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)

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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
City Economies: America’s Office Slump Is Gutting City Budgets and Taxpayers Are Paying the Price
Source: City Economies Author: Travis Barrington Date published: 2025-09-24 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Across major U.S. cities, the long tail of the pandemic continues to reshape commercial property values and the budgets that depend...
Regional Economies: Early warning signs for the DC region’s economy amid federal downsizing
Source: Regional Economies Author: unknown Date published: 2025-09-24 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Key takeaways: Since January 2025, the DMV region has shed federal jobs at a faster rate than the nation, while private sector job growth...
Regional Economies: Karnataka launches ₹1,000-cr ‘LEAP’ programme to boost innovation
Source: Regional Economies Author: unknown Date published: 2025-09-24 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Priyank Kharge, Minister for IT & BT, speaking at the Mangalroe Technovanza at TMA Pai International Convention Centre, in Mangaluru,...
SmartCitiesWorld News: Helsinki tops the Global Destination Sustainability Index
Source: SmartCitiesWorld News Author: SmartCitiesWorld news team Date published: 2025-09-24 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] Helsinki has been crowned the most sustainable tourist destination for the second year in a row in the...
Combined Authorities (England): The West Midlands: the best kept secret in the global tech industry
Source: Combined Authorities (England) Author: Andy Hague Date published: 2025-09-24 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] In partnership with Birmingham Tech Week. In the age of acceleration where transformational change is driven by rapid...
SmartCitiesWorld News: C40 mayors showcase ambitious climate action at Climate Week NYC
Source: SmartCitiesWorld News Author: SmartCitiesWorld news team Date published: 2025-09-23 [original article can be accessed via hyperlink at the end] C40 mayors showcase ambitious climate action at Climate Week NYCNew York Climate Week is a chance for cities to come...

