Regional Economic Development & Inequality (REDI)
Coursework outline
“ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & INEQUALITY IN [AREA OF YOUR CHOICE]: SWOT ANALYSIS & RECOMMENDATIONS”
Assessment details
– 2,500 words (excluding executive summary, references, figures and tables);
– 67% of module mark;
– must justify your strategy with extensive use of data/evidence and theory/concepts;
– lectures, reading and practical classes all provide material (and skills) on which to draw.
Outline
You are a consultant commissioned by the local state authority to undertake a SWOT analysis (see below) of their local economy and make recommendations for a new local economic development strategy to cover the next 10 years. Your report should be written with this organisation as the ‘audience’, but conforming to full academic standards of rigor and referencing.
Choice of area
You make choose one of the following types of area (see Nomis for full lists):
- Local Authority (district/borough, county, unitary)
- Combined Authority (including Greater London Authority)
- Local Enterprise Partnership area (I have chosen Leeds city region)
Report requirements and Assessment criteria
1. Executive Summary: One-page max; 10% weighting
Bullet-point list of key findings, conclusions and recommendations.
Designed to be quickly read and easily digested by the Executive Board or Committee that approves the Local Economic Development Strategy.
-One page max list of key findings, conclusions and recommendations. Needs to be really good and convey what you’ve done and the rigour of what you’ve done without getting bogged down in technical terminology or detail. Needs to convey the key finding, recommendations and need to be evidenced
2. Introduction: 250-500 words; 10% weighting
Sets out the aims (i.e. what the report is for), scope (i.e. what’s been considered) and approach (e.g. data consulted and methods of analysis; topics/concepts reviewed in academic and policy ‘literatures’).
-It’s quite long as should be setting out some of the key concepts and issues from academic and also policy literature that are shaping your approach to analysing their local economy
3. The local economy and labour market of [area of your choice]: 1,000-1,500 words; 30% weighting
Geographical context – description of the area and its surroundings, e.g. cities, towns, transport network, major employers, significant institutions, neighbouring cities, brief economic history of area.
SWOT analysis – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats:
- Strengths – e.g. key industries, wages, workforce skills, accessibility, key institutions.
- Weaknesses – e.g. small/under-represented industries, low wages, poor skills, remoteness, no ‘anchor’ institutions.
- Opportunities – e.g. rapidly growing industries, emerging technologies or sectors that the area might be expected to have a competitive advantage in.
- Threats – e.g. shrinking industries, vulnerable sectors (e.g. where there is scope for automation/AI, exporting sectors vulnerable to trade barriers after Brexit)
Most of your SWOT analysis should be based on benchmarking against the region or Great Britain – i.e. is your area of choice above/below average on different measures; which sectors in your area are growing/shrinking faster/slower than average?
More advanced SWOT analyses could go beyond benchmarking to include analysis of relationships, e.g. do larger cities and/or denser regions have higher wages; do localities with more qualified workforces have lower unemployment, etc.? If you can quantify such relationships, you could estimate by how much your area of choice might stand to gain (e.g. in wages) from an X% increase in city size, density, qualifications, etc – and this could feed directly into your recommendations.
4. Conclusions & Recommendations: 750-1,000 words; 30% weighting
Conclusions. From your SWOT analysis, what are the most striking findings? What are the top priorities to tackle, e.g. wages, skills, youth unemployment, etc.? Which issues are most feasible to do anything about? What are the major constraints/blockages? What are the greatest certainties and uncertainties?
Recommendations. Given your conclusions above, make a few (c.3-6) key realistic recommendations, justifying your recommendations with reference to concepts, data and local context.
5. Presentation, coherence and scholarship – 20% weighting
Textual commentary should be integrated with your SWOT analysis and your conclusions and recommendations. Textual commentary should describe and interpret your findings, conclusions and recommendations with reference (and references) to concepts that may relevant to your findings, e.g. agglomeration, ‘localisation’, specialised skills, knowledge spillovers, diversity, specialisation, etc. There may also be important specific local geographical, economic or institutional factors that you could use to help interpret your findings.
Your report should contain at least 20 references using the APA system, e.g. (Smith, 2019). All tables, graphs and maps should be clearly labelled, with appropriate titles, and units of measurement and data sources clearly stated.
