Oxfordshire Economic Partnership

Introduction

The Oxfordshire Economic Partnership (OEP) was formed in 1998 by a number of key business support organisations, local authorities, academic institutions and Oxfordshire based businesses to inspire and motivate private, public and social enterprise partners to align their plans and activities towards the achievement of shared goals for the economic success of the county.

The Partnership is a network of networks, some of which have existed within the county for some years. It promotes economic development for Oxfordshire as a key part of the national economy and its purpose is to bring partners together supporting and encouraging them to:

• create a vision to guide future strategic economic development in the county
• develop new ideas for strategic economic actions
• share ideas and best practice
• resolve contentious issues

For more information, see the Oxfordshire Economic Partnership website.

Membership

The OEP is managed by the Development Group, which is responsible for making operational decisions. Members range from academics to businesspeople to representatives of business organisations in the county.

The OEP is led by the OEP Board who meets quarterly to make strategic decisions on the direction of the OEP's activities.

Roles and responsibilities

 The OEP's mission is to grow the economy as fast as possible, without compromising the environment, to achieve sustainable, thriving communities.

The partnership works to identify priority areas for intervention and improvement that support our mission and to bring together the relevant partners to define and deliver that intervention, seeking funding from a range of sources as appropriate.

The OEP has created a portfolio of several special interest groups (SIG) around specific parts of the economy, with key stakeholders and experts participating in each SIG's discussions. The SIGs focus on:

• business and education
• business engagement
• business support
• partnership
• promoting Oxfordshire
• tourism
• transport

Events

The OEP is hosting a series of free events entitled 'Horizons and Futures' about future trends affecting businesses in order to stimulate discussion on how the OEP should be responding. Attendees will have access to leaders in the fields of forecasting, politics, and economics, as well as a chance to network with representatives from business support organisations and MPs. They will also have the opportunity to weigh in on strategy development for the county and make their concerns heard.

1. The UK economy in a global context - beyond the short-term turbulence
Featuring Dennis Turner, Chief Economist at HSBC and James Elles MEP.
Friday 21 November, 7.30am - 9.30am, Unipart Conference Centre, Oxford.

2. Choices and challenges facing the UK economy
Friday 28 November, 7.30am - 9.30am, Unipart Conference Centre, Oxford.

3. What works: evidence, theory, and best practice
Feauring Dr Nicholas Miles of Miles Consorting and Prof. James Simmie of Oxford Brookes University.
Friday 5 December, 7.30am - 9.30am, Unipart Conference Centre, Oxford.

4. The response of businesses to the challenge ahead
Featuring winners and nominees from the Oxfordshire Business Awards 2008
Friday 16 January, 7.30am - 9.30am, Unipart Conference Centre, Oxford.

5. The response of business organisations
Featuring speakers from five business organisations representing Oxfordshire.
Friday 23 January, 7.30am - 9.30am, Unipart Conference Centre, Oxford.

6. What MPs can do for the local economy
Featuring MPs Tony Baldry, John Howell, Andrew Smith, Dr Evan Harris and Ed Vaizey.
Friday 30 January, 7.30am - 9.30am , Unipart Conference Centre, Oxford.

Places are limited so please fill in this registration form to reserve your place at any/ all of these events.

To find out more, visit the Oxfordshire Economic Partnership website.

News and recent updates

For details of events and new information, visit the Oxfordshire Economic Partnership website.