Posts & articles
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
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ช๐ค ๐๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ! ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐บ๐ด๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฑ๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ง-๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ! And the first review has landed from a world-renowned professor of innovation: โ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ...
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...
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ’๐ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฒ๐: ๐ฃ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป’๐ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐
Political pronouncements don't shift markets unless they are backed by tangible co-investment, legislation, incentives, changes to tax codes and/or demand stimulus This is the first article in a regular weekly series, where I reflect on a common issue that I see a lot...
Free Executive Track Course in February: Poverty, Inclusion and Inequality
We've just made the Executive Track course module on poverty, inclusion and inequalities free on ourCPD site - which can be accessed by joining with the free membership ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐ก๐ค๐ง๐๐ง tier at https://www.economicdevelopment.world/joinThis 1 h course includes a workbook to...
Best Practice Supporting Industries and Clusters
The book I'm launching next month - ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ช๐ค ๐๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ - is packed with practical advice and case studies. Here's a sample of what's in the book regarding industrial clusters...The UK has oscillated between active industrial strategy...
๐๐ป๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ โ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒโ๐ ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐ฝ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ณ๐๐น ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ๐
The evidence is clear: successful industrial clusters generate genuine competitive advantages. Firms in Oxfordshireโs Motorsport Valley are 6x more productive than isolated competitors. Research Triangle Park transformed North Carolina from textile dependence into a ยฃ17 billion innovation economy. Denmarkโs professionalised clusters consistently outperform regions without them. Yet cluster initiatives can sometimes fail to deliver. Why? [โฆ]
๐๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ
Local leaders often say they canโt afford to invest in economic development. ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ด๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ถ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ญ โ ๐ช๐ตโ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด. ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ ๐ฅ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ธโ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น: ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐. ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ฅ ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด. Consider what [โฆ]
๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ณ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ป
After reviewing dozens of local skills plans, I see the same fundamental misunderstandings repeated. Here's what actually matters: ๐ญ. ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ An aerospace manufacturer needs accountants, IT staff, administrators, and delivery drivers - not just...
๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ “๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐” ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐
Most economic developers treat net zero as a compliance exercise. They shouldn't. Here's what the evidence actually shows: Green industries in the UK already contribute ยฃ71 billion in GVA. They support 840,000 jobs at an average wage of ยฃ42,600 (versus ยฃ33,400...
Free Resources and Workbooks for Economic Developers
17-lesson, 2.5 hour foundation course for local and regional economic development The 17 lessons are structured as follows: 1. Rationale for Local and Regional Economic Development2. Overview of themes and functions3. Understanding economics and economic trends4....
๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ด๐ผ๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐
๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ, ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ป: ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ด๐ผ๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ Here's something to try in 2006! Move beyond career wishes, i.e. "Get more experience." "Improve my skills." "Build my network." ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ'๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ...