Tooling up the profession: what local economic development practitioners need now

In this episode, David and Mike are joined by Dr Glenn Athey to discuss the state of professional practice in local and regional economic development. Using Glenn’s new handbook as a springboard, they explore why delivery capability has become such a binding constraint on place based change, how years of austerity and institutional churn have hollowed out professional capacity, and what today’s practitioners need in order to do the job well. From evidence and judgment to curiosity, stakeholder engagement and getting out from behind the screen, this is a practical conversation about how to build stronger individual and organisational capability for the work ahead. Access the handbook: https://lredhandbook.com/