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New Tasking Framework & Corporate Plans

As set out in the Devolving Decision Making Review published in March 2004, the Government has been keen to ensure that the tasking framework for the RDAs was more closely aligned to the priorities identified in Regional Economic Strategies (RESs) as well as the Government's high-level Public Service Agreement (PSA) Targets. This reflected one of the recommendations made by the National Audit Office in a report, Success in the Regions, published in November 2003.

Accordingly, the DTI, working in partnership with the RDAs and other Government Departments, coordinated the development of a new approach to tasking, which came into effect from April 2005. The objective of this New RDA Tasking Framework is to help Departments and the RDAs to work on regional priorities in a way that also serves national interests more effectively.

The New RDA Tasking Framework required each RDA to show in its Corporate Plan for 2005-08, how, in support of its statutory role and responsibilities, it would address the priorities identified in the Regional Economic Strategy for its region and contribute to the delivery of the Government’s PSA Targets on Regional Economic Performance, Sustainable Development and Productivity/Rural Productivity and through these to the delivery of a range of other PSA Targets, set out at Annex A to the New Framework.

Corporate Plans provide full details of how the RDAs will allocate their budgets to deliver progress in meeting the objectives set for the Agency by the Regional Economic Strategy, and how this activity will contribute to the targets that the RDAs have been set.  The Corporate Plans cover three year periods corresponding to the Spending Reviews.  Each RDA Chief Executive reports regularly to the Board on progress in delivering Corporate Plan commitments.