Title: The OECD Programme on Local Economic and Employment Development LEED and Forum of Cities and Regions
1The OECD Programme on Local Economic and
Employment Development (LEED) and Forum of Cities
and Regions.Development Agencies Review
Series Review of Laganside Corporation, Belfast,
2006 Greg Clark and Debra MountfordINTA
Oct 2006.
2The OECD LEED Programme an intergovernmental
approach to local economic development.
-
- 23 years of experience working to
- to improve the quality of public policy
- to promote the exchange of experience and the
diffusion of innovation - to provide assistance for member and non-member
countries - LEED Partners Club
- 4 Fora including Cities and Regions.
3Themes of the OECD LEED FCR work
- Economic Strategies for Cities and Regions.
- Development Agencies.
- Financing Local Development.
- Hosting global events as a catalyst for local
development. - Research, Seminars, Reviews, Publications.
4Delivering City and Regional Economic Development
- A strong international repertoire of local
economic development models. - A holistic process dependent on all levels of
government. - Need for learning, and not copying.
5Development AgenciesNo single model.
- A global phenomenon.
- 1,000 development agencies in Europe and 2,000 in
North America - Different starting points
- Europe, North America, Asia, Latin America,
- Different constitutional contexts.
- Different freedoms and flexibilities.
- Comprehensive, niche or sectoral.
- Defined territories.
- Public/Public, Public/Private, Private/Private.
- Governments, Business, Trade Unions, Community.
- New partners emerging.
- Different missions, objectives, and priorities.
- Governance roles? Instrumentation roles? Joint
Venture roles? - Why chose an agency or corporation over a
governmental office?
6Rationales/Purposes for Development Agencies
Value Added Principles
- Crisis response.
- Organising vehicle for implementation.
- Business like, investor facing.
- Leverage external investment.
- Address a special area or territory.
- Independent identity, or pooled identity.
- Outward facing and promotional.
- Flexible systems and procedures.
- Unencumbered by other missions.
- Particular legal or fiscal status.
- Able to make transparent decisions about resource
allocations. - Share risks and costs.
7Development Agency Outcomes
- Pace of response to investors/developers.
- Scale of intervention possible.
- Reputation and credibility of city negotiators.
- Costs and risk sharing opportunities.
- Value and benefit capture opportunities.
- Unlock under-used assets.
- Increase efficiency in land, property, and local
investment markets. - Overcome co-ordination failures arising from
fragmented jurisdiction. - But these advantages dont exist in isolation
from wider context, they are part of it
8Distinctive Features of development Agencies
- Economic roles
- Build markets by acting within them
- Entrepreneurial, risk and cost sharing,
- Assets, investment, marketing, infrastructure,
planning, promotion. - Outside normal ambit of Government.
- Implementation roles
- Dedicated professional teams. Un-distracted by
other mandates. Monitor progress and impacts. - Innovation. New tools, new approaches, new
partners.
9Distinctive Features of development Agencies
- Leadership roles
- Set out a strategy towards a new future.
- Galvanise the instincts of leaders.
- Translate multiple visions into coherent
programme. - Co-ordination/Governance roles
- Territorial co-ordination.
- Cross border, cross tiers, cross sector
organising. - Independent broker/leader role.
- Shared ownership.
10A LEED approach
- An OECD Review provides an Agency, City, or
Region with - The opportunity to have their progress reviewed
by an international team of experts. - To have their successes and good practices
documented and widely disseminated. - To engage in a pro-active and forward looking
dialogue to reshape urban economies. - To contribute to international policy debate
11OECD Review of Laganside Corporation
- 17 years of action.
- Pre-dates the recent growth of Belfast.
- Context was complete lack of market confidence.
- River Lagan was former artery of the city, but
had been polluted and then rejected. - River banks were no go area.
- Origins were Urban Dev Corporation, master
planning, and major re-engineering. - Laganside wind up agreed for 2007.
- Role of OECD Review to learn lessons and capture
knowledge.
12What kind of development agency?
- Laganside Corporation, based on UK UDCs
- Central Government Organisation with Independent
Board. - Tightly defined redevelopment area.
- Concentrate investment.
- Tackle derelict and polluted sites.
- Attract investment and jobs.
- But,
- No planning powers.
- No enterprise zone.
- Limited asset ownership.
13OECD review of Laganside Corporation The
assessment.
- An enormous contribution to the economic and
social conditions in Belfast and Northern
Ireland. - A unique local delivery vehicle.
- Many agencies throughout OECD countries have
pursued strategies based on infrastructure
investment, brownfield redevelopment and job
creation. - A challenging political, economic and social
context makes its achievements even greater.
14The Economy
- It has successfully pursued its economic role
within the city and region. - An important actor in stimulating the local
economy and effectively working with the private
sector. - Nurturing confidence and trust in a failing
business environment was crucial to the overall
success of the agency.
15Leadership
- Meaningful leadership role within the city.
- Three highly effective Chief Executives,
appropriate for each stage of the Laganside
strategy have ensured that an idea became a
reality. - A small and dedicated team, loyal to the
organisation throughout its life has clearly
added to its success. a catalytic role for
dialogue and co-operation amongst all
stakeholders. - It has not overplayed its hand at any point or
assumed a level of authority in the city that it
did not have.
16The Board
- Diversifying the base of support of the
Corporation. This included being ambassadors for
the corporation, and bringing in new talent. - Reaching out to different interests and
constituencies.. - Providing a challenge function to the executives.
- Managing risk. The Board had to ensure that the
Corporation stayed solvent and avoided costly
errors. - Championing quality and sustainability of
outcome. - Providing continuity in the context of change.
There were many changes that occurred over the 17
years, The Board gave the Corporation its sense
of purpose and its open-ness and flexibility.
17Implementation
- Creating and maintaining a dedicated team of
experts was a priority at the outset. - The Laganside staff have successfully provided a
public-private interface within the city that
reinforces the added value of a special delivery
vehicle such as Laganside Corporation to overcome
institutional and political constraints.
18In what sense is the job of Laganside
Corporation now complete and what more needs to
be done for Belfast?
19Within the designated urban development zone
- Major redevelopment has been achieved and looks
sustainable. - New infrastructure that will maintain the new
life of the river for many years to come. - Major sites that have been redeveloped with a
substantial private sector contribution that will
be maintained. - Improved city centre living and amenities, and
Belfast city centre is now booming with other
redevelopment projects. - Jobs and incomes within the city are vastly
improved. There is access to employment for
people who, only 10 years thought they might
never work again.
20Across the City Centre
- There are multiple improvements and other major
sites are well advanced. - A spreading of the regeneration effort and effect
to other corners of the city, and led by other
players. - Better integration of Belfast City Centre with
the Laganside Regeneration area. - The Belfast CBD is now the centre of regional
growth in Northern Ireland. The Belfast CBD is
Northern Irelands CBD.
21Throughout the City
- The city is moving forwards economically. It is
looking forwards to further progress on
political, social, and democratic developments. - Major new sites for re-development are appearing
and a desire to address them in an organised
fashion is being expressed. - Other infrastructure gaps are now showing
elsewhere in the city. Belfast needs the
equivalent of Lagansides investment programme in
several other parts of the city. - Many more ex-industrial sites are becoming
available and the scale of the regeneration that
is required is massive. - A need for a master plan for the city, and a new
and co-ordinated approach to the management of
physical assets, and the release of land to the
market.
22The Metropolitan Region
- There is evidence of population change and
changes in job locations. - Competition for investment is beginning to occur
between local economies /municipalities and it is
important that a clear national picture is
developed to help shape investment optimally. - A need for coherence of planning policy, and some
clear policy in relation to the role of the
cities in future regional growth. - Belfasts regeneration is positioning it to play
a central role in regional development, but it
appears to be an open question as to what role is
envisaged for Belfast within a regional picture.
23Across Northern Ireland
- Belfast is now an asset to Northern Ireland, it
can be gateway for investment and visitors to the
whole of NI and it supports the development of
the national economy. - Belfasts improved performance also provides for
better economic collaboration between Northern
Ireland and other sources of growth. - It can act effectively as one end of a growth
corridor linking Belfast and Dublin and it can
also be a important link with cities such as
Glasgow, London, Cardiff, and Edinburgh, as well
as with cities throughout Europe and north
America.
24Key lessons from Laganside
- Phasing of regeneration over 17 years.
- Sticking to the task.
- Building confidence in the future.
- Market and investors.
- Community.
- Quality of urban design.
- Place and destination making.
- Building shared spaces.
- Employment.
- Community.
- Linkages across the city.
- Wider issues for Belfast and NI to address going
forwards.
25To Conclude
- Laganside Corporation has done its job.
- The area for which it was responsible will not
require fundamental regeneration again for at
least 50 years. - It has become a place of opportunity for all