About Us

The Society provides a forum for Economic Development professionals working for upper tier Local Authorities in England to meet, network and exchange best practice. It provides an opportunity to influence national and European policies by working closely with such organisations the Audit Commission, Improvement and Development Agency, Institute of Economic Development Officers and the Local Government Association.

The current membership includes County Councils and Unitary Authorities which together represent over 47% of the population of England and provide services across over 84% of its land area.

Economic Development, Regeneration and Social Exclusion are key priority issues on the national agenda. The Local Government Act 2000 and the Local Government White Paper "Strong Local Leadership - Quality Public Services" emphasise the role of local authorities in developing their local economies. Through best value and comprehensive performance assessment, local authorities are required to measure the efficiency and quality of their service delivery and benchmark themselves against comparators. CEDOS provides a forum for achieving these objectives.

The Society meets quarterly in London. Meetings generally consist of a presentation by external experts on subjects of topical interest and a mixture of written and oral reports by members of the Society.