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Introduction to Local Economic Growth – 9th October 2023

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A short workshop by What Works Growth with practical exercises to support using evidence in policy design and delivery

A 2.5 hour practical workshop designed to help people working in local economic growth to understand key economic concepts and how they play out in their local areas.

Do you know your additionality from your externalities? How do you know if an issue in the local economy is supply side or demand side? And what can GVA tell you (or not) about the local economy?

This training is an introduction to some of the economic concepts within local economic growth. This interactive training includes a number of practical exercises to see how these concepts play out in real-life scenarios.

By the end of the training, attendees will:

  • Be familiar with a number of key economic concepts, and understand how they apply to local economic growth
  • Understand the relationship between GVA, employment and productivity
  • Understand the mechanisms for how a range of policy interventions might affect local economic growth

FAQ

What sort of training is this?

  • It’s a short interactive workshop with a mix of presentations and practical exercises to review key concepts in economic development.

Who should attend?

  • People working within central government or within local government: local authorities, combined authorities, LEPs.
  • Please note: at this time, people in the private or third-sector are not eligible to attend. We will open up this course more widely at a later date.
  • This course is aimed at people new to economic development policymaking.
  • If you’re not attending with colleagues, we’ll buddy you up with people from similar organisations for follow-up support.

How do I prepare?

  • No prep work is required, but you may find it helpful to look at your authority’s most recent economic strategy—particularly the current economic context and key issues identified.

What happens once I’ve signed up?

  • You will receive a link to join the workshop a few days in advance.
  • We’ll send you resources you’ll need for the exercises shortly before the workshop. You can access these online or print them out.
  • If you’re worried you haven’t received these emails, please contact us.

What happens after the workshop?

  • We’re keen to help you implement what you’ve learned in your day-to-day. We offer support after the course to attendees including resources you can share with colleagues; opportunities to share progress with local government officers in organisations like yours; and additional activities such as ‘refresher’ sessions.