Making Growth Funds Work Harder: Unlocking More Impact from Every Pound | 10:00am - Wed 9 Sep
- Subject: Making Growth Funds Work Harder: Unlocking More Impact from Every Pound
- Format: Online interactive presentation - followed by optional facilitated breakout discussion
- Date: Wednesday 9 September 2026
- Time: 10:00-11:15 AM
- Booking: Register your interest here
About
Public sector teams are under pressure to deliver more impact from every pound. Budgets are tighter, internal capacity is stretched and expectations around accountability, accessibility and economic outcomes continue to grow.
Across the UK, combined authorities, local authorities and growth partners are managing increasingly complex funding portfolios. From Local Growth Funds and UKSPF to investment funds and place-based programmes, the challenge is not simply securing funding - it's ensuring it reaches the right businesses, at the right time, in the right way, and delivers measurable economic impact.
Join UMi's Chief Investment Officer, Simon Goon, for a practical, thought-led webinar exploring how commissioners and public sector teams can design growth funds that go beyond deployment to deliver sustainable, recyclable impact.
Questions we'll explore:
- How do you ensure growth funding reaches businesses that traditional finance often overlooks?
- What role should investment readiness play in fund design?
- How can public funds create longer-term, recyclable impact rather than one-off interventions?
- What evidence do commissioners need to demonstrate economic impact and value for money?
- How can finance, business support and economic development objectives work more effectively together?
This is not a supplier pitch or tender briefing. It is a insight-led presentation and strategic conversation for people shaping, reviewing or rethinking growth funds in a changing public sector landscape.
Why now?
With new Local Growth Fund allocations, evolving devolution arrangements and increasing pressure to demonstrate impact, many organisations are reviewing how funding is designed, delivered and measured.
Whether you're managing an existing fund, designing a new intervention or preparing for the next generation of growth funding, now is the time to explore approaches that can increase reach, improve outcomes and maximise the value of future investment.
Who should attend?
This session is particularly relevant for:
- Economic Development Directors and Heads of Service
- Combined Authority growth, investment and business support teams
- Regeneration, place and inclusive growth leads
- Fund managers and programme managers
- UKSPF and Local Growth Fund leads
- Commissioners and policy teams shaping future funding models
Why UMi?
Since 2007, UMi has worked alongside national, regional and local government to design and deliver business support and investment programmes, helping unlock more than £1 billion in investment for UK businesses.
About the Speaker
Simon Goon - Chief Investment Officer, UMi
Simon has more than 20 years’ experience designing, commissioning and delivering business support and funding programmes. During senior roles at One North East (Regional Development Agency) and Business Durham (Economic Development Agency), he helped shape and oversee the deployment of more than £500 million of public sector investment funds, supporting business growth, investment and financially sustainable economic development across the North.
At UMi, Simon works alongside national, regional and local partners to design, govern and deliver effective funding and business support programmes, helping commissioners balance accessibility, accountability and long-term financial sustainability while maximising economic impact.
Register your interest
As this session include an optional facilitated discussion with peers, we ask attendees to register their interest to ensure we can bring together a relevant mix of professionals and ensure valuable discussion for everyone involved.
- Register your interest to join the session.