashed Northern Powerhouse Rail, but the need for improved rail...
The Strategist: Australia’s trusted tech moment in the Pacific: Don’t let the 5G lesson go to waste
Source: The Strategist Author: Jason Van der Schyff Date published: 2025-09-16 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Australia should position itself as the trusted technology partner for core infrastructure across the Pacific. More than...
Local Economies (UK): Labour must rethink growth strategy to curb rise of far right, says top economist
Source: Local Economies (UK) Author: Richard Partington Senior economics correspondent Date published: 2025-09-16 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Defeating far-right populism will require Labour to radically overhaul its “arid” approach to...
Best Practice Economic Development Organisations Don’t Just Implement Programs
𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 Organisations 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙨. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦. Here’s the behaviours I've seen from 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 economic development organisations: 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻:...
The Hidden Cost of Vague Objectives
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗮 𝗛𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗩𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲 𝗢𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀. (and it will make or break your economic development initiatives) 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴. → Simply having a "mission statement" doesn't...