Isobel Brown hasn’t yet had the opportunity to make her office at Redhills near Penrith her own. Perhaps that not surprising given she’s spent most of her time out and about meeting those at the heart of business in Cumbria.
During the first four weeks in her post as interim programme director of Enterprising Cumbria, the organisation which has replaced the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, she’s already met leaders in the education, tourism and engineering sectors.
It’s one year since the last government announced LEPs would be replaced by council-led economic organisations.
Here in Cumbria that means the two unitary authorities, Cumberland along with Westmorland and Furness Council, have created Enterprising Cumbria as a business voice for the whole of the county.
Having frequently travelled through the area, Isobel is now taking the time to get to know an area she says is as diverse as it is geographically challenging.
“Some of the work at the University of Cumbria, for example, is just outstanding,” she said. “From commercial contracts and supply chain training to running one of the biggest paramedic courses in the whole of the UK – we need to promote their work.”
Training and education are deeply rooted within her journey to Cumbria. As the former director of change projects at Scottish Enterprise she worked on promoting skills and learning across the country before spending time in the private sector.
This was followed by a move to the employment charity, Shaw Trust, and then three years as a director of the Swindon and Wiltshire LEP.
In 2016 she returned to Scotland after being commissioned by the government backed Start Up Loans Company (SULCo) to review operations aimed at increasing access to finance for business start-ups and early years trading companies.
Since then, senior posts with the Midlands Engine Partnership and other innovative concerns led Isobel to her current role in Cumbria.
She is well aware that in addition to the varied business sectors across Cumbria, there are also new MPs for her to get to know.
With every nation and region in the UK keen to claim a share of any available government investment or support, Cumbria’s business community will be looking to ensure the county does not miss out.
“We need to see what the MPs’ priorities are and if there are things that Enterprising Cumbria can help them with,” Isobel said. “We need to understand more about the portfolios of ministers too, to see if we have things that may link to them.”
As with the previous LEPs, a board made up of people drawn from across the county will help steer Enterprising Cumbria.
Thirty-seven people have applied to fill 12 places on the board and the fact so many are interested in these voluntary roles is, Isobel believes, a vote of confidence that this new organisation will be able to make a difference.
The timescale for the new board to draw up a plan of campaign is tight; both councils will need to approve it in November.
Yet Isobel is not fazed by the challenge of setting up a new organisation during times of political change.
“There isn’t a magic timescale to getting to the stage where it’s business as usual,” Isobel said.
“For me, this is about a transformation project and that’s what we’re doing; taking the success that Cumbria LEP has had and then moving it into another state of its evolution.
“Enterprising Cumbria is about the next stage of this development and the next series of successes.”
