About
:Background
Cities are back. Cities are increasingly understood to be where jobs and wealth are created, where firms invest, where tourists want to visit and where people want to live. Successful cities – like gardens – need constant care, attention and investment to grow and prosper. It won’t happen by luck or accident.
Strategic alliances and networking – between the public and private sector especially – are recognised to be a key feature of successful cities. It is for this reason that The City of Edinburgh Council developed the idea of a Business Assembly for Edinburgh.
The Edinburgh Business Assembly was formally launched in May 2005. It is an innovative initiative from the City of Edinburgh Council and its strategic partner, Scottish Enterprise. The concept is simple – the development of a forum to engage with business leaders in the city to ensure its continuing prosperity.
Brendan Dick, National Manager of BT Scotland and recently appointed Chair of the Assembly, said:
‘The Global competitive challenges facing cities has never been greater. With its strengths, history of success and international recognition, Edinburgh is very well placed to succeed in the short and long term. To achieve this however will require ongoing co-operation between business and governement at a local and national level. The Edinburgh Business Assembly will continue to work with the City of Edinburgh Council and other key agencies to ensure that we bring maximum efforts to bear on those issues that are critical to Edinburgh's and Scotland's success.'
This sentiment is at the heart of what the Council wants to achieve from the Edinburgh Business Assembly. Jenny Dawe, Leader of the Council, underpinned this at the time of her election, stating that:
‘Edinburgh is a great city in which to live, a fine place in which to work and a fantastic locality in which to visit. It's a thriving city of growing international significance and as such it is vitally important that we continue to attract businesses and tourists to the city to provide sustained economic growth. The Edinburgh Business Assembly performs a key role in making the city attractive to key players in the business world and in helping to boost the economic growth and profile of Edinburgh and the wider city region.'
The response from the business community has been very positive with representatives from across Edinburgh's key sectors including financial services, tourism, creative industries, retail and higher education.