The purpose of business retention and expansion is to keep existing businesses and jobs within the local economy and to support local companies to expand, grow, and become more productive. Business retention and expansion is often the first step in achieving wider economic development and skills development objectives.
With an increase in competition for the domestic market for investment, talent, and business attraction due to border closures in 2020, and the rapid growth of our region, it was identified that in order to remain effective and competitive that we needed a strategic approach for the region. CEDA set out to undertake extensive engagement and research to build a comprehensive business retention, attraction and expansion strategy that focused on:
- Understanding the needs of businesses looking to establish themselves in the region, and of local businesses in priority sectors
- Supporting existing businesses to grow, attracting new businesses through proactive targeting, facilitating after care to ensure that potential prospects are converted into realised projects
- Addressing barriers, such as housing, transport, or vibrancy, that detract from a healthy business climate in which local businesses can prosper and grow
- Prioritising our key sectors of strength, including food and fibre, construction and infrastructure, distribution and logistics, and health and social services
The Strategy was developed through extensive stakeholder engagement with the business community, developers, agents, and our shareholder councils, along with a competitor analysis of comparator regions and an audit of the existing data, insights, and current work programmes in place. This extensive research and engagement have ensured that the resulting Strategy provides an effective and enhanced structure and approach for CEDA to facilitate new business attraction and retention and growth of existing ones, more structurally and effectively.
View the condensed Strategy here
Three Year Action Plan
CEDA’s focus is now on the implementation of the Strategy and the three-year action plan, which we will monitor and review our progress against each year in the changing economic environment.
For more information:
[email protected]
06 350 1830
