Conference on Cities, Regional Development and Higher Education, London, 20 September 2004

This one-day conference is hosted by the London Metropolitan University and sponsored by Barclays Bank PLC. It addresses the shift in orientation in political rhetoric, economic thinking and policy direction, to regarding city and regional economies as generators of national wealth and knowledge and innovation as the key to it.

Governments at national and supra-national level have matched rhetoric with public policy initiatives and funding streams designed to encourage business, regional government, local authorities, the voluntary and community sectors, and higher education into ‘engagement’ with each other. However these are not easy allies: business is criticised for its low investment in R&D; government for being too bureaucratic; communities for lacking organisational capacity; universities for being too otherworldly. 

This conference offers the opportunity to locate sectoral activities in a broader context and network with business people, professionals, academics and practitioners who share similar goals and issues. Sergio Arzeni, Director of the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship and Head of the OECD Programme on Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED), has been invited to partipate as keynote speaker.

To read more about this event, please download the conference programme.