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?

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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
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External news
SmartCitiesWorld News: How UK councils can scale up local energy programmes
Source: SmartCitiesWorld News Author: SmartCitiesWorld news team Date published: 2026-01-30 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] How UK councils can scale up local energy programmes As the UK shifts to a cleaner, more renewables-led energy...
Combined Authorities (England): How ‘Manchesterism’ could change the UK
Source: Combined Authorities (England) Author: theweek@futurenet.com (Justin Klawans, The Week US) Date published: 2026-01-29 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Some politicians in the United Kingdom hope a growing movement in the city of...
Bloomberg CityLab: Manchester Shows What UK Economic Revival Can Look Like
Source: Bloomberg CityLab Author: Jacob Reid Date published: 2026-01-29 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] “They just thought it was a bunch of cocky Mancunians talking bullshit,” says Jim O’Neill, the former Treasury minister and Goldman...
Combined Authorities (England): National Wealth Fund strategic plan to catalyse £100bn into infrastructure and supply chain
Source: Combined Authorities (England) Author: Thomas Johnson Date published: 2026-01-28 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] The UK’s National Wealth Fund (NWF) has unveiled a five‑year strategic plan that promises to deploy the remainder of...
Combined Authorities (England): North East business uses grant to help employees adapt to new tech
Source: Combined Authorities (England) Author: gengelbrecht@newsquest.co.uk | Gavin Engelbrecht Date published: 2026-01-28 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] The Made Smarter Adoption North East programme, which helps small and medium-sized...
SmartCitiesWorld News: Singapore launches governance framework for agentic AI
Source: SmartCitiesWorld News Author: SmartCitiesWorld news team Date published: 2026-01-28 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] The Model AI Governance Framework for Agentic AI provides guidance on how to deploy agents responsibly, recommending...



