INTRODUCTION

1. The Government's White Paper Our Competitive Future: Building the Knowledge Driven Economy set out a wide-ranging programme to help British businesses match the best in the world. This programme is aimed at helping the UK reverse a century of relative economic decline. The White Paper called for a renewed focus on knowledge as the means of providing competitive advantage - knowledge in the broadest sense, including the skills, creativity and expertise of all those involved.

2. The challenge for UK business is to develop and harness these sources of knowledge, skills and creativity in order to raise productivity and increase innovative capacity. The role for Government is to create a business-friendly environment by providing help and support through investing in British capabilities, by catalysing collaboration within regions and between companies, and by providing a regulatory framework which fosters fair and open competition. The White Paper advanced a large number of commitments by Government in each of these areas. The purpose of this Implementation Plan is to set out in more detail the way those responsible for implementing each of the commitments intend to go about delivering them.

3. The White Paper's message applies to all businesses, small and large, in manufacturing and services - and in traditional and high tech sectors. Competition is in many ways fiercer and more global for manufactured goods than it is for novel technologies or for services. It is therefore even more important for industries in established sectors to find ways of devising, making, marketing and distributing better products which exceed customer expectations. The White Paper contains many case studies of traditional firms which have found new ways to exploit their knowledge and the skills of their workforce, and to find and serve new customers and markets. The Government intends to give particular emphasis over the coming months to ensuring that the policies and programmes set out in the White Paper are delivered effectively in the manufacturing sector.

4. This plan is not intended to be a comprehensive statement of everything that will be done to implement the White Paper. That would require a document at least as long as the White Paper itself, since implementation will involve long-term work bringing together not just central government but a wide variety of organisations involved in helping business improve. The Plan is intended to provide a roadmap indicating the mechanisms, timescales and targets which those responsible for managing the delivery of the commitments have set. Achievement of the milestones and targets in the Implementation Plan will be challenging - and in many cases dependent on actions by a number of people and organisations outside the Government's direct control. Progress will be monitored and reviewed regularly, and the programme as a whole will be evaluated with the assistance of the Competitiveness Council which the Secretary of State will shortly be appointing.

5. In keeping with the open approach taken to date, the Implementation Plan lists for each of the commitments the name of an individual, with their telephone number and e-mail address. These individuals may not be solely responsible for delivery of the targets concerned, but they act as leaders and co-ordinators, and will provide a knowledgeable central focus for enquiries.

6. The Plan mentions some of the organisations who will be involved in making a reality of the White Paper, but, again, it does not seek to provide a comprehensive list. Organisations such as trade associations, Business Link Partnerships, Regional Development Agencies and many others will have a vital role in implementing the White Paper commitments and will be consulted and involved throughout the process. The Government is pleased that Business Link partners have taken the initiative of identifying individuals to lead on each commitment within their own partnership.

7. The publication of this Implementation Plan demonstrates the Government's determination to carry through the commitments in the Competitiveness White Paper and to work in an open and transparent way. The plan is, however, only the beginning of the process. The real work starts now.

Comments on the Implementation Plan should be addressed to:

Caroline Normand
Strategy Unit
Department of Trade and Industry
1-19 Victoria Street
LONDON SW1H 0ET

`Opportunity for All in a World of Change - a White Paper on Enterprise, Skills and Innovation' was published in February 2001. If you would like to read this White Paper click here.

Last updated Friday 21^st November 2003