Vision to launch One Plan in May

A promotional strategy aimed at selling Liverpool nationally and internationally will now be officially launched next month.

Liverpool Vision, the economic development company for the city, unveiled the strategy, to be known as One Plan, last December and said it would be launched in April.

Vision is leading the project, alongside partners from Liverpool City Council, Liverpool University, Liverpool John Moores University, National Museums Liverpool and Chamber of Commerce.

An official board is still being set up which includes representatives from both the public and private sector to help deliver the plan.

Max Steinberg, chief executive of Liverpool Vision, said he is currently chairman of a steering group behind the plan but will be stepping down from the role and replaced by the Bishop of Liverpool, Rt Rev James Jones.

Steinberg told Place: "The One Plan, which is about trying to collect many of the cultural assets of the city and working with the private sector to help develop and deliver those, is going very well.

"It will be launched next month and we will have some major names to announce as partners by the end of May. The steering group I chair at the moment will have the Bishop of Liverpool taking over as chair once we've got the plan completely together. The board has a majority of private sector stakeholders around the table and public sector stakeholders.

"What we're excited about is the fact that people are seeing the opportunity to partner with Vision and towards the end of May we will be announcing the detail of the One Plan and announcing those organisations who have already agreed to be partners of the city; part of Vision and taking forward the One Plan for the future."

Steinberg, who replaced Jim Gill as chief executive of Vision in July last year, said the city's presence at the World Expo 2010 helped in the development of the One Plan.

He added: "What we saw in Shanghai was that the city, 10,000 or 12,000 miles away, has a very strong positive reputation. The cultural offer is recognised nationally and internationally and we want to be able to continue to deliver that despite the fact we've got spending issues."

One Plan aims to encourage organisations from the public sector and companies from the private sector to share resources, skills, ideas and expertise to help deliver the new joint plan for the city.

The opening of a Liverpool Embassy in London was regarded as a key milestone in helping to promote the city, but the board will also focus on key events taking place this year and in 2012 to help the promotional strategy.

Events fall into two categories including those that are funded and which offer opportunities for collaboration and those that require funding.

The Liverpool Boat Show, one of the events the council and Vision hoped to use as part of the strategy, was cancelled in February.

The council and Vision has since managed to replace the Boat Show with a number of maritime events between 29 April and 8 May, titled Spring on the Waterfront.

The opening the new Museum of Liverpool, the 100th anniversary of the Liver Building, the Mersey River Festival, and the London 2012 Olympics, are the other events being targeted.

The council said in December that the private sector will play a critical role in securing funding and providing sponsorship for projects.

Steinberg, however, declined to say how much funding will be made available towards the strategy.

He said: "Effectively we're budgeting the city council's funding and the Vision funding on the table to deliver and develop it and what we want to see is other funding to come alongside that to help us actually deliver a new programme into the future. I can only say wait until May until those figures are announced."

Liverpool City Council confirmed in February that it is providing £1.75m to Liverpool Vision to continue its work.