Organisations from across Hawke’s Bay (councils, iwi, businesses and government agencies) worked together in 2016 to develop a strategic plan to help raise the region's employment opportunities and incomes. The ongoing focus is on working together to grow jobs across the region, increase household incomes and raise Hawke’s Bay economic performance up into the top quarter of New Zealand regions

To achieve these aims, the strategy sets out the steps needed to help existing businesses who want to grow to do so, attract new business, promote great new ideas, attract skilled migrants to work in the areas in which we need more people and plan major public projects that benefit the whole region.

To achieve the desired effect, each of the actions named in the strategy has a lead agency to drive achievement of desired outcome. To find out more, view the full strategy.

The strategy is linked with national economic development plans as it is part of the Government’s Regional Growth Programme, which focuses on increasing jobs, income and investment in regional New Zealand. It also aligns with the Government’s Māori Economic Development and Action Plan ‘He kai kei aku ringa’.