The online toolkit was designed for regional decision-makers and other people with responsibility for drawing up and implementing development plans within regions. It is part of a project which has benefited from core funding from the Information Society Technology Programme of the European Union’s Fifth Framework Programme. It includes guidance on finding and using the key statistics and research results, profiling the local economy and identifying its strengths and weakness, analysing local labour markets, developing and implementing regional economic development strategies and identifying sources of funding for regional development initiatives.The focus of the toolkit is on the role and impacts of different types of eWork Information and Communication Technologies. This is presented within the wider context of regional economic development in an information society and knowledge economy context. The reference part is made up of structured overviews of the experience and processes of eWork and regional development, as well as the main research trends.
An extra six million pounds has been allocated to new energy-efficient schemes to heat homes, schools and other public buildings. The money is in addition to 22 million pounds already given to projects under the government’s Community Energy programme.The money will go to eight projects delivering community heating, helping to reduce energy bills and combat both greenhouse gases and fuel poverty. Together the schemes will cost more than 32 million pounds but they will reduce carbon emissions by almost 4,000 tonnes a year.
There are growing indications of a political consensus on the importance of tackling poverty and social disadvantage according to a new report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The Foundation says the report, commissioned from five leading think tanks, takes the signs of agreement on the need for action to prevent widening inequality a step further.”Overcoming Disadvantage” has been published to mark the start of the foundation’s centenary year, and supports the idea of a 20-year programme to defeat poverty by identifying a range of innovative approaches for policy makers, in and out of government.
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