Argyll and Bute Council has set up the Argyll & Bute Economic Forum – an all-embracing partnership tasked with addressing economic development.
While the structure, functioning and management capability of such a venture requires to be under constant scrutiny, the council has produced one of the most inspired actions of its life – less the partnership than the engine it has secured to chair it.
It has got the Chair of Sky, Nick Ferguson, said to have Kilfinan connections, to agree to Chair the Forum, an ongoing commitment from a serious and high level business ability that can only be helpful if the right sort of enabled, experienced and task focused organisation is wrapped around him.
Membership is being recruited and the first meeting will be later on.
The warning note that has to be sounded is that it is unfair to expect one person, part time, however talented and at whatever level to engineer the necessary changes to the Argyll economy without a transparent, energetic and able culture to work in. The structuring and management of the Forum will have to come from the council, a challenge recent experience with the Alcohol and Drugs Partnership suggests they will struggle to meet.
That remains the challenge for Argyll and Bute Council. This Forum not become a talking shop, not become yet another ungrounded, ill-established and multi-managed partnership that is no more than a pointless drain on public funds. Argyll needs this to work.
Congratulations to the council for coming up with a left field, exciting and promising initiative. This needs everyone now to get behind it in the interests of Argyll.
