The Committee invited the Executive to take the lead in guaranteeing that a simpler, more cohesive structure exists in local economic development. The Executive accepted this challenge and outlined the concept of Local Economic Forums. The Forums would comprise representatives of public and private sector bodies engaged in economic development services and would be tasked with simplifying local economic development and improving services to businesses and people.

In November 2000 Wendy Alexander, the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning hosted a major economic development conference to take forward the Forum concept. This involved key representatives from business, the Enterprise Networks, local authorities and a wide range of other bodies and organisations. Draft guidelines, setting out a blueprint for Forums, was published on 6th December 2000, with final guidelines being published on 7th March 2001.

The Guidelines identified the key tasks for the first year of the Forums as being the eradication of wasteful duplication in economic development services. This would be done by undertaking a local assessment of "what works" and subsequently seeking to improve the quality of local business support services.

The Forums have a high degree of discretion and self-monitoring, with the responsibility for implementation and the achievement of real change lying at local level. Assistance and support at the national level is provided by two Ministerial Taskforces, whose role is to disseminate good practice, monitor progress and consider the challenges for future years.