EEDA - East of England Development Agency

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Draft Business Support Strategy 2009-13

Businesses are the lifeblood of our economy in the East of England and we must ensure that the business support we provide is meeting the needs of our businesses.

Since the launch of Better for Business, the regional business support strategy, in 2005 we have made significant improvements to our business support offer. We have made it easier for businesses to access the support they need by simplifying our business support services through the implementation of Solutions for Business and by taking on the Train to Gain skills brokerage from the Learning and Skills Council and merging it into our new single regional Business Link service. We have launched our Integrated Specialist Business Support Service, integrating the Manufacturing Advisory Service, Designing Demand and Innovation, Advice and Guidance into one coherent offer to manufacturing businesses. This particular service has been boosted by successfully tapping into European funding to increase the amount of support we can provide. We have also created a virtual women’s business centre, one of four national pilots, to provide women with the specialist business support they need at every stage of their businesses journey.

However, we must not become complacent. The changes in the economy brought about by the downturn; the requirement to merge Train to Gain and Business Link into one integrated service; along with new direction in Government thinking and a new Regional Economic Strategy, means that the time is now right to take a detailed look at the support EEDA provides. The strategy specifically focuses on EEDA funded business support and whilst there is no new funding to deliver increased services and the public sector budgets are under increased pressures, this will not stop us from taking an innovative look at the business support we provide to ensure it is efficient and effective and above all else meets the needs of our region’s businesses.

The Draft Business Support Strategy can be downloaded below. This is now closed for consultation, with the final document appearing on this page shortly.

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