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Oona Muirhead
Executive Director of the Sustainable Prosperity Directorate, SEEDA
The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) is the Government funded agency responsible for the sustainable economic development and regeneration of the South East of England - the driving force of the UK's economy. SEEDA's aim is to create a prosperous, dynamic and inspirational region with a high quality of life, by helping businesses compete more effectively; training a highly skilled and inclusive workforce; supporting and enabling our communities; and safeguarding our natural resources and cherishing our rich cultural heritage.
In SEEDA Oona Muirhead heads up a new Directorate established to drive forward the Sustainable Prosperity Objective in the Regional Economic Strategy 2006. The creation of this focus in SEEDA, led at Executive Board level, is testimony to the importance SEEDA places on reducing the rate of increase in the regional ecological footprint and enhancing quality of life as a competitive advantage for the South East.
Oona joined SEEDA on 1st August 2007 bringing strengths in strategic policy development, managing and implementing change, and a track record of working with and influencing key decision makers within and outside government. Prior to joining SEEDA, in her post of Director of Land Use at the Department of the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) Oona was responsible for leading the development of a long-term policy framework for land use and land management in England. In an earlier role in Defra, Oona led the Government's Rural Strategy 2004 and oversaw the design and early development of Natural England.
Oona has also worked in local government, as Director of Strategy and Communications at the Local Government Association (LGA), where she was responsible for corporate strategy development, lobbying and external affairs. During this time she devised and negotiated cross-party agreement to a new vision for local government. Set out in the LGA’s publication ‘Closer to People and Places’, this strategy sees local authorities taking on a new role: the ‘leadership of place’, focused on economic development and social inclusion, and with strengthened involvement of communities in shaping the future of the places in which they live, work and do business. Many of the elements of this strategy are now being introduced through the local government White Paper and sub-national Review. |
