The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is looking for an organisation to undertake some research into North East productivity and inclusive economic growth and learn from similar regions internationally.

Emma Ward, Evidence and Evaluation Programme Manager, explains why this is an interesting project to inform our regional evidence base and be presented as an output at our annual state of the region event, Our Economy.

Improving productivity is a regional priority. Closing the gap in GVA per hour worked between the North East and England excluding London is a target within the North East Strategic Economic Plan. Productivity was also the primary focus of the government’s Industrial Strategy in 2018, and as a region, we conducted extensive research to support the development of the North East Industrial Strategy and understand regional productivity and the barriers to its improvement.

Five years later, the operating and economic context in the North East has changed. In December 2022, following extensive negotiations, the Government announced that it had reached a devolution deal with the local authority areas of County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside, and Sunderland. This deal has a strong focus on driving inclusive economic growth across the North East by investing in people and places.

At the North East LEP’s flagship state of the region event, Our Economy, we choose a topic each year to explore in depth. This year, it makes sense for us to delve into inclusive productivity. We want to enhance our understanding of productivity in the North East, as we recognise its critical importance for our businesses and increasing wages for our residents. Moreover, we want to explore how we can make productivity gains more inclusive and learn from similar regions worldwide that have focused on inclusive growth.

To achieve this, we are seeking to collaborate with a research partner who has substantial expertise in economic research.  

We envisage the project will consist of two stages, but we are open to shaping the approach with the successful bidder. The first stage involves helping us understand productivity in the North East, assessing how the region performs on its key drivers, and identifying links with inclusivity. While we have already examined productivity data for the region in detail, we are open to working with the provider to fill any gaps or incorporate innovative research techniques we have not yet covered.

The second stage focuses on drawing lessons from other regions worldwide. We would anticipate the appointed contractor to use globally comparable datasets, such as OECD data, to identify regions comparable to the North East and analyse their economic trajectories post-2008. From this analysis, to recommend a few case studies from which to draw policy lessons for our region.

The research outputs will be shared on the North East Evidence Hub, our one-stop shop for evidence about the North East economy. They will also be presented during the Our Economy event in November. We will collaborate with the successful provider to validate the outputs and ensure they are delivered in a format suitable for the Evidence Hub. We have a budget of up to £20,000 for this commission.

This is an excellent opportunity for a provider to contribute to the regional evidence base in the North East while expanding their knowledge of regional and international productivity trends.

The opportunity to apply for this project closes on Friday 18 August at noon.

Further details of this procurement opportunity and expressions of interest can be submitted here.