Summit

CLES Summit 2013: an economy for all

Thursday 27th June

Kings House Conference Centre, Manchester

The programme for the CLES Summit 2013 is available to view here.

Confirmed speakers include:

David Boyle- Fellow, nef
Richard Caulfield- Chief Executive, VSNW
Ed Cox- Director, IPPR North
Cllr Richard Kemp- Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Group, Liverpool City Council
Neil McInroy- Chief Executive, CLES
Cllr Jim McMahon- Leader of Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council
Martin McTague- Chair of the Local Government Policy Unit, Federation for Small Businesses
Jon Morris- Chair, Localise West Midlands
Professor Henry Overman- Director, Spatial Economics Research Centre, London School of Economics
Steven Pleasant- Chief Executive, Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council
Michael Ward- Chair of the Board, CLES
Karel Williams- Director- Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change, The University of Manchester
more to be announced….

Some conferences exist in the policy here and now, the CLES Summit offers fresh, free and forward thinking.

Today we are in the midst of ongoing austerity and unprecedented economic, social and environmental change. Whilst some existing policy is useful, economic growth remains illusive and the welfare state and public services creak under the strain of growing demand. We desperately need new economic, social and environmental answers for the nation and for local places.

Reactive tactics, piecemeal solutions and muddling through, are not good enough. Therefore, the Summit, will explore the two key questions of our times:

What does the national and local policy need to do, so that we can start to bridge the growing and deepening divides?
What can we all do in cities, towns and in local areas to secure an inclusive social, economic and environmentally just future?

In this we will be considering ideas and action as regard:

Tackling social inequality, poverty, worklessness and division
Alternative economic models – including steady state economics
The promise of new central/local relationships including city deals
The national economy – including national divides and future role of London
The changing role of business and enterprise with focus on LEP’s
Creating economies which work within the limits of the environment
A community and voluntary sector as an input to an economy which works for people and place
Delivering excellent public services including community budgets, shared services
Creating stronger place resilience

The CLES Summit 2013 will offer delegates a range of key note speakers and interactive sessions which will interrogate current ways of thinking and offer new alternatives and solutions.

The 2013 Summit will:

challenge existing ideas, assumptions and policy;
provoke debate and discussion;
inspire your future work by drawing on national and international examples;
enable you to meet and network with a range of practitioners;
analyse policy to understand what it means for your work;
explore case studies.

Who should attend?

economic development and planning professionals;
policy managers;
social enterprises;
community and voluntary sector organisations;
charities;
private sector businesses in local enterprise partnership (LEP) and enterprise zones;
LEP partnership and board members and staff.