A North East England
THE
COMPETITIVENESS
PROJECT
A North East England
Regional Challenge Project
1996 - 1998
Paper prepared for the
European Conference on Lifelong Learning
25 - 27 November 1996
JOHN ARMSTRONG
REGIONAL INDUSTRIAL ADVISOR
NORTHERN DEVELOPMENT COMPANY
25 November 1996
Note:
This paper is the first, draft version of the document which was later revised and published in:
Coffield, Frank (Ed) (1997) A National Strategy For LLL, Department of Education, University of Newcastle, ISBN 0 7017 0076 9
Copies of the full Report can be obtained on receipt of a cheque for £20 made out to University of Newcastle from:
Frank Coffield
Dept of Education
Newcastle University NE1 7RU
Tel 0191 222 5652 or 0191 222 6397 (Ansa)
Fax 0191 222 6550
Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION...... 3
2 THE PROJECT...... 4
3 THE PARTNERSHIP...... 6
4 THE MISSION...... 7
5 THE OBJECTIVES...... 7
6 PEOPLE - OUR CRUCIAL ASSET...... 7
1INTRODUCTION
The last twenty years have seen the economic base of the North East region broadening out through a major influx of inward investment and the re-structuring of many of its larger indigenous companies. The development of this new industrial and commercial base, capable of satisfying a wider range of international markets, has improved the competitive edge of the region.
The key issue facing the Region is now to translate this gain into sustained growth in the SME sector where the majority of new jobs will be created in the future. As opportunities from larger companies are diffused through the Region, it is crucial that the business support network is able to assist in the most effective way those SMEs wishing to capitalise on these opportunities.
The establishment of Business Links provides an opportunity to transform the business and technological support infrastructure and facilitate access to support and advice. The personal business advisors in the Business Link Network assist companies to access appropriate business support services. The Northern Development Company's team of Business Development Managers provide a critical interface with the larger companies (both OEMs and system integrators) identifying business opportunities which can be cascaded down and across the Region. Centres of Excellence are forging closer links between industry and the Region's HEIs . Initiatives like Manufacturing Challenge have corrected some misconceptions about manufacturing and engendered a new spirit of partnership and self help amongst the business community. The Training and Enterprise Councils, the Regional Chamber of Commerce and a range of business support agencies provide training and business development services to support company expansion.
As Regional Industrial Advisor, I have worked with these business support providers to enhance the effectiveness and relevance of their organisations.
Evidence of significant improvement in large organisations through optimising processes rather than activities led to the suggestion that a similar approach might be used to improve business support processes across the North East of England to significantly raise regional competitiveness.
This fundamental idea led to the development of the Competitiveness Project which was modelled on classic corporate change management theory but was breaking totally new ground by applying these concepts to a region.
The North East is an ideal candidate for such pioneering work. It has already demonstrated how teams can be successfully assembled to support major inward investment projects and key players within the private and public sectors have recently committed to a unified vision facilitated by the Northern Business Forum.
2THE PROJECT
The Competitiveness Project is a 3 year (1996-98), œ8 million project, 50% funded through Regional Challenge, designed to increase the competitiveness of the North East region by achieving a higher level of economic performance.
The Competitiveness Project directly addresses the objectives and priorities of the North East Objective 2 Single Programming Document. The North East Business and Technology development strategy incorporates as a prime goal the promotion of the competitiveness of the SME base towards world class performance standards.
The Competitiveness Project has been designed to provide added value from current business support processes, to promote the spread of best practice and to minimise any duplication of effort.
The key components for the development of this enhanced business support framework are:
(i)Common vision and agreed success criteria
(ii)Strategic analysis, information and benchmarking
(iii)Facilitation of self-improvement through synergy and
enhanced teamwork
It provides a framework for collaboration, cohesion and co-action between the private sector and those public sector agencies charged with the delivery of business support and technological services by:
(i) establishment of collective action to review and
significantly improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness
of business support processes in the North East.
These fall into four main groupings:
- Developing People
- Encouraging Investment
- Encouraging Innovation
- Developing Market Opportunities
In the areas of developing people we have identified 3 key processes:
- Achieving First Career Job
- Improving Effectiveness At Work
- Achieving Career Change
This action will be informed and its effectiveness measured by independent evaluation including benchmarking to establish and monitor the "competitive " position of over 700 of the Region's businesses.
(ii) establishment of a project steering committee within the Objective 2 programme administrative structure. The Competitiveness Project steering committee is chaired by Sir Ian Wrigglesworth and incorporates representation from major partners. It is charged with monitoring the progress of the project and reports to the Objective 2 monitoring committee chaired by the Regional Director of GO-NE.
(iii) establishment of a small Secretariat and Co-ordination Unit servicing the work of the Competitiveness Project steering committee, disseminating the output from the benchmarking exercises, facilitating integration of service provision as appropriate, and acting as a general clearing house for, and facilitator of, inter-partnership activities.
The North East Partnership for raising regional competitiveness is an express commitment that the considerable support being afforded to the regeneration of the North East under the European programmes regime requires that these programmes should represent the best value for money possible, delivering services to industry in the most cost-efficient and effective manner. The Competitiveness Project, by optimising co-operation, and promoting synergy, not only points to a more effective outcome but also provides the basis on which that outcome can be measured.
Most importantly, the Competitiveness Project is an explicit recognition that being able to compete with the best offers the only sustainable route to increasing employment, income and prosperity in the North East region. It would be spurious to expect the deep-seated changes required to be fully realised within the Regional Challenge three year funding period but rather the Competitiveness Project will provide a regional capability and mechanism for continuous competitive improvement of the North East industrial base towards world class performance.
The Project underpins the agreed vision of the Northern Business Forum to deliver "the fastest changing region in Europe" and will contribute to this aim by specifically targeting key support processes to ensure that information, bench marking and monitoring systems will be in place to measure and enhance regional performance.
3THE PARTNERSHIP
The Competitiveness Project brings together in partnership all those regional agencies and organisations charged with the delivery of business and technological support services to industry. The key partners include the Region's Business Links, TECs, HEIs, Local Authorities, Northern Business Forum, Northern Development Company, Chamber of Commerce, and the Government Office for the North East. Each partner supports and subscribes to the project and together they represent the entire North East business community and support network.
The lead organisation is Northern Development Company. NDC is special in UK terms as a Regional Development Agency encompassing a broad cross section of regional opinion, having been established as a regional partnership of central and local government, the private sector and trade unions. NDC provides an accepted focus for those activities requiring a regional strategic perspective allied to a mechanism for their direction and delivery. NDC is also responsible for financial control of the Competitiveness Project.
Although no formal partnership agreement is in place, all partners are committed to a common purpose of achieving improved regional performance. Implicit in this is a requirement to treat any information compiled or obtained while working on the project with extreme sensitivity, to avoid misunderstanding or devaluation of the project.
Partners have agreed that any disclosure of project related information outside of the partnership should be presanctioned by the Steering Committee and controlled in a manner approved by them. To this end media and public relations will be centrally controlled on behalf of the partnership by NDC.
Partners will not claim endorsement of any activity by the Competitiveness Project or utilise its findings to justify any work or proposal without prior agreement by the Steering Committee.
4THE MISSION
To achieve through partnership a higher level of regional prosperity by benchmarking business performance and improving business support processes.
5THE OBJECTIVES
To communicate the common vision of the Northern Business Forum and make it
relevant to every sector of the business community.
To encourage companies operating in the Region to achieve a significant
improvement in competitiveness in the short, medium and long term and to measure
this improvement.
To identify changes which can produce a 10% improvement in the effectiveness of
the North East business support infrastructure.
In summary The Competitiveness Project seeks to achieve a significant increase in the competitiveness of the region and to provide the means to measure that improvement. This will be delivered within the three year challenge funding period. Beyond the challenge period The Competitiveness Project aims to have established an on-going mechanism for the longer term improvement of the region's competitive position.
6PEOPLE - OUR CRUCIAL ASSET
The people of the North are the vital element which will enableus to achieve our visionary aims. Capital and equipment can be moved anywhere in the world - the attitudes, ingenuity and ability of a region's people will determine relative competitiveness in a global economy.
We must close the gap between holding a vision and living it.
The lessons we learn from benchmarking must be converted into action. Success criteria must be fully understood and converted into performance indicators which are universally accepted. What we measure, communicate and reward will largely determine where we devote our efforts. Selection of the best measurements which send unambiguous signals is crucial to our success.
All our people must understand the fundamentals of 'winning' organisations and appreciate that we have no choice but to compete in a never ending race with all our global competitors.
These are:
1Understand customers and focus on their requirements
2Deliver products and services that exceed customers expectations
3Continuously introduce new products and services
4Have a clear and well communicated vision
5Ensure everyone contributes to achieving the vision
This requires an ability to:
1Communicate effectively and work with others
2Use arithmetic and statistics in practical situations
3Use computers to handle and distribute information
4Identify and solve problems but more than anything it requires a personal commitment to continuously improving through lifetime learning.
Success will result in raising the competitiveness of the Region
to both:
1Attract investment which delivers world class results, and
2Achieve a high quality of life for all our people