South East England Partnership Board members come from two major regional organisations: South East England Councils (SEEC) and the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA). 

SEEC was established in 2008 to be the democratically representative voice of South East England. Its members are elected councillors from local authorities throughout the region. Eight members of SEEC’s Leaders’ Board are on the South East England Partnership Board.

SEEDA is the Government-funded agency responsible for the South East’s economic and social development. Four of the places on the South East England Partnership Board are held by members of SEEDA’s board.

Through the Partnership Board, SEEC and SEEDA will use their combined expertise to produce a regional strategy for the future of the South East. The strategy integrates the region’s environment, transport, housing, planning and economic policies.

The South East England Partnership Board is responsible for commissioning and implementing a regional strategy for the South East. The Partnership Board, Strategy Board and its delivery boards work closely with delivery partners, specialist advisory groups and stakeholders to produce an ambitious strategy based on a robust evidence base.

The main areas of work include:

• Housing and Regeneration
• Transport
• Economic Development and Skills
• Monitoring
• Sustainability

The Partnership Board comprises four members from SEEDA’s board and eight members from the South East England Leaders’ Board, which is the executive body of South East England Councils representing the region’s local authorities. For a full list of members visit our members page.

The Partnership Board works with the three regional delivery boards, which are:

• Regional Transport Board
• Regional Housing and Regeneration Board
• Economic Development and Skills Board

The Strategy Board comprises four SEEDA board members and eight members from the South East England Leaders’ Board, which is the executive body of South East England Councils, representing the region’s local authorities. The Strategy Board's role is to support the Partnership Board and is responsible for:

• leading on development and implementation of the Regional Strategy
• allocating Communities and Local Government (CLG) funding for the Regional Strategy
• implementing the Partnership Board’s business plan
• making sure regional investment priorities reflect the Regional Strategy priorities
• making sure the development of the Strategy and its delivery are closely linked
• making sure sustainable economic growth is at the heart of the Regional Strategy
• making sure there is effective engagement with environmental, social and
  economic stakeholders and the public
• overseeing any continuing work required in relation to the South East Plan and the Regional Economic Strategy, which will together form the Regional Strategy when the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill is passed.

The Partnership Board is funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government. It’s annual budget for 2009/10 is £3.14m, 25% less than that previously allocated to the Regional Assembly. This budget is equivalent to 38 pence per resident in the region. For further details, our business plan is available here.

The new regional strategy will be a 20-year vision for the South East that combines the Regional Economic Strategy and the South East Plan. It will contain policies that guide sustainable economic development, help to meet housing need, improve the region’s infrastructure and help us mitigate and adapt to climate change.

The South East England Development Agency (often referred to as SEEDA) is responsible for supporting economic and social development in the region.

South East England Councils (SEEC) represents all 74 local authorities in the region. Its executive body is the South East England Leaders’ Board, representatives from which sit on the Partnership Board.

The Partnership Board is supported by 40 staff. The staff comprises planning, economy, policy and communications teams, supported by a finance and administration team based in Guildford, Surrey.