iED Good Growth Focus Group – skills and employment

Good growth can only be delivered through strong local leadership, practical action and genuine partnership working.

To make sure policy and practice reflect what works in real places, the iED has launched the first draft of our 2026 Delivering Good Growth report, as part of a wider piece of work to help shape a national conversation about what growth should deliver for people and places.

This is not a final version of the report. Instead, it is the starting point of a bigger piece of work that we would value your input towards. It already includes several member case studies, but further real-world examples and evidence from across the profession will make it even stronger.

We are now inviting members to get involved by sharing examples of:

• Projects that improved outcomes for residents, businesses or places
• Evidence of what worked (and what did not)
• Practical approaches to inclusion, skills, town centres, business support, net zero or community-led development
• Local data, results or lessons that could help others across the profession.

This is a great opportunity to contribute to an important national discussion, help raise the profile of your work, and make sure the final document reflects the realities of delivery across different places and organisations.

If you would like to contribute a case study, insights, or further evidence for consideration in the 2026 Delivering Good Growth report, please join one of our online focus groups. This link is to register for the Skills and Employment discussion taking place on the 7th September 2-3.30pm via Teams.

• 7th September, 2.00–3.30pm – Skills and Employment

Please refer to other listed events on our website for the other Good Growth themed discussions.