East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is one of nine Regional Development Agencies in England, set up in 1999 by Government to bring a regional focus to economic development. Independent evaluation conducted ten years on has shown emda has:

• Had a significant impact on the region’s economy
• Generated economic benefits that substantially outweigh its overall costs
• Put back over £9 of economic output (or GVA) into the regional economy for every £1 it spends
• Produced more than £1 billion in economic benefits per year
• Had a wider impact on people, places and businesses in the East Midlands that cannot be captured by figures alone.