The eight Diamonds - Basingstoke, Brighton & Hove, Central Oxfordshire, Gatwick, Thames Gateway Kent, Milton Keynes / Aylesbury Vale, Reading and Urban South Hampshire - originated in SEEDA's 2006 Regional Economic Strategy (RES). They are the 'sub regional functional areas' with the greatest potential for significant contributions to economic growth in the south east.

The nine local authorities at the urban core of these Diamonds have joined together, with support from SEEDA and GOSE, to share best practice, collaborate on joint ventures and define clear targets and aims for long-term sustainable growth. Through partnership working, both within our individual sub-regions and across the eight Diamonds, we believe that we can make a faster and stronger contribution to driving economic growth and sustainable prosperity in the region.

Aspirations

The 'Prospectus for Prosperity', published in April 2009, sets out three strategic objectives for the Diamond areas. These are:

• The Diamonds will collectively aim to generate 45% of the south east's GVA growth to 2016 (against a RES requirement of 39.5%).
• The Diamonds will deliver 50% of the planned housing growth in the south east by 2026.
• The Diamonds will stabilize their ecological footprint by 2014 and secure a 30 per cent reduction by 2026.

These strategic objectives are underpinned by a wider tasking framework, which identifies specific targets for skills development, business growth and climate change indicators and other goals which will contribute to meeting the three strategic objectives. More information on this can be found in the Document Library.

Approach

Partnership working is central to our approach and our ability to meet the exacting targets outlined above. The SEDfIG partnership exists across the eight Diamond areas, serving as a forum for the exchange of best practice, research into the impacts and drivers of growth and a platform for lobbying and profile-raising for the Diamond areas. The formulation of executive policy and delivery of sub-regional and local targets rests with the individual Diamond areas and the various partners that constitute them.

This stratified approach is complemented by the work of three SEDfIG policy groups, focused upon:

• Skills & Employability
• The Knowledge Economy
• Tackling Ecological Footprint (Including work such as the production of the No-Nonsense Guide)

These groups are designed to share expertise, increase capacity and take forward key challenges through partnership, thereby enhancing local authority capacity. The policy groups comprise of members from across the various Diamonds, along with regional agencies, universities and other sources of expertise. Recent successes include the commissioning, research and publication of a web-based 'No-Nonsense' Guide to Tackling Ecological Footprint in the Diamond areas and a successful bid for £670,000 of European Social Fund support to develop 'Skills for Climate Change'.

Further information can be found on the 'Policy Groups' section of the website.

Appraisal

The work of the SEDfIG is driven by an action plan and overseen by a strategic Board, comprising of representatives of the nine core authorities, County Councils and regional agencies. In addition, an Annual Monitoring Report, charting progress against both the tasking framework and the action plan, will be published, with the first due in January 2010.