EEDA - East of England Development Agency

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International agenda and strategy

Please note that:

- responsibility for the delivery of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) transferred to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) from 1 July 2011;

- responsibility for the delivery of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) transferred to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) from 1 July 2011.

An international strategy has been developed in line with the priorities set out in the RES. In delivering this strategy, EEDA's focus will be on improving the region's international competitiveness, both directly through its programmes and partnerships and indirectly through the development of tools and benchmarking models.

Recently commissioned reports benchmark East of England competitiveness against comparable international regions, and assess the prospects for development of international trade and inward investment in the context of the global economic climate.

Increased levels of foreign direct investment and international trade are also key to boosting the region's economy. EEDA will work with EEI, UKTI and other partners such as higher education institutes (HEIs) and local authorities in developing a targeted approach to exploiting internationally significant sectors and markets. A complementary Greater South East programme will also bring opportunities to exploit global assets where a mega-region approach gives the most competitive advantage to the region.

EEDA has a clear leadership role in the management of the European Union Structural Fund programmes from 2007-13.  A core priority will be maximising the opportunities available through structural fund programmes that apply in the region, as well as those which operate across the EU. These programmes are driven by the European Union's knowledge-based Lisbon agenda which is expressed at a regional level in the RES and EEDA's international strategy.

Partnership is key to maximising benefit from EU funding opportunities and EEDA has a key role in creating beneficial international relationships with complementary regions world-wide.

Influencing international policy, regulation and legislation, particularly from Europe, is important to regional competitiveness.  EEDA plays a key role in the regional International Forum, which considers regional responses to key international developments. Key developments include  the EU 2020 strategy for  economic recovery, and the 5th Cohesion report on EU regional policy. The forum also oversees the work of the regional partnership Brussels Office. 

These priorities form part of an important and exciting programme for EEDA. We look forward to working with partners to promote the East of England's international competitiveness.

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