Industrial City Growth Training Course: Winning Investors, Phasing Infrastructure and Tracking Jobs

Programme Summary

Industrial city growth is the subject of this one-week training course for heads of industrial city authorities, investment promotion agencies and economic development bodies at strategic level, ending in an investment action plan for one industrial city. Cities fill slowly when the investor offer, the infrastructure schedule and the results measures are designed apart. The programme moves from sector focus and investor targeting to site offers, infrastructure phasing, aftercare and indicators, using examples from manufacturing, logistics and energy-related clusters. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this programme on industrial city growth to mixed-organisation cohorts.

The Business Case

An industrial city carries early capital long before tenants arrive. Land released too soon sits idle, utilities sized for the wrong users are rebuilt, and investors who receive a vague offer go elsewhere. Authorities that link sector choice, investor approach, infrastructure release and measured jobs and output can explain each spending step to boards and funders, and can change course while change is still cheap.

• Occupancy Pace: Improves as the site offer matches what target investors test before committing.
• Capital Efficiency: Rises as land and utilities are released in phases that follow signed demand.
• Investor Retention: Strengthens as aftercare resolves barriers for tenants already in the city.

Principles and Evidence Base

• UNIDO Investment Promotion and Facilitation Approach: Frames sector focus, investor targeting, project preparation and aftercare, applied in Sessions 1, 2 and 4.
• UNIDO Industrial Parks and Zones Guidance: Frames infrastructure phasing, tenant selection, shared services and monitoring of jobs and output, applied in Sessions 3 and 4.
• Infrastructure Phasing Logic: Releases land and utilities in steps tied to signed demand rather than forecast alone, applied in Sessions 3 and 5.
• Results Chain Logic: Links inputs to outputs, jobs and wider effects so each indicator has an owner, applied in Sessions 4 and 5.

Intended Participants

• Leaders who set the growth strategy and sector priorities of an industrial city.
• Heads of investment promotion who approach investors and prepare the site offer.
• Managers who plan land release, utilities and shared services for tenants.
• Economic development officials who track jobs, output and public spending against targets.
• Advisers to boards and ministries who review industrial city business plans.

Typical settings include industrial city authorities, investment promotion agencies, free zone operators and regional development bodies.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to evaluate which sectors fit a city's land, utilities and national industrial strategy.
2. Participants will be able to prioritise target investors from their decision criteria and the city's competing locations.
3. Participants will be able to construct a site offer dossier that answers the questions an investor tests.
4. Participants will be able to design a phased land and utilities release plan tied to signed demand.
5. Participants will be able to formulate tenant selection rules and an operating model for shared services.
6. Participants will be able to justify an investment action plan with indicators for jobs, output and aftercare.

Programme Structure

Day 1: Industrial City Growth: Strategy and Sector Focus

Which sectors fit the city's assets and the national industrial strategy?

• Industrial Strategy Linkage Map
• Sector Fit Scoring Grid
• City Asset and Gap Profile
• Competitor Location Benchmark
• Growth Ambition Statement

Day 2: Investor Targeting and Site Offer

Which investors should be approached, and what offer will they test?

• Target Investor Long List
• Investor Decision Criteria Sheet
• Site Offer Dossier
• Incentive Package Review
• Approach and Pipeline Tracker

Day 3: Infrastructure Phasing and Operating Model

In what order are land, utilities and shared services released, and who runs them?

• Phased Land Release Plan
• Utilities Capacity Schedule
• Shared Services Option Table
• Tenant Selection Rules
• Operating Model Chart

Day 4: Aftercare, Jobs and Results Tracking

How are existing investors kept, and how are results measured and reported?

• Investor Aftercare Protocol
• Barrier Resolution Log
• Jobs and Output Indicator Set
• Results Chain Map
• Review Cycle Schedule

Day 5: Investment Action Plan for One Industrial City

Do the earlier tools form one plan that a board and funders could approve?

• Applying the Session 1 Sector Fit Scoring Grid
• Testing the Session 2 Site Offer Dossier
• Reviewing the Session 3 Phased Land Release Plan
• Checking the Session 4 Jobs and Output Indicator Set
• Completing the Investment Action Plan

Methodology

The programme uses a structured exercise built on one prepared industrial city case, with a land and utilities profile, a sector long list, investor enquiries and a draft budget. Participants decide each step, record the reason in a common format and compare results in small groups before applying the same tools to a city or zone from their own authority.

• Suggested activity: Scoring sectors against city assets and dropping those that do not fit.
• Suggested activity: Drafting a site offer and testing it against an investor's decision criteria.
• Suggested activity: Sequencing land and utilities releases against three demand scenarios.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes an investment action plan for one industrial city. It holds a sector choice with reasons, a target investor list, a site offer outline, a phased release schedule, tenant selection rules and an indicator set with owners. The plan is used at work to brief the board and to guide the next budget request.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is industrial city growth training suitable for officials new to investment promotion?

Yes. Industrial city growth is taught through a worked city case. The training assumes responsibility for planning or promoting an industrial area at managerial or senior level, but no earlier investment promotion role.

Which references does industrial city growth training rest on?

Industrial city growth training rests on UNIDO guidance on investment promotion and on industrial parks and zones, together with infrastructure phasing logic and results chain logic.

How is the action plan from industrial city growth training used at work?

You use the investment action plan to brief your board, guide the next budget request, and set indicators for jobs, output and investor aftercare.

How does industrial city growth differ from general investment promotion training?

Industrial city growth training covers land, utilities and tenants for one city, while general investment promotion training concentrates on national marketing and investor enquiry handling.