EEDA - East of England Development Agency

This year's annual report marks the culmination of EEDA's 2005-08 corporate plan, and will also be my last as EEDA's chief executive. This review provides a useful channel for reflecting on EEDA's more medium-term progress, as well as reporting back on our specific 2007/08 activities and performance.

I hope, in retrospect, the 2005-08 period will be seen as one in which EEDA made a number of important and positive contributions to the regional economy, whilst meeting all of the government's spend and output expectations of us. The 2005-08 corporate plan positioned EEDA as having three core roles and functions for the East of England — shaping strategic direction; influencing partners (public, private and third sector) to follow that direction; and delivering a small number of major interventions well.

In terms of strategic direction, we now have, for the first time ever as a region, a regional economic strategy and a new regional spatial strategy that could sustain the East of England as a leading UK and EU region. In terms of influencing partners, we now have a pattern of regional and sub-regional boards, partnerships and groups all committed to progressing significant elements of this strategic approach and advocating regional priorities to government. And in terms of delivery, the corporate plan launched our four "products" — Business Support, Enterprise Hubs, Regional Renaissance and Investing in Communities (IiC). At the end of this period EEDA has enabled the regional economy to benefit from:

• the new Business Link service supported by a simplified, targeted architecture of business support interventions
• a network of Enterprise Hubs, supported by a range of financial and knowledge exchange instruments
• a suite of major flagship investments in our towns and cities which include, for instance, university centres to new infrastructure developments to mixed use regeneration schemes
• skills, enterprise and employment regeneration projects in our disadvantaged communities; making increasing contributions to Local Area Agreements and other area-based initiatives, supported by regional work on issues like migration and social enterprise

But we should not be self-congratulatory about our 2005-08 achievements. The challenges facing the East of England economy, and ourselves as a regional development agency, have, if anything, increased over this period. Future prospects for the region and for the powers and resources EEDA will be able to bring to influence regional outcomes, are arguably even more challenging. However, I believe this annual report supports our claim to be contributing positively and consistently to all the major communities and sectors in our region.

For this contribution, and for their support during the five years since I was appointed to lead EEDA, I would like to thank Richard Ellis and the EEDA board, my hardworking and committed work colleagues, and a range of partners and stakeholders too numerous to mention individually. Each of you have given the East of England powerful and firm foundations from which we can move forward. I wish this wonderful region and all of our businesses, communities and people every success as you build on those foundations.

David Marlow,
EEDA, chief executive