The Government has announced that all Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), including SEEDA, will close by 31 March 2012.
Responsibility for economic development and regeneration in England is being passed onto successor bodies, including Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and central Government departments
Our objective is to ensure a professional and cost effective closure by this date. We have pledged to work closely with our partners, contractors and stakeholders to ensure that the past and future economic benefits of key programmes and assets continue to deliver the greatest economic value for the South East and value for money for the taxpayer.
Please click here for more details about our closure plan, transition arrangements and successor organisations.
Executive: Susan Priest
Executive Director, Business Development
Susan was appointed as Executive Director for Business Development in November 2009 having joined SEEDA in 2000 as Head of Business Support, later becoming Deputy Director in the International and Business Division. In 2003, she was appointed Area Director for Kent and Medway. She held this role until January 2009 when she was asked to lead the Agency’s re-structuring programme.
Before joining SEEDA Susan worked for the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) where she improved the internal management and monitoring systems across the Chamber of Commerce network. Prior to this, Susan completed her PhD, awarded from St Catharine’s College Cambridge, and sponsored by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the BCC. Her study examined the effectiveness of government policy to stimulate SME (small to medium sized enterprises) growth and competitiveness from the 1970s through to the mid 1990s.
She lives in Rochester with her husband and two young sons.
