1. Chris McDonald
Political economy of local and regional partnerships – limits and possibilities
Institute for Regional Studies,
Regions in a time of globalisation and climate change
12 December, 2008

2. Overview
Purpose: My approach to a critical engagement with the work of partnerships in local and regional development strategies
Policy journey
Theoretical journey
My approach
Discussion points:
UK and Australian policy trends
Theoretical origins, approaches, and debates
Political economy of partnerships – limits and possibilities

3. Policy idea in Victoria: local and regional communities have agency and this can be organised
Learning Cities and Regions Conference (2002) - working with regions to promote innovation and social inclusion
A Fairer Victoria (2004/ 05) - working with local communities to address disadvantage
Local Team and Laverton Community Renewal (2006/ 07) - organising and working with communities to invest in their assets and promote social inclusion
Common idea: place based communities have agency (they can influence the distribution of resources), and government can organise it by working in partnership

4. Positive argument: Local and Regional Partnerships have agency
Localities and regions are more important because of increasing globalisation and the emergence of a knowledge economy
Localities and regions have assets (human/ social/ natural/ financial) – development occurs when you capitalise on them
Dependent upon private, public and not for profit working together to invest in these assets and leverage the links between them
Partnerships plan and coordinate these activities – these collaborations hold and generate power that influences the distribution of resources

5. Critique: local and regional partnerships have limited agency
State driven by Neoliberal reform agenda that aims to extend and deepen capital accumulation, increase the power of capital, and reduce power of other social interests
Reforms since 1980s have led to structural change that has increased spatial inequalities
Local and Regional partnerships: narrow focus on boosterism, meeting needs of capital accumulation, lack of commitment to improving equity etc.
Small fry and controlled by public managers and business interests –devolution or empowerment of communities uneven and contested

6. (1) Critical engagement: power both constrains and enables the agency of partnerships
Concepts of power
e.g. Question
e.g. What it looks like
Centered - power is asymmetrical and its about domination
Whose interests are served in the partnership?
Relative balance of power between business interests, other social groups and public managers in setting priorities
Networked - power is a resource that is generated through action
Who talks to who in getting things done?
Network nodes or hotspots: where people go to seek advice and information
Foucauldian/ interpretive - power as attempts to influence the conduct others
How do people mobilise bias and consensus?
How arguments are assembled and influence choices about the allocation of resources

7. (2) Critical engagement: role of ideas in shaping the agency of partnerships
Keynesian
Neo-Classical
Institutionalist
Region
Fixed / stable within nation state
Fixed/ dynamic in global economy
Fluid / complex region in a global context
Development
Export orientated industry
Comparative advantage
Learning and innovation
Role of government
Mixed economy – central planning and (re)distribution
Market led – invest in supply side
Catalyst and broker
Policy levers
Capital investment, subsidies
Deregulation, invest in human capital
Engagement, relationship building

8. Synthesis - focus on how these ideas are used to shape the work of partnerships
Research question: How and by whom are local and regional partnerships built and maintained?
Whom…Public Managers, Universities, Business interests, Workers, Community and Environmental Groups
How…these actors draw upon different interpretations of the economy to:
Establish the partnership
Set outcomes
Act to influence these outcomes
Result…better understanding about the limits and possibilities of partnerships as a means to build the competitive advantage of localities and regions

9. Two case studies – Leicestershire (East Midlands, UK) and Cradle Coast (Tasmania)

10. In summary
Local and Regional partnerships becoming more important in Victoria and comparable jurisdictions
Political economy is contested: problem of agency
Focus on economic ideas: how and by whom they are used to influence the distribution of resources through partnerships
2 Case Studies: Leicestershire and Cradle Coast
Result: better understanding about the limits and possibilities of partnerships as a means to build the competitive advantage of localities and regions