The Region

The East of England is one of the largest and most diverse regions in the UK. It comprises the six counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk; and the unitary authority areas of Luton, Peterborough, Southend and Thurrock. With a population of 5.4 million, the region has one of the strongest and fastest growing regional economies in the UK, with output totalling £81 billion in 2002.

It is fair to say that as recently as the early part of this decade, the East of England was a somewhat less enthusiastic and cohesive region than some other counterparts across England. However, in the last couple of years this has definitely changed. The formulation of recent regional strategies (e.g. Regional Economic Strategy, East of England Plan, Integrated Regional Strategy) and relevant submissions to government (e.g. the Regional Emphasis Document 2003/04) reveal, and have developed, a much stronger consensus about the roles, functions and challenges for the East of England in the UK economy. This new sense of direction provides a firm foundation for the establishment of In SCoPE – the Innovation, Skills and Competitiveness Partnership East, and is rooted in a simple, evidence-based analysis.

The region already has international quality strengths on which we must build if we are to optimise our contribution to regional and UK success:-

• Global leadership in science and technology, research and development: With by far the highest proportion of any UK region of GVA spent on and employment in R&D, hosting around thirty of the world’s leading research centres – hence the innovation element of In SCoPE
• International Gateway and national transport corridor roles: With some of the fastest growing major ports and airports in the UK
• Food, farming and renewable resources, landscape and environmental assets: Providing the country’s premier resource for food, drink and renewable energy industries
  

The distinctive challenges and opportunities of the region (shared to some extent with the South East) include:

• Complementing and enhancing London’s position as a world city
• Managing growth and development (including three of the four government-designated Growth Areas) sensitively and effectively

However, building on these strengths and realising the opportunities requires the region to address significant barriers and obstacles, particularly in terms of:

• Skills and human capital: Where the East of England’s skills base remains patchy with major areas of underperformance, skills gaps and shortages – hence the skills remit of In SCoPE
• Enterprise and Productivity: Where the region’s strong reputation for R&D is not consistently translated into business growth and success – hence the Competitiveness remit of In SCoPE
• Deprivation and Social Exclusion: Where a number of communities of place and interest suffer from multiple deprivation and exclusion

Finally, the region recognises the need to plan and manage change in a manner that embeds underlying principles of sustainability, urban and rural vitality, equality and diversity, and regional coherence and cohesion.

This “regional narrative” has informed the production of a number of recent regional strategies, including the RES; and submissions to government, including the RED 2004. Turning these shared understandings into actions to improve regional performance, and to maximise the East of England’s contribution to national strategic priorities, however, requires new ways of working.

Who we are

The East of England Skills and Competitiveness Partnership is focused on enabling young people and adults living and working in the region to obtain the skills required to improve their career prospects and provides employers with the skilled staff they need, by uniting for the first time the service delivery and funding streams of the key public and private sector training and business support organisations in the region.  This pioneering partnership will enable young people, adults and businesses to more easily access publicly-funded support, and ensure that the key learning and business needs of local companies are met.  This aims to ensure that the East of England has both a skills base that can support a world class economy and a thriving and competitive business community that increasingly participates at a national and international level and maximises its potential to lead the world in developing and realising innovation in science, technology and research.

Our Vision

The East of England Skills and Competitiveness Partnership shares its vision with the Regional Economic Strategy and seeks to develop a leading economy, founded on our world-class knowledge base and the skills, creativity and enterprise of our people and businesses, in order to improve the quality of life of all who live and work here.

Our Mission

To improve, through increasingly coherent and cohesive partnership working, the innovation, skills and competitiveness offer of the East of England. In so doing, the partnership will lead progress on goals 1, 2 and 3 of the Regional Economic Strategy; contribute significantly to other RES Goals, other relevant regional and national strategic priorities; and, thereby, deliver a step change in the region’s economic, social and individual performance.

The three RES goals are:

Goal 1 – A skills base that can support a world class economy
Goal 2 – Growing competitiveness, productivity & entrepreneurship
Goal 3 – Global leadership in developing & realising innovation in science, Technology and Research

Our Structure