By Bruce Robbins

business, academic and community leaders from across Tayside will meet in Dundee this month to agree an action plan designed to secure the long-term prosperity of the region.

The summit, called the Big Event, is being organised by Scottish Enterprise and will be the first of its kind in Tayside.

It will give the private sector a chance to scrutinise and add to the vision for development, enterprise and investment SE has pulled together following a series of consultation exercises.

Professor Malcolm Horner, previously chairman of Scottish Enterprise in Tayside, will chair the April 25 meeting at the Hilton Hotel.

He said, “The event aims to ensure the vision captured so far this year meets the needs of business and will create the right conditions for growth and diversification to help Tayside play its part in Scotland’s economic growth.

“Businesses are the real drivers of growth and creators of wealth and, without active engagement from the private sector, the vision of long-term prosperity cannot be achieved.

“But for businesses to succeed, we need alignment of objectives across the private and public sectors. We are fortunate in this region to have a public sector well used to working collaboratively to bring about the conditions needed for economic development, and the event will give a significant opportunity to take this approach to a new level.”

A series of workshops held with 60 key figures in the priority industries in Tayside came up with a picture of how the region’s economy could look in five to 10 years.

The next step will be for those taking part in the Big Event to enhance this description of the future, agree through round table discussions the steps needed to get there, and say what role they will play.

The keynote speaker at the event will be Gordon Hewitt, adjunct professor of business administration at Michigan University in the US, who will talk about new frameworks for competitive advantage.

SE’s consultation came in response to the Scottish Government’s economic strategy. It aims to develop a collaborative approach to economic development in the region, driven by the needs and opportunities within successful priority industries such as life sciences, financial services, tourism, food and drink and digital media.

Research commissioned by Scottish Enterprise into the Dundee city region earlier this year found recent years had seen:

* A rebalancing of the economy away from dependency on manufacturing, with growth now driven by private services.

* Economic growth matching the Scottish average.

* Rising employment levels higher than Scottish and UK averages.

* Net growth in the total stock of businesses, particularly in the business service and property-related sectors, showing a more competitive environment for non-manufacturing sectors.

* Generally relatively low innovation and export levels, with a need for greater links between universities and businesses to drive commercialisation.

The research also found that expanding the life sciences, digital media and financial services sectors are at the heart of Tayside’s economic challenge in coming years.

Researchers said the region’s strategic weakness was population growth. More people were needed to increase the labour supply and boost demand for local goods and services.

Key policy and infrastructure interventions and developments would be vital to increasing the region’s pull as a place to live, work and do business.

The findings said, “There are signs that Dundee city region is experiencing a turnaround.

“The life science, digital media and creative industries sectors are increasing in importance and the private service sector generally is building momentum and accounting for an increasing share of output and employment in the city region economy,” it was concluded.

The researchers also concluded that key developments in the pipeline, such as Dundee waterfront master plan, will play a crucial role in developing the quality and scale of office provision needed for growth.