Services

Roger Morfey has an on-going interest in the role of creative and cultural
industries in local economic development, which has increasingly been a factor in
assignments. He has also published on the subject and is engaged personally with
local music and arts initiatives. More clarity is needed in the actual value of
creative sectors; their community impact, and their role as a route for
business start-up and community enterprise. Roger can help to answer these
questions through:

     o Detailed profiling and mapping of creative sectors and their participants
     o Analysis of arts/community funding distribution and benefits
     o Case-studies in local creative business development
     o The local impact of major ‘flagship’ arts investments and facilities

Universities & Regional Development

The new or ‘modern’ university sector has an important role in foster learning
and development in their catchment areas, and increasing their ‘Third Stream’
services to local business and communities is a national policy aim. From
experience with London universities, there are extensive opportunities for
HEIs - at department or faculty level – to engage with local needs. Roger can
help to support these through:

     o Review of policy, progress and good-practice in HEI third-stream initiatives
     o HEI strengths in relation to regional economic development and strategies
     o Identifying knowledge-bases and clusters of economic interaction
     o Assessing the impact of HEIs in regional and local economies

CSR & Local Economic Development

The corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda has brought major corporations
closer to local issues and priorities in the UK. But there is still considerable
mismatch between the donations and volunteering of companies and the real
benefits brought to disadvantaged communities. His study for Business in the
Community, among others, has highlighted for Roger the gaps in understanding.
He can help to address these via:

     o Detailed profiling of CSR/CCI initiatives and their ‘fit’ with local development
        priorities
     o Value and social/economic impact of initiatives and volunteering in local
        areas
     o Improving understanding of corporate and community perspectives in CSR
     o Small and medium-sized enterprises’ role and impact in CSR