1. Centre for Local Economic Strategies Forging economies for all
Neil McInroy
Chief Executive
@nmcinroy
Delighted
3 time in New Zealand
Experence of Austraila.
Set out how economic dev is changing..new economic model growing across Europe and beyond.
Will make some comment at end..but literary and innocent abroad…
Practice to policy, and policy to practice

2. Who are CLES?
Leading UK member and research organisation, realising progressive economics for people and place. .
WHAT WE DO?
Economic strategy
Financial return mechanisms which harness wealth
Place making
Measure social value/local multipliers
Addressing poverty/inequality
WORK UK AND EUROPE.
across UK and Beyond.
Italy – Bologna
Croatia – Koprivnica
Romania – Satu Mare
Hungary – Nagykálló
Netherlands – Almelo
Czechia – Prague District 9
Spain Barcelona
Part of Global movement
Oikonomos
Local hankering/ GLOBAL 2

3. What is a progressive economy?
Who owns wealth, who influences it, who benefits from it – defining features of all economies.
The aim is to create an economy where wealth is broadly held, with local roots, so income is recirculated.
Economic and social life are two sides of same coin
Who owns wealth, who influences it, who benefits from it – defining features of all economies.
The aim is to create an economy where wealth is broadly held, with local roots, so income is recirculated.
Economic and social life are two sides of same coin 3

4. BIT FED UP with existing models.
Climate change, peak oil, peak water, peak soil, energy insecurity
Places need to adapt, new ways of sustainable living
Ageing and migration
Challenge to find the public resources to support
Economic
Global interdependency but growing haves and have nots. Rise of the precariat
Crisis in democracy. Global economic forces, colliding with local democracy.
Some breakdown in trust between people and politicians
BIT FED UP with existing models.

5. Oxymoronic times Interregnum
It was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom
Age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief

7. ‘The only people who believe in infinite growth in a finite world are madmen and economists’ Kenneth E Boulding

8. Huge Inequality
IZTAPALAPA

9. Challenges for economic development
Business development seen synonymous with economic development
Economic development seen as synonymous with economic growth
Misalignment. Economic/Social/Environmental aims are rarely aligned
People and place development is too often secondary to financial return? Extractive economy.
Too often inward investment and hard infrastructure. It’s Place-Making!
Based on GDP. Surely happiness!

10. We all stand on the shoulders of giants

11. What do the inspirations tell us
An economy is about people
Economy of place as site for building empathy and connections between people
Markets are about relationships
Economies are an ecosystem
Places as a site of difference and mingling
Developing places are about making them more economically self reliant
An economy is about people
Markets is about growing deep relationships between people
Places as sites for building empathy and connections between people
Places as a site of difference and mingling
Places as ecosystems

12. The ideas gaining ground
Hook the local into the global, whilst protecting the local
Shorten supply chains (i.e food, energy)
We have a desire for the authentic. And economy as somewhere NOT anywhere
Service own demand locally
Social energy and cultural vitality as an input and outcome of economic success - ‘bootstrap economics’, co-production, co-design
Inclusive Growth

13. We must aspire to economies which can:
Strategy: Resilience
We must aspire to economies which can:
be smart and ready to take on opportunities.
respond to shocks
create social progress
be adaptable and infinitely flexible
We need economies of places to be and go....
Initial research – During Global Financial Crisis. Role of local government in creating economic resilience –
We developed a Model for assessment
Assessment model applied in Melbourne, Australia and in 16 Local Authority Areas in England. And regularly across UK.
Developed Neighbourhood version.
Developed Town Version. Applied in Northumberland, Gtr Manchester, all 479 Scottish Towns

14. We did research over a number of years now on what makes places have this quality...

16. We have three economies
Work across 4 continents.
Collaborative and meaningful relationships with public sector/Local Authorities, citizens/community organisations.
commercial./ public.
Social fluffy.
Energy. Basis to economy
A system…
CLES DO ASSESSMENTS
BOIng grab opportunities. Deal with challenges
Mayor of Portland
Mayor of Barcelona. Citizens
Not as recipients of economy.
But part of it..
‘Resilience is an emergent property of a system – it’s not a result of any one of the system’s parts but of the synergy between all its parts.’
Thomas Homer-Dixon, The Upside of Down, Souvenir Press Ltd, 2006

17. A new paradigm: welfare state past its prime?
Economic Development
A new paradigm: welfare state past its prime?

18. Resilience of Scottish Towns
Work across 4 continents.
Collaborative and meaningful relationships with public sector/Local Authorities, citizens/community organisations.
commercial./ public.
Social fluffy.
Energy. Basis to economy
A system…
CLES DO ASSESSMENTS
BOIng grab opportunities. Deal with challenges
Mayor of Portland
Mayor of Barcelona. Citizens
Not as recipients of economy.
But part of it..

19. Resilience of Pitlochry, Scotland
Initial research – During Global Financial Crisis. Role of local government in creating economic resilience –
We developed a Model for assessment
Assessment model applied in Melbourne, Australia and in 16 Local Authority Areas in England. And regularly across UK.
Developed Neighbourhood version.
Developed Town Version. Applied in Northumberland, Gtr Manchester, all 479 Scottish Towns

20. Local Matters
63p for every £1 spent with SME’s remains local but only 40p for every £1 spent with large firms remains local.
Local economy does it better.

21. Local Wealth Building Thriving local places Struggling neighbourhoods
Not about regeneration.
Market serve…
Image adapted from illustration by Rory Seaford of The Creative Element,

22. Local Wealth Building in Preston
Fairness charter and living wage
Anchor strategy across 7 Organisations (£1bn of spend)
Acceleration of cooperatives
Affordable housing: council land
Credit union ‘guild money’
Bend of Local government pension scheme (initial £100m)
Plan for wind farm: community energy.

23. A new paradigm: welfare state past its prime?
Social innovation
A new paradigm: welfare state past its prime?
Social Innovation. Comes from two sources
The Bees
Community groups/social enterprises
2. The Trees
Big public agencies, companies with roots, power and money
UNGER
BARCELONA
BIRMINGHAM
Maker movcements

24. In midst of great change
Interregnum…….
Gramsci… 24

25. Email. neilmcinroy@cles.org.uk Website. www.cles.org.uk
Phone. (0044)
Manchester, England, Europe.