Strategic Economic Plan

It follows various iterations of the original Strategic Economic Plan (the latest from 2016), the Oxfordshire Local Industrial Strategy (2019) and Oxfordshire’s Economic Recovery Plan (2021).

This strategy is different. It has not been prompted by central government. Nor is it a short-term response to an economic shock created by a health crisis.

Instead it has been initiated by Enterprise Oxfordshire working closely with the five district and city councils in Oxfordshire, with Oxfordshire County Council and with Oxfordshire’s two universities (Oxford Brookes University and University of Oxford), all of which are members of the Oxfordshire Leaders Joint Committee.

Locally instigated, it has sought to take a step back, to consider the progress Oxfordshire has made and the opportunities that lie ahead, and to chart an appropriate route forward, given the changing mix of opportunities and imperatives.

In January 2023, OxLEP commissioned SQW – working with Oxford Brookes Business School and glass.ai – to prepare the refreshed plan.

To support its development an Independent Economic Review (IER) for Oxfordshire was also launched. Most economic strategies are founded on baseline evidence, but Enterprise Oxfordshire and the consultancy team considered that a richer and broader approach was also needed which involved extensive consultation and engagement, as well as a fresh look at data.

Early on, a scoping exercise identified four critical issues for the county, each of which potentially has transformational and long-term implications:

• How do we enable progression within Oxfordshire and achieve more inclusive economic growth?
• How do we advance net zero and sustainability in shaping future economic growth?
• How do we secure the future of the ‘foundational economy’ within Oxfordshire?
• Recognising Oxfordshire’s world class strengths, how do we accelerate innovation and diffusion – both within Oxfordshire and across the UK?

Pictured: The Dreaming Spires of Oxford, taken from South Park.

These questions were configured into ‘deep dives’ – a focus for gathering data and insights – and they have played a key role in shaping the process of the IER.

The IER and Evidence Base has subsequently involved:

• A call for evidence – which generated submissions from stakeholders across Oxfordshire and was structured to map onto the deep dives.
• Six workshops, which were held in Spring 2023. These were well-attended and the early workshops focused specifically on key areas of evidence in relation to each of the deep dives.
• Bilateral discussions, focusing especially on the four deep dives.
• A broader review of key evidence and literature, in part structured by the deep dives, but also in relation to more general trends and drivers.

This process has led to various outputs (below), all of which have informed the overall plan.

Strategic Economic Plan Action Plan

The accompanying Action Plan explains how progress will be made in delivering the Strategic Economic Plan. The plan is wide ranging. It connects to, and is informed by, every part of the Oxfordshire Leaders Joint Committee’s vision and objectives.

However, the Action Plan is narrower in scope with the thematic focus predominantly being economic and its spatial focus is Oxfordshire, with the scale of interventions being county-wide.

Small, local, interventions are not included. In the main, these will be advanced by the relevant city or district council through its own economic development strategies and processes.

The Action Plan cross-references other strategic processes within Oxfordshire where relevant. The Strategic Economic Plan is one of a dozen different strategies either developed, or in development across Oxfordshire.