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
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...
What’s the Best Cache Plugin for WordPress? 5 Options Compared for 2025
Your site is slow. People leave. Google shrugs. You tweak your theme, compress your images, scream into the void. Still slow… The problem might be your cache plugin, or rather the cache plugin you're not using yet.
Coming soon… a day in the life of an economic development consultant
I'll soon be starting a new semi-daily blog highlighting my work, my challenges, mistakes, caffeine habit and frustrations with technology... and don't get me started on public procurement exercises!!! trying to add a bit of humour, with insight and reflection to...
How to Get Your Public Funding Approved for Local Economic development
Getting Your Local Economic Development Funding Approved can be a Challenge if You have no or Little Experience in This! Based on our 𝘌𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴, here are key tips for success: 1️⃣ 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: Know your organization's...
Master The 7 Executive Tasks in Local Economic Development
𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝟳 𝙀𝙭𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙏𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙨 𝙞𝙣 Local 𝙀𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝘿𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩: 1 - Set clear objectives for your local economy, programme, service or agency 2 - Develop winning ideas for your local economy 3 - Write a successful board or committee paper for your local economy service...
External news
Local Growth and the United Kingdom: Cambridge and Manchester Universities meet for innovation partnership
Source: Local Growth and the United Kingdom Author: Rhea Goel Date published: 2026-02-26 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] The partnership intends to combine the research strengths of the two institutions, alongside their respective...
International Economic Development Council: Economic Developer Role Shifting from Deal-Making to Systems Stewardship
Source: International Economic Development Council Author: unknown Date published: 2026-02-26 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] You're in a meeting about childcare. Not business attraction, not incentives, not site selection. Childcare. Three...
Regional Economies: U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Trump tariffs a welcome development for Canadian businesses
Source: Regional Economies Author: Mario Toneguzzi Date published: 2026-02-20 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] A U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Friday striking down many of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, including some of those levied...
Local Economies (UK): Wales becomes UK launchpad for next generation autonomous technology
Source: Local Economies (UK) Author: Gary Mortimer Date published: 2026-02-20 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Welsh communities will benefit from high-skilled roles as a landmark £50 million Defence Growth Deal boosts autonomous technology...
Supercool Ltd: The full-speed economy: Does running a hotter economy benefit workers?
Source: Supercool Ltd Author: Abi Hynes Date published: 2026-02-20 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Managing the macroeconomy to achieve strong growth and low inflation is a careful balancing act. Overly restrictive macroeconomic policy –...
Local Economies (UK): 13,000 apprenticeship opportunities created by plan to transform school buildings
Source: Local Economies (UK) Author: Vicky Maggiani Date published: 2026-02-19 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] The UK government has unveiled a comprehensive initiative to equip the next generation of construction workers with essential...