Note:

The recommendations contained within this report pre-date the arrival of COVID-19 in New Zealand and the national response. ATEED’s Local Economic Development specialists will provide updated advice to local boards in due course, outlining how local boards can best assist locally with Auckland’s regional economic recovery.

Extract:

ATEED’s goal is to support the creation of quality jobs for all Aucklanders and while Auckland’s economy has grown in recent years, the benefits of that growth are not distributed evenly.

Local economic development brings together a range of players to build up the economic capacity of a local area and improve its economic future and quality of life for individuals, families and communities. ...

At the local level ATEED works with local boards to support several areas of work:

• Growing local businesses through a range of initiatives to support start-ups and small and medium sized enterprises across the region
• Place based initiatives either working with Auckland’s regeneration agency Panuku Development Auckland in its ‘Transform and Unlock’ areas as well as with smaller locally driven place-based initiatives
• Business environmental sustainability initiatives and the promotion of waste minimisation and circular economy opportunities
• Providing economic intelligence: enhancing the evidence base and advice provided by ATEED at a local level. To provide a better understanding of the drivers of prosperity in a local area. While also providing the justification for the projects and initiatives delivered by the team.

Local boards have a mandate to advocate for and fund a range of activities on behalf of their local communities. The local boards of Auckland Council want thriving town centres and access to employment opportunities in their communities and when opportunities lie elsewhere, transport solutions so residents can easily access those opportunities. Local boards are in a unique position to understand their local economy, work with the local business community and advocate or catalyse activities for local economic development.

Through their advocacy role as well as through their empowering communities and locally driven initiatives budgets local boards can play a role in a range of ways. ...

This economic development overview of the Franklin Local Board area looks at:

• a range of indicators on Franklin’s economy
• the drivers, trends and linkages that influence the local economy
• major private and public initiatives that will impact on the economy in Franklin
• opportunities and issues to growing business and jobs in Franklin.

The economic development overview can be the first stage in guiding local boards as to what the key issues are in their area and where the local board should focus its efforts when considering the outcomes it would like to include in the 2020 Local Board Plan.

Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development, ATEED

March 2020