New Northamptonshire growth board launched to boost jobs, investment and skills across county
A new body to drive economic growth and innovation in the county has been launched by Northampton MP Mike Reader.
The event, held on Friday June 26, saw a panel of local experts in their fields come together at the University of Northampton, along with businesses, public services and local authorities, to take part in an open Q&A session about the future of the project and what success will look like.
The Northamptonshire Growth, Innovation and Productivity (NGIP) board, which will hold its first official meeting next month, will undertake a strategic leadership role for economic growth across the county and will play a key role in strengthening its ability to attract investment, improve productivity, and support skills development.
Northampton North MP and chair of the NGIP board, Mike Reader, said: “Before politics, I spent the best part of two decades delivering major projects in this country and around the world building things, getting things done, and quite often learning the hard way why things don’t get done as well.
“The single biggest lesson I learnt from all of this was that nothing at scale ever gets done by a single organisation alone. It takes getting the right people around the table at the right time and pointing in the same direction to make that happen.
“That’s what this board is for – it is an engine for delivery for Northamptonshire’s economy.
“I do believe Northamptonshire has been one of the UK’s best-kept secrets of the British economy for a long time. And I think we’re done being modest about it.”
The new board will help the county to shape its priorities, inform funding bids and look to access national opportunities through “one clear, confident voice” which represents all sectors involved in the local economy.
Key areas of focus will include skills development, investment readiness, digital adoption, and sector growth, supported by the development of flagship projects and shared performance measures.
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Northampton, Anne-Marie Kilday, added: “This board matters because it reflects something we know to be true – that the future prosperity of Northamptonshire will not be shaped by any one institution alone.
“Our role is to help create opportunity, to generate and share knowledge, to support employers and entrepreneurs, and to contribute to the economic, social and cultural life of the place we call home.”
The university will take on a secretariat role for the board, meaning it will handle the core tasks of managing the group’s administrative duties.
NGIP will also work alongside and build on existing initiatives from public sector partners, including Northampton College, North Northamptonshire Council and West Northamptonshire Council.
Speaking after the launch, panel member David White, director of site services at Weetabix, told the LDRS: “You get the sense there’s a sense of optimism, enthusiasm and engagement here.
“There’s such a range of things [in Northamptonshire], there’s classic industry like Weetabix, there’s people whose job it is to link up and bring people together, there’s technology, there’s the centuries-old warehousing industry and tourism and heritage.
“There are some really important local, experienced voices so they need to be, if not on the board, feeding things in. It’s a good start, but I think the board really need to start off with what are we trying to achieve, what are the easy quick wins, and what does good look like.”