Reflections on the Task Force Model in Economic Development

2001 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy Pike

The task force has re-emerged as a mechanism for co-ordinating economic development activity in the con text of the current New Labour administration's emphasis upon including ‘stakeholders’ in ‘joined-up’ approaches to ‘crosscutting’ issues. Recent experience in the North East region of England reveals both prospects an d problems in the way task forces have been utilised at employer, sectoral an d territorial levels to organize economic development. Improvements are suggested to the task force model that involve integrating it more closely within a strategic and proactive region al economic development framework and ensuring its accountability within the multi-level governance structures for economic development emerging in the UK.

10.1068/c23m ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 717-739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy Pike

The task force has emerged as a mechanism for coordinating economic development activity in the context of the current New Labour government's emphasis upon including ‘stakeholders’ in ‘joined-up’ approaches to ‘crosscutting’ issues. In this paper I examine the use of task forces to organise economic development at employer, sectoral, and territorial levels at the local and regional scales in the North East region of England. It is argued that New Labour's experimental use of task forces reflects a particular mediation of more general tendencies in the historical evolution of state modernisation, which varies in particular and contingent ways at the local and regional levels. The research reveals the continued importance of the existing public-sector and public—private-sector institutions, the less significant and contingent role of the private sector, and the contribution of the task force to the ‘quasi-governance’ of the United Kingdom, with its problems of coordination, transparency, and accountability. A renewed politics of economic development governance is required to establish the accountability and legitimacy of such bodies in the context of the emergent multilayered governance system of the UK political economy.


Finisterra ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 31 (62) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Pike ◽  
Mário Vale

The industrial policy in the UK and in Portugal, as in most EU countries, seeks to attract new investment capacity, to create jobs and to promote the impact of the so-called "demonstration efect" of "greenfield" development strategies pursued in the new plants of inward investors on existing or "brownfield" plants. This industrial policy focus is particularly evident in the automobile industry.This paper compares the industrial policy oriented towards the automobile industry in the UK and in Portugal. Two recent "greenfield" investments are analised: Nissan in the North-East region (UK) and Ford/VW in the Setúbal Peninsula (Portugal), as well as three "brownfield" plants: Ford Halewood and GM Vauxhall Ellesmere Port in the North-West region (UK) and Renault in Setúbal (Portugal). The first part starts with a discussion of industrial policy in the automobile sector, the role of "greenfield" development strategies and the "demonstration effect" on "brownfield" plants. Then, the limits of new inward investment are pointed out, basically their problems and restrictions. Afterwards, the structural barriers to the "demonstration effect" within "brownfield" plants are outlined and some possabilities for alternative "brownfield" development strategies are presented.


1997 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Nathwani ◽  
J Spiteri

Malaria remains a huge public health problem worldwide, with over 100 million new cases annually, causing one to two million deaths.1 This global problem spills over into the UK, with around 2000 cases of reported annually.2 The proportion of infections due to Plasmodium falciparum (PF) continues to increase and worse still accounts for five to 12 deaths per year. In 1992, Nathwani et al reported the 10 year experience of malaria cases admitted to the Regional Infection Unit, in Aberdeen, Scotland-the “Oil Capital”.3 This study was of interest in that 46% of those British residents who acquired infection had travelled to West or Central Africa on oil related business. The Oil boom of the 1980‘ s appeared to very much centred around Aberdeen and the neighbouring hinterland but did not appear to extend to Dundee which was only 60 miles further down the North-East coast. We, therefore, carried out a retrospective study of patients with malaria admitted to the Regional Infectious Diseases Unit in Dundee over a fifteen year period between 1980 and 1994.


2020 ◽  
pp. bmjspcare-2020-002422
Author(s):  
Donna Wakefield ◽  
Elizabeth Fleming ◽  
Kate Howorth ◽  
Kerry Waterfield ◽  
Emily Kavanagh ◽  
...  

ObjectivesNational guidance recommends equality in access to bereavement services; despite this, awareness and availability appears inconsistent. The aim of this study was to explore availability and accessibility of bereavement services across the North-East of England and to highlight issues potentially applicable across the UK, at a time of unprecedented need due to the impact of COVID-19.MethodsPhase 1: an eight item, web-based survey was produced. A survey link was cascaded to all GP practices (General Practitioners) in the region. Phase 2: an email was sent to all services identified in phase 1, requesting details such as referral criteria and waiting times.ResultsAll 392 GP practices in the region were invited to participate. The response rate was 22% (85/392). Twenty-one per cent (18/85) of respondents reported that they do not refer patients, comments included ‘not aware of any services locally’. A total of 36 services were contacted with 72% responding with further information. Most bereavement specific support was reliant on charity-funded services including hospices, this sometimes required a pre-existing link with the hospice. Waiting times were up to 4 months.ConclusionsAlthough multiple different, usually charity-funded services were identified, awareness and accessibility were variable. This survey was conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, where complex situations surrounding death is likely to impact on the usual grieving process and increase the need for bereavement support. Meanwhile, charities providing this support are under severe financial strain. There is an urgent need to bridge the gap between need and access to bereavement services.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. e000409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Wood ◽  
Bob Brown ◽  
Annette Bartley ◽  
Andreia Margarida Batista Custódio Cavaco ◽  
Anthony Paul Roberts ◽  
...  

In the UK, over 700 000 patients are affected by pressure ulcers each year, and 180 000 of those are newly acquired each year. The occurrence of pressure ulcers costs the National Health Service (NHS) more than 3.8 million every day. In 2004, pressure ulcers were estimated to cost the NHS £1.4–£2.4 billion per year, which was 4% of the total NHS expenditure.The impact on patients can be considerable, due to increased pain, length of hospital stay and decreased quality of life. However, it is acknowledged that a significant number of these are avoidable.In early 2015, it was identified that for the North East and North Cumbria region the incidence of pressure ulcers was higher than the national average. Because of this, a 2-year Pressure Ulcer Collaborative was implemented, involving secondary care, community services, care homes and the ambulance service, with the aim of reducing the percentage of pressure ulcers developed by patients within their care.The Breakthrough Series Collaborative Model from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement provided the framework for this Collaborative.In year 1, pressure ulcers were reduced by 36%, and in year 2 by 33%, demonstrating an estimated cost saving during the lifespan of the Collaborative of £513 000, and a reduction in the number of bed days between 220 and 352.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 297-315
Author(s):  
John Shutt ◽  
Joyce Liddle

Will the UK Industrial Strategy deliver anything substantial to the North of England? This article examines the faltering steps taken to develop Local Industrial Strategies by Local Enterprise Partnerships and Mayoral Combined Authorities and argues Place Leadership and Industrial Strategy will both need to be substantially re-galvanised after COVID 19. It is also still not clear if a significant step change can be made by the Johnson Conservative government of 2019, which will have a major impact on Northern economies. Agencies’ capacity to intervene in the Northern economy and deliver is a major issue, alongside stronger leadership. Analytically the paper uses theory on Multi-Sectoral Collaboration and Place Leadership to show how uniqueness of place, past and current interpersonal connections and networks can facilitate or frustrate economic development. Place leaders must create institutional arrangements, seek agreement over visions, objectives and strategies, otherwise the lack of shared information, resources, activities and capabilities lead to ‘contestation’ over space and action. We analyse the levels of cohesion or contestation in four different localities as each develops a Local Industrial Strategy.


2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
KAYLEIGH GARTHWAITE ◽  
CLARE BAMBRA ◽  
JONATHAN WARREN ◽  
ADETAYO KASIM ◽  
GRAEME GREIG

AbstractThe UK social security safety net for those who are out of work due to ill health or disability has experienced significant change, most notably the abolition of Incapacity Benefit (IB) and the introduction of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). These changes have been underpinned by the assumption that many recipients are not sufficiently sick or disabled to ‘deserve’ welfare benefits – claims that have been made in the absence of empirical data on the health of recipients. Employing a unique longitudinal and mixed-methods approach, this paper explores the health of a cohort of 229 long-term IB recipients in the North East of England over an eighteen-month period, during a time of significant changes to the UK welfare state. In-depth interviews with twenty-five of the survey cohort are also presented to illustrate the lived experiences of recipients. Contributing to debates surrounding the conceptualisation of work-readiness for sick and disabled people, findings indicate IB recipients had significantly worse health than the general population, with little change in their health state over the eighteen-month study period. Qualitative data reinforced the constancy of ill health for IB recipients. Finally, the paper discusses the implications for social policy, noting how the changing nature of administrative definitions and redefinitions of illness and capacity to work can impact upon the lives of sick and disabled people.


Author(s):  
E.S. Fileman ◽  
R.J.G. Leakey

Microzooplankton community composition, abundance, biomass and grazing impact were assessed, along with measurements of ciliate growth and mortality, during the onset of the spring bloom in the north-east Atlantic. The study was undertaken as part of the UK Biogeochemical Ocean Flux Study during 1 May to 15 June 1990. The microzooplankton community was composed of protozoans and metazoan developmental stages with respective mixed-layer depth integrated biomass values ranging from 127 to 638 and 74 to 394 mg C m−2. High numbers of aloricate ciliates (up to 35,000 cells l−1) dominated the microzooplankton community during early May prior to the onset of the spring bloom. Ciliate abundance then declined rapidly during mid-May with community growth rates ranging from −0·71 to 0·23 d−1. High abundances of metazoplankton (up to 400 l−1) were also recorded at this time and may have contributed to the decline in ciliate numbers. In late May and early June the protozoan community comprised a more even mix of dinoflagellates, tintinnids and aloricate ciliates. Phytoplankton mortality rates, measured using a dilution technique, ranged from 0·2 to 0·5 d−1. The microzooplankton consumed 8 to 44 μg C l−1 d−1, equivalent to between 16 and 40% of the chlorophyll biomass and 38 and 154% of primary production. These high rates of herbivory reflect the predominance of small (<5 μm in length) phytoplankton cells present throughout the first half of the study and support previous studies demonstrating the microzooplankton to be the main grazers of phytoplankton in the north-east Atlantic. However, there is also evidence that a disparity between predator and prey may have prevented a response by the microzooplankton to rapid increases in phytoplankton biomass and production during the spring bloom.


Author(s):  
Peter van der Graaf ◽  
Mandy Cheetham ◽  
Amelia Lake ◽  
Mark Welford ◽  
Rosemary Rushmer ◽  
...  

Background: Fuse was established in 2008 as one of five public health research centres of excellence in the UK funded by the UK Clinical Research Centres collaboration. The centre works across five universities in the North East of England. This is an innovative collaboration and enables the pooling of research expertise. A prime focus of the centre is not just the production of excellent research, but also its translation into usable evidence, a dual focus that remains uncommon.Aims/objectives: This practice paper outlines Fuse’s approach to knowledge exchange (KE) by reflecting on ten years of collaborative research between academics and policy and practice partners in the North East of England. We will describe the principles and assumption underlying our approach and outline a conceptual model of four steps in Fuse’s KE process to develop collaborative research and achieve meaningful impact on policy and practice.Key conclusions: Our model describes a fluid and dynamic approach to knowledge exchange broken down in four steps in the KE process that are concurrent, iterative and vary in intensity over time: awareness raising; knowledge sharing; making evidence fit for purpose; and supporting uptake and implementation of evidence. These steps support the relational context of KE. Relationship building and maintenance is essential for all stages of KE to develop trust and explore the meaning and usefulness of evidence in a multi-directional information flow that supports the co-creating and application of evidence.


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