Progress made one year on from recommendations by a major international body, the OECD, has been outlined in a new Centre for Cities / ippr north report into the economy and governance of the North East.

The report by the Centre for Cities and the Institute of Public Policy Research (ippr north) examines the progress made one year on after a territorial review of Newcastle in the North East conducted in 2006.

That report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) examined the economic performance and governance arrangements in the North East and recommended a series of changes in a report to improve the performance of the region.

Newcastle City Council then commissioned the Centre for Cities and the ippr north to examine which recommendations in the OECD’s report had been implemented in the last year.

The report praises the council for integrating the OECD findings into its new Regeneration Strategy, and agreements, made jointly with Gateshead Council and One NorthEast to establish a City Development Company to further drive development.

Newcastle Futures, the council’s service aimed at combating long term unemployment, was also praised along with upcoming initiatives aimed at “talent attraction” to boost skill levels and entrepreneurship in the North East

However, it also calls on Newcastle and Gateshead to further define their “urban core” at the heart of the Tyne and Wear city region. It also recommended that they better integrate these with other centres of employment which would result in more sustainable transport and more trade with external firms.

Council leader Coun John Shipley said: "With our partners we wanted a genuinely independent assessment of how far we have come since the OECD report. It sparked real and valuable debate and now we are starting to reap the rewards as we act upon it.

"However we are also aware that there is a great deal of work still to do. It is extremely helpful in gauging and monitoring our success to date. It contains both good news and some tough messages and we can treat it as both recognition of the work we have done as well as prompting further challenges for the future."

Work still to do includes:

• Combining long term ambitions for Newcastle and the wider city region with realistic short-term goals
• Setting fewer and clearer objectives because a small number of high-impact projects can be critical for economic growth
• Collaborating with partners across local authority boundaries between tiers of government and crucially with the private sector
• Communicating more effectively with key stakeholders to widen reach and improve delivery
• Innovating through different methods of delivery.

The Centre for Cities and ippr north report concludes: "The region now has an important opportunity to be far more innovative in policy and practice, and to be more open and outward-looking when attempting to find solutions for its economic problems."

Dermot Finch, director of the Centre for Cities, said: "Newcastle and the North East have made some important progress in thinking about their economic future. Our report shows that more could be done by the city and its partners to set out a clear economic strategy, to prioritise investment, and to involve the private sector in delivering a better economic future for the city region."

Sue Stirling, Director of ippr north, said: "This report sets out some key areas for the North East to harness potential and resources to drive economic success. We hope that it provides a useful stimulus and will be used to catalyse action and benchmark future policy choices."

Notes to Editors

The full report can be found at here

The Institute for Public Policy Research North explores the impact of national and international policies regionally and locally, in particular in Northern England, and aims to deepen democratic engagement across the North.

The OECD brings together the governments of countries committed to free markets and democracy by supporting sustainable economic growth, boosting employment, raising living standards, maintaining financial stability, assisting other countries' economic development and contributing to growth in world trade.