REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES (RDAs)

The Regional Development Agencies are helping to create prosperity across England. They are strategic leaders, bringing together views of the people who live and work in each region, and combining these with business and economic insights to make the most of the opportunities globalisation brings.

Each RDA is working with partners to build on their region’s natural assets, develop the knowledge-based economy, revitalise places and meet the needs of regional businesses.

ADVANTAGE WEST MIDLANDS (AWM)

Advantage West Midlands leads economic development by:

• developing regional policy on key priorities for the West Midlands’ economy
• bringing partners from all sectors together and encourages them to deliver transformational change
• financially supporting a wide range of projects, from large scale land and property developments
• providing funding for independent bodies like Regional Action West Midlands – the regional voice for the voluntary and community sector and
• promoting awareness of regional opportunities and influencing the policies of central government to the benefit of the West Midlands region

EAST OF ENGLAND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (EEDA)

The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is the driving force behind sustainable economic growth and regeneration in the East of England. EEDA's task is to improve the region's economic performance and ensure the East of England remains one of the UK's top performing regions.

EEDA sets and shapes economic development in the East of England, influences others to bring resources together to find innovative ways to solve challenging economic issues and invests in imaginative projects that will have a significant impact on economic development in the East of England.

EAST MIDLANDS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (EMDA)

East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA) was set up to bring a regional focus to economic development. EMDA’s primary goal is to increase the economic growth of the region while reducing disparities between the East Midlands and other English regions.

EMDA’s key role is to be the strategic driver of sustainable economic development, working in partnership with public, private and voluntary organisations to deliver the goals of the Regional Economic Strategy, which is produced on behalf of the region.

LONDON DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (LDA)

The LDA is the Mayor's agency responsible for driving London's sustainable economic growth and to ensure that the city remains a global success story. To achieve this, The LDA works with partners from industry, and the public and voluntary sectors in order to drive forward equality, health and sustainability.

London is a major business destination with a strong employment record in a variety of specialist sectors. The LDA aims to develop the city so that it remains an attractive prospect for businesses and encourages everyone to benefit from its economic prosperity. We support a range of initiatives to encourage enterprise, improve workforce skills and maximise productivity and innovation.

NORTHWEST REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (NWDA)

The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) is responsible for stimulating the economic growth and regeneration of England’s Northwest.

In response to the current economic climate, the NWDA has recently announced a package of new and enhanced support to help Northwest businesses.

Its aim is to encourage new enterprises and support innovation, grow key regional sectors, exploit the region’s science base and improve international competitiveness.

ONE NORTH EAST AGENCY (ONE)

One North East is the Regional Development Agency (RDA) covering North East England - Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, County Durham, Tees Valley. ONE’s promotes promoting the benefits of living, working and doing business in a vibrant, self reliant, ambitious and outward looking region.

The Agency is harnessing all the physical and human resources of the region, in both rural and urban communities to:

• Accelerate economic development and regeneration
• Promote business growth and efficiency, boost investment and increase competitiveness
• Generate thousands of new jobs
• Develop the work skills of the people living here to meet the needs of a changing economy

SOUTH EAST ENGLAND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (SEEDA)

SEEDA is responsible for the economic and social development of the South East of England. Working with businesses, education, local authorities, Government agencies, voluntary and community organisations and many others it helps businesses compete more effectively, training a highly skilled workforce, supporting and enabling our communities, while safeguarding our natural resources and cherishing our rich cultural heritage.

SEEDA also has funds from Government to enable us to invest directly in a range of economic and social development programmes, and are in a position to help secure European Union and private sector investment for the region.

SOUTH WEST DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (SWRDA)

The South West RDA leads the development of a sustainable economy in the South West, investing to unlock the region's business potential working hard with regional partners to develop or expand a number of initiatives to help businesses and the wider economy respond and chart a course for recovery in the current challenging economic circumstances.

SWRDA’s core strategy is focused on driving up productivity by focusing on people's skills, innovation, the environment, enterprise, transport and communications infrastructure and on making key places in the region more productive, sustainable and efficient so that they are ready to accommodate growth, adapt to change and unlock business potential.

YORKSHIRE FORWARD

Yorkshire Forward is the regional development agency for Yorkshire & Humber.

Our role is to boost the economy of our region by helping businesses grow and prosper, supporting people in reaching their potential and to enhance the places which make up our region.

Yorkshire Forward helps new businesses to start up, existing businesses to grow, so that the region can achieve sustainable economic growth and generate enough jobs for the people who need them.

THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION (LGAs)

There are currently 410 local authorities in England & Wales with services range from education, leisure, transport and social care to waste, environmental health, planning, highways and economic development.

Increasingly, councils work with partner organisations and local people to develop and deliver long term plans designed to safeguard the future social, economic and environmental wellbeing of the area.

LOCAL ENTERPRISE GROWTH INITIATIVE (LEGI)

The Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) is a government initiative that works through Local Authorities to release the economic and productivity potential of the most deprived local areas across the country through enterprise and investment thereby boosting local incomes and employment opportunities, and building sustainable communities.

The aim is supported by three national-level outcomes:

• to increase total entrepreneurial activity among the population in deprived local areas
• to support the sustainable growth and reduce the failure rate of locally-owned business in deprived areas
• to attract appropriate investment and franchising into deprived areas, making use of local labour resources

LEGI will provide local authorities, in partnership with key stakeholders, with the freedom to best determine the needs, options and solutions for stimulating economic development in their area.