Establishing a regional economic development strategy in Greater Vancouver: The effectives policy network

There is presently no regional economic development strategy for Greater Vancouver.This paper reviews four regional development initiatives over a ten-year period via a policy networks analytical model to determine the reasons for the failure to develop a strategy, and to predict the initiative most likely to result in a strategy. This model suggests that the Economic Leadership Council is the network best configured to achieve significant policy change in the Greater Vancouver context. A supplemental comparative model to Edmonton helps illuminate some of the practices and structures that have proven useful for achieving a regional economic development strategy in a multi-jurisdictional setting. This model suggests that a combination of private and public sector funding and representation helps establish a region economic development entity, and extensive consultation to build a strategy for economic development is applicable to Greater Vancouver.