DD158 OPDC membership of Opportunity London

Background and context

OPDC is committed to strengthening the future of London and specifically, to making Old Oak West and the surrounding areas prosperous for future generations of Londoners. Opportunity London is a new major campaign which will aim to promote London to regional, national and international investors and decision makers - it will present a powerful narrative about London’s future as a green and open city.

Opportunity London will set out opportunities to invest in real estate and infrastructure and drive inclusive and sustainable investment into London’s boroughs and communities. Devised and managed by New London Architecture (NLA), it will be led by the NLA, the Mayor of London, London Councils and The City of London Corporation and be backed by a partnership of public and private sector organisations committed to delivering good growth in London.

Approval is sought to spend £20,000 to support the Opportunity London campaign and allow OPDC to become a key partner in this innovative campaign.

The proposal and how it will be delivered

We are asking for approval to spend £20,000 to support the Opportunity London campaign and become a key partner, giving us the opportunity to promote OPDC on both a global and national scale.

Becoming a key partner of Opportunity London will enable OPDC to join many high-profile events and activities throughout the year including speaking opportunities and a stand at the London Real Estate Forum, MIPIM (an international real estate market event) and The UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum, political party conferences plus numerous other events. Included in our contract, OPDC will receive ten delegate passes to these relevant conferences, enabling OPDC staff to work on their learning and development.

We will also have the opportunity to help shape the narrative for the Opportunity London campaign and the programme for 2023 and have representation at two overseas events, two regional events and two London-based events.

The success of developments like Old Oak West and Old Oak Common station will rely on successful cross party, cross departmental and cross sector partnerships. Opportunity London will allow us to connect with and have an audience with many of the key partners needed to deliver schemes of this scale.

Following the adoption of OPDC’s Local Plan, now is a key time for us to engage with the wider sector, decision makers and investors. This will help us to promote OPDC and highlight the need for coordination of land, secure government funding and procure the right development partner for future development in Old Oak West. Supporting Opportunity London will allow a number of positive outcomes for OPDC, which include:

• marketing and exposure across a broad range of channels including printed promotional materials at events, social media and branding on exhibition stands which will promote OPDC to a broad audience of industry, decision makers and businesses. This will allow us build support and awareness of OPDC’s core mission, building recognition and highlighting our brand,

• enabling OPDC to profile its ambitious plans for Old Oak West, providing engagement opportunities with a wide range of businesses, industry decision makers and the wider public, building support for our plans,

• building stronger relationships with key stakeholders, enabling us to have conversations and a platform to build on existing relationships, but also, cultivate new ones,

• supporting Learning and Development objectives by providing networking and industry knowledge-sharing opportunities for OPDC team members, including junior members of staff.

OPDC will also have the opportunity to contribute to editorials on the Opportunity London website – further increasing visibility and awareness of our work.

Strategic fit

As the Mayor of London is a partner of Opportunity London, OPDC’s support will be key in supporting the wider aims of the Greater London Authority (GLA) and the Mayor. Our involvement will help to cultivate more conversations around London as a global destination and support the Mayor’s aims around this. Old Oak Common Station is a major new development and represents the scale of investment happening in London, and we will be able to showcase our work to date in support of the Mayor’s aims.

The Mayor has also set out an ambition for the capital to be zero carbon by 2030 and through our involvement in Opportunity London, we can demonstrate OPDC’s commitment to supporting the Mayor to achieve this target through our investment in Old Oak West and surrounding areas. We can also use our involvement to work closely with the Mayor and work out better ways to support further targets.

Involvement in Opportunity London also supports the Mayor’s wider aims on delivering affordable housing and his pledge to “build back better”. Further to this, a key agenda for government is ‘levelling up’, ensuring that struggling areas in the UK are part of the conversation and receive a fair share of funding. OPDC’s planned work in Old Oak West seeks to regenerate one of the most deprived areas of West London and a key objective for Opportunity is to demonstrate that investment in London can help to level-up the UK as a whole, and so supports both the Mayor of London and wider government’s aims to level up the UK and deliver genuinely affordable housing for Londoners.

Joining Opportunity London also responds to a key ask from government for OPDC to engage with partners on a wider London scale, broadening our reach beyond our current key stakeholders. Partnership with Opportunity London will enable us to raise the profile of OPDC and meet many new prospective partners.

Partnership with Opportunity London will provide excellent Learning & Development opportunities for all OPDC staff, giving them access to attend key conferences, speaking opportunities and more wider learning opportunities. It will ensure staff stay up to date with key sector news and are involved in London wide conversations about regeneration, economic development, sustainability and growth.

Joining Opportunity London also provides good value for money for OPDC. The £20,000 ensures we have a stand and speaking opportunities at a minimum of three high-profile events, which on their own cost upwards of £15,000 each. We also receive delegate passes as part of our package so becoming a partner of Opportunity London will save money in the long term.

Under Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as a public authority, OPDC must have ‘due regard’ to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, and victimisation as well as to the need to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

Being part of Opportunity London supports OPDC’s EDI strategy and Learning and Development programme by enabling staff from all backgrounds to have networking and knowledge sharing opportunities across the development sector. 

Project governance and assurance

OPDC will enter into a one-year agreement with Opportunity London, which will be managed by the Head of Communications and Strategy and supported by the Senior Communications Officer.

Risks and issues

Opportunity London is a relatively new campaign/initiative and there is a risk it may not be well received or promoted as well as we would expect. As a key partner of Opportunity London, we will mitigate this risk by driving communications through our own channels and content, ensuring we are promoting all events and opportunities as much as possible and maximising all prospective opportunities available to us.

Other considerations

There are no other considerations in respect of this decision.

Conflicts of interest

No one involved in the preparation or clearance of this Form, or its substantive proposal, has any conflict of interest.

The expenditure of £20,000 to become a member of Opportunity London will be funded from the HR&OD budget. The twelve-month duration of this membership, based on an estimated commencement date of mid-August 2022, will be split as: 7½ months (£12,500) to be funded from the 2022/23 budget, and 4½ months (£7,500) from the 2023/24 budget.