VONNE

Every three years a Regional Economic Strategy is produced or reviewed by One NorthEast on behalf of the region. The Regional Economic Strategy (RES), Leading the Way sets out how the region can create greater sustainable prosperity up to 2016. 

 The first RES was Unlocking our Potential (1999), followed by Realising our Potential (2002), then Leading the Way (2005). In 2006 an additional consultation was carried out as part of a sustainability appraisal of the North East Regional Economic Strategy. Following this, Leading the way, the new Regional Economic strategy from One NorthEast, was released in September 2006.

 
Leading the Way

The purpose of the Regional Economic Strategy is to set out how the region can create greater and sustainable prosperity 'Leading the Way' outlines why this is necessary. Despite increasing prosperity in recent years the North East still has large swathes of deprivation and poverty and our economy lags well behind the rest of the country, which has been increasing in prosperity at a greater rate. The role of the RES is to provide the strategy within which the particular measures and activities which will achieve this economic growth are outlined and agreed.

The headline measure of economic performance used in the document is the level and growth rate of Gross Value Added (GVA is a measure of productivity in an area and shows how much an area contributes to the UK economy). 'Leading the Way' points out that "Currently, GVA per head in the North East stands at around 80% of the UK average" and suggests that the principle reasons for this are low productivity (of those in work) and participation rates. It therefore follows that all proposed activities and interventions should be designed to increase one or both of these factors.

The core aim of the RES is to grow regional economic productivity from 80% to 90% of the national average.

Its key targets are:

• To create between 61,000 and 73,000 new jobs by 2016
• To create between 18,500 and 22,000 new businesses in the next decade
• Tackling long term unemployment to increase economic output
• Raising the economic contribution every worker makes to boost regional GVA

The Regional Economic Strategy Action Plan

In May 2007, One NorthEast launched the Regional Economic Strategy (RES) Action Plan. This is the region’s Action Plan and it translates the RES priorities into a clear investment framework, channelling partners’ spend into key areas that will deliver more jobs and businesses, and raise the North East's GVA (Gross Value Added) average per person from 80 to 90 per cent of the UK rate.

The final Action Plan is the result of six months of consultation with partners which included a formal 12 week public consultation on both the RES Action Plan and a combined Sustainability Appraisal/Strategic Environmental Assessment (SA/SEA) report. Over 100 responses were received and over 80 consultation meetings took place.

Key features of the Action Plan include the identification of five Transformational Interventions which will bring about the required step change in our economic performance. Also, a commitment to develop a joint research programme with partners to strengthen the evidence base; focusing investment in areas of key strength through our ‘Innovation Connectors’; and a focus on moving to ‘One Planet Living’, mitigating and adapting to climate change – a move welcomed in the final SA/SEA report.

VONNE held a series of workshops and briefings on the RES Action Plan and submitted a formal response to One North East on behalf of the sector. The submission can be downloaded here:

VONNE's Response to RESAP (Word 104kB) 

For more information contact Jo Curry jo.curry@vonne.org.uk

Visit the One NorthEast web site for more detail.

RES Action Plan: www.onenortheast.co.uk/page/res_action_plan.cfm