The Public Sector as an Entrepreneur

Abstract Purpose This chapter addresses two main questions; firstly, whether the public sector should seek to play an entrepreneurial role in its local economy and, secondly, what kinds of roles it could undertake. This chapter addresses these questions through an engagement with Cooke and Morgan’s (1998) concept of the animateur. The chapter uses examples drawn from Leicester City Mayor’s 100 Days in office programme to illustrate how the public sector provides a ‘breath of life’ to defunct areas in the City’s built environment and its economic activity. In this way, the animateur is a mode of engagement appropriate to characterize public sector entrepreneurship. Methodology/approach The chapter takes a case study approach drawing on the author’s previous research in Leicester and current involvement in the governance structures in the City. Findings The chapter examines the ways in which the public sector may be seen to be ‘entrepreneurial’. It argues that while the public sector should be seen as a legitimate entrepreneur in local economic development, their focus should be on innovative use of space and infrastructure. Here the role of the public sector should be to provide the ‘urban plumbing’ that would not be a cost-effective role for the private sector to undertake. The chapter uses the example of Leicester in England where the public sector has attempted to use culture and heritage to drive economic development in the City. Here the City authorities used these industries as a mechanism for the physical regeneration of large parts of the City Centre and have created spaces for private sector enterprises to flourish. The chapter argues that the success here was due to the City Council and the LEP understanding their role in entrepreneurship as an enabler rather than driver. Practical implications Policy-makers need to better understand the role the public sector can play in local entrepreneurship. This role should not be restricted to physical regeneration projects as the public sector should also be an innovative leader in the governance of enterprise and entrepreneurship at the local and regional tiers.