Our Chair Pat Doody looks forward to the upcoming Greater Lincolnshire LEP Annual Conference…

It’s that time of year again when we welcome people from across Greater Lincolnshire and beyond to our annual conference – and I’m especially looking forward to this year’s event.

Greater Lincolnshire has been leading the way in some really important strategic sectors and programmes, and this year’s conference will be an opportunity for us to unpack those in more detail. We’re proud to have supported businesses through the unexpected challenges of this year and we’re determined that Lincolnshire will make an even more valuable and targeted contribution to the economy by encouraging greater innovative and value-added companies to choose Lincolnshire as the place to call home.

How have we been leading the way? In the past year alone:

  • We have launched a Greater Lincolnshire Defence and Security Network
  • We are developing Skills Bootcamps to help fill skills gaps
  • We have launched a nationally significant UK Food Valley attracting new investments
  • We have recruited over 100 employer volunteers to support school careers teams
  • We have launched two new funding programmes supporting clean growth and the labour market
  • We have published sector propositions on Defence, Offshore Wind, Agrifood, Low Carbon and Energy, Advanced Engineering and Manufacturing, and Logistics
  • 75,000 young people now benefit from new support to prepare them for the world of work through our Careers Hub

At our conference we will turn the spotlight on our four game-changing sectors. These are sectors of our economy which offer some of the biggest impacts because of the size and scope of their potential, and which offer opportunities for many other sectors and supply chains.  We will also be highlighting great developments in other sectors and making some exciting announcements.

LEP programmes have delivered economic growth for over a decade now and we are coming together with our many local partners to celebrate our collaborations and progress we have made in raising the aspiration and profile of our economic ambitions. To date:

  • We have worked with 25,000 businesses through Business Lincolnshire
  • 800 new businesses have been created
  • We have given £7.6m in business grants* through Business Lincolnshire
  • We have created over 3,500 jobs
  • We have supported over 8,500 learners and apprentices in our areas and sectors
  • We have secured £400m of investment for projects in Greater Lincolnshire
  • We have delivered 75 growth projects and programmes

For this year’s conference we have invited some prominent experts and business leaders to help us unpack our four game-changing sectors, and we hope those attending the event will learn a lot and have the opportunity to ask questions and have their say.

At the same time we must be mindful of the many challenges facing our economy at the moment, so we also expect to address headwinds such as skills gaps, labour shortages and rising energy costs when we meet at the Lincolnshire Showground next month.

Earlier this year the Government undertook a review of the future role of Local Enterprise Partnerships and concluded that the value and impact of LEPs remains vital to economic stability and growth. We were pleased to receive this endorsement of our collaborative work, and we hope that those attending our conference will get a flavour of the positive impact that we are having on the Greater Lincolnshire economy.

My pride in Lincolnshire is stronger than ever and I would like to thank everyone who continues to contribute towards Building a Greater Lincolnshire.

I’m looking forward to seeing you at the Lincolnshire Showground on Thursday 10th November 2022 for another memorable and enjoyable conference.

To book your place register here.