Areas of the UK that were likely to take the longest to recover were, amongst other issues, characterised by low levels of entrepreneurial activity and fewer business start-ups. Those areas more likely to recover quickly had strong private sectors, high levels of entrepreneurship and highly educated workforces.

Over on this article on the BBC News, Local Government Association Chairman Margaret Eaton was quoted in relation to the report as saying that a “one-size-fits-all solution” was not viable for the whole of the UK. “The fastest way to move from recession to recovery is for more decisions about the economy to be made at a local level, which means councils continuing to work with local people and businesses.”

At VentureNavigator we wholly agree with this sentiment. We have been working on a way to assist Local Authorities in building online business communities  and helping them target local resources to start-ups, entrepreneurs  and businesses to ensure they succeed.  You can take a look at what we can do here.  Better still, if you are involved in business support or economic regeneration at a UK Local Authority, why not come along to our event at the British Library on 3 March 2010, on this very topic.