APPENDIX 46
Memorandum submitted by the South East
England Development Agency (SEEDA)
INQUIRY ON UKTI's FIVE-YEAR STRATEGY
INWARD INVESTMENT
1. What is your annual expenditure and staffing
resource on inward investment promotion to your region?
Expenditure on inward investment, business intelligence
and support for existing investor development totalled nearly
£2,515,000 in 2005/06 with 38.5 FTE staff, including £331,000
to cover the work of 8.5 FTE's overseas.
2. What activities does the agency carry out
to promote inward investment into the region (such as overseas
offices, missions, information provision etc)?
The South East England Development Agency undertake
a series of activities to attract FDI to the South East of England.
In November 2005 the SEEDA International team
officially merged with UK Trade and Investment South East to develop
a co-ordinated approach to trade and investment activities. The
merger has provided a joint delivery team that adds value to each
others propositions and clients. SEEDA work with UK trade and
Investment South East to deliver a number of industry focused
missions, where UK TI support sectorally focused trade missions
and SEEDA utilise the companies attending as ambassadors for the
regions technology base. A recent example includes a joint telecommunications
mission that visited Hong Kong and China. SEEDA and UK TI have
developed a joint business plan, detailing the co-ordinated approach
to Trade and Investment promotion in the South East of England.
SEEDA targets key businesses working within
specific sectors in priority markets (please see matrix enclosed
in Q4). SEEDA seek to attract high value, high growth and
high technology businesses to the region. The SEEDA Inward Investment
activities are very closely aligned with the UK TI 5 Year strategy
in terms of its focus on high value investment and the proposition
marketing undertaken with potential investors. SEEDA provide a
comprehensive project management programme to facilitate the introduction
of new investors to the South East of England, engage international
investors with relevant business support bodies, facilitates introductions
between international clients and the regions academic base and
works with UKTI South East to enable international companies to
trade in the European marketplace.
SEEDA also has overseas representatives covering
the markets of Japan (Tokyo and Yokohama), Australia (Sydney),
China (Shanghai), France (Paris), and the USA (Boston, Chicago,
Costa Mesa and Palo Alto.
3. Is the agency's inward investment promotion
carried out directly by the agency, or by another sponsored body?
The South East England Development Agency carries
out its inward investment promotion directly.
4. Which sectors and countries is the agency
particularly focused on?
5. How many inward
investment projects has the agency won in the last three years?
How many of these have created or saved jobs? In total, how many
jobs have been created or saved?
In the last three years all 152 successful investments
created or safeguarded jobs.
INWARD INVESTMENTS
6. Could the agency outline some examples
of successful inward investment projects, which the region has
recently won, and how these have impacted on the region?
Guidance Software
US-owned technology company, Guidance Software,
from California, the world leader in software for forensic investigation
into computer fraud, with clients including Scotland Yard, has
recently chosen the South East to site an expanded European headquarters
in Slough. SEEDA, Thames Valley Economic Partnership and UKTI
helped with the development, which is expected to create 22 high-tech
jobs, whilst increasing the knowledge base of the region.
Boeing
US Aerospace and defence giant, Boeing, will
soon be coming to the South East, following a competitive pitch
against other UK and European regions. SEEDA worked with the Farnborough
Air Consortium to persuade Boeing to open a product development
simulation laboratory on the QinetiQ campus at Farnborough and
around 100 new jobs will be created. As Sir Roger Bone, President,
Boeing UK says: "The establishment of this laboratory is
a sign of Boeing's further commitment to the needs of our UK customers.
We're delighted to be located at Farnborough, a European centre
of aerospace excellence, and we're grateful to SEEDA for its assistance
in setting up this operation." The investment will bring
100 high tech, high value employment opportunities to the South
East region and enhance the UK's aerospace industry capabilities
in a globally competitive market.
7. What are the agency's future plans for
inward investment promotion, within the context of UKTI's new
five-year strategy?
SEEDA's inward investment activities are closely
aligned with UK Trade and Investments' five-year strategy in that
SEEDA proactively targets high value, high growth and high technology
companies to South East of England, as an entry point to the UK
marketplace. It further places an enhanced emphasis on the development
of a coordinated approach to trade and investment activities and
further seeks to develop activities that promote and support the
greater south east (south east of England, east of England and
London).
SEEDA are supportive of the UK TI five-year
strategy. As part of the new R&D initiative, it is clear that
there are a great number of synergies between SEEDA's Investor
Development Programme and the R&D strategy. We must ensure
that SEEDA and UKTI take a joined up approach to client managing
R&D prospect companies that operate in the South East of England.
TRADE PROMOTION
8. What trade missions to promote exports
from the region has the agency organised or taken part in over
the last three years?
SEEDA's International team merged with UKTI
South East in November 2005, to provide a fully integrated approach
to trade and investment promotion.
2006-07
UK TI South East ran 14 trade missions
SEEDA played a role in three overseas missions
2005-06
UK TI South East ran 11 trade missions
SEEDA played a role in one overseas mission
2004-05
Due to the restructure of UKTI South East's
trade delivery structure it is not possible to provide these figures
on a comparable basis.
SEEDA played a role in three overseas missions
9. How do you determine which missions to
promote? Do you ever co-operate with other RDAs in promoting joint
missions? Do you encourage/allow firms from outside your region
to participate in your missions?
The location of UKTI SE missions is primarily
customer driven eg. by analysing previous year's data from market
driven services UKTI SE isolate the top ten markets. This is then
married up again current customer feedback from the ITAs, financial
and political needs. This then formulates the overseas plan. For
2007-08 UKTI SE are endeavouring to integrate this plan with other
UKTI regions to avoid duplication.
UKTI SE co-operate with other regional UKTI
teams (London, South West), which in turn work with their RDAs.
The level of this relationship will vary dependant upon each region.
Mission promotion is usually targeted at South
East companies, however the PR channels do span regions, consequently
UKTI SE have taken a variety of companies with them. UKTI SE target
companies that are interested in the market and those that are
in the sectors that have opportunities in the market. The main
reasons for number restrictions on a mission are either financial
or the number of companies the post can deal with.
SEEDA work proactively with UKTI SE on trade
missions that have a focus upon technology sectors that are of
strategic importance to the region and that fit within our key
geographic areas. SEEDA encourage the development of collaborative
activities between regions and the `Greater South East' initiative
seeks to increase the development of collaborative activities
between the South East, East of England and London.
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