South West Competitiveness Operational Programme 20072013

1
South West Competitiveness Operational Programme
2007-2013

• Draft
• Operational
• Programme

2
South West Competitiveness Operational Programme

• The Economic Context for the Programme
• The Policy Context
• The Programme Strategy
• Priorities and Themes
• Next Steps

3
Summary

• At the aggregate level, employment and enterprise
  performance is strong
• Parts of the region characterised by lower value
  added and lower paid sectors
• Significant intra regional disparities
• Current productivity levels low
• Significant strengths
• Diverse in economic terms

4
Policy Context

• The major focus is on Lisbon (competitiveness), a
  different agenda
• Greater emphasis on alignment with existing
  strategies, notably the Regional Economic
  Strategy
• South West Cohesion Framework

5
Lisbon Target

• A high proportion of actions must contribute to
  the Lisbon agenda
• Non Lisbon activities include cultural
  activities, tourism and education infrastructure
• Uncertainty over some other activities

6
The Programme Objectives

• Increasing productivity through innovation,
  research and development
• Reduce intra regional disparities
• Reduce the levels of worklessness
• Reducing carbon emissions, moving towards carbon
  neutral

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Underlying Themes

• Outward facing
• Knowledge and creativity as key assets
• Environmentally responsible
• Reconciling economic growth with the need to
  address issues over carbon emissions

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Proposed Priority Structure

• Innovation and Knowledge
• Enterprise and Growth
• Sustainable Communities

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Innovation and knowledge

• Supporting ideas, innovation and knowledge
• Improving FE/HE interactions with SMEs
• Developing specialist infrastructure for
  innovation and research and development
• Environmental technologies and renewable energy

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Enterprise and Growth

• Enterprise Culture
• New Starts
• Internationalisation
• Accelerating Business Growth
• Environmental Efficiency
• Environmental Technologies and Renewable Energy

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Sustainable Communities

• Focussed on Torbay, Plymouth and Bristol
• Small scale infrastructure and facilities
• New enterprise/social enterprise within under
  represented groups
• Access to targeted business support services in
  the community
• Innovative models for access to employment,
  enterprise and training initiatives
• Building capacity through environmental and other
  small scale neighbourhood improvements

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Three Important Themes Being Developed

• Equal Opportunity and Diversity
• Environment
• Carbon Reduction/Neutral

13
Proposed EU Financial Allocations

• Innovation and knowledge 45m
• Enterprise and Investment 45m
• Sustainable Communities 30m

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Key Questions

• Does the Programme strategy look and feel right?
• For each Priority, what do we need to focus on to
  make a difference?
• Do we have the correct financial balance between
  the Priorities?
• Aspiring to carbon neutral is a new proposal
  how do we make it work?

15
Alignment Opportunities

• ESF focus on worklessness with ERDF Sustainable
  Communities
• ESF focus on workforce skills, with ERDF
  Innovation and Enterprise and Investment
  (including RSP priorities)
• Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Convergence
  Programme
• Support for businesses in rural areas (ERDF) with
  Rural Development Programme priorities
• Environmental technologies and renewable energy
  (ERDF/ESF/EAFRD)
• Environment

16
Process

• Consultation 13 weeks
• Negotiations from March 2007
• Autumn 2007 target start
• Getting four programmes to work together (ERDF,
  ESF, EAFRD, EFF)
• Focused investment

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Next Steps A Continual Engagement With
Stakeholders

• Brief stakeholders and listen to the feedback
• Continue to develop the main elements of the
  Programme
• Submit a Final Operational Programme by early
  March
• Scope out the management and delivery
  arrangements