A virtual meeting of economic development practitioners from across the regions of New Zealand has reinforced the need
for alignment of effort between regions and among local, regional and central agencies in the face of COVID-19.
Initiated by Economic Development NZ, the meeting included representatives from all regions of New Zealand and focussed
on the impact of COVID-19 on local economies and a number of innovative responses that practitioners have adopted to
support their local business community.
“Our members are often the first point of contact for businesses and hearing the reality of the economic havoc from
COVID-19. Many of them serve in areas where entire industries are struggling to survive” says Pam Ford, Chair of EDNZ.
“It is clear from the meeting that our practitioners are working hard to support their local business communities
through sharing good practice, timely information, effective initiatives and where possible, resources,” says Pam Ford.
“Our members are collaborating with other key stakeholders such as Councils and Chambers to ensure that at risk
businesses have access to all the support that is available, such as financial and human resource advice.” Said Pam
Ford.
“While the triage work that is going on at the moment is labour intensive, we are also thinking about what a post
pandemic world will look like and how we can recover and build resilience into our local, regional and national
economies. We each have our part to play.”
EDNZ is supporting the profession in its work through real time information, a recently launched resource centre, a
series of COVID-19 webinars and encouraging ongoing collaboration across the network.