Improved infrastructure, an increased skills base and investment are the vital ingredients for improving the competitiveness of the South East.
That was the verdict of members of the South East England Regional Assembly (SERA), which met at Gatwick.
The meeting included a debate, chaired by BBC Business Breakfast presenter Tanya Beckett, during which members and regional stakeholders were able to question a panel of leading regional figures and outside experts.
The panel included SERA chairman David Shakespeare, South-East England Development Agency (Seeda) chairman Allan Willett and David Saunders, director of Government Office for the South East.
The debate raised a number of key points about the impact of the strategy and pointed to future priorities.
The meeting also explored the importance of Seeda focusing its resources on the key priorities.
SERA chief executive Paul Bevan said: "Concern was expressed that, with less than six months to go before the single pot approach to funding is introduced, regeneration partnerships around the region remain in the dark about how regional funds will be distributed."
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