Mr Jonathan Pickstone CGeog (Econ)
Employer Name
The Scottish Government
Biography
Jon Pickstone is the Assistant Director for Economic Geography at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), promoting geographical analysis and greater consideration of place. This role has included being the policy lead for developing the 2014-2020 Assisted Areas Map. This Map designates which areas of the UK are eligible for certain types of additional state support used to catalyse economic development and regeneration. Following national consultation, Jon advised Ministers on which parts of the UK should be included on the Map based on a combination of relative economic need, the potential to benefit from Assisted Areas status, and the European Commission guidelines under which the Map is drawn. At Jon's direction, the 2014-2020 Map was the first to utilise interactive online mapping as a tool for consultation and presentation. Prior to joining BIS, Jon was the Homes and Communities Agency's strategic lead for the Thames Gateway, Europe's largest regeneration project. His work there included strategies for promoting the area in international capital markets, identifying priority places for investment in the Gateway, and assessing the geography and rate of housing supply. Jon began his career in economic development and strategic town planning consultancy, where projects included local economic development and regeneration strategies, innovative GIS techniques for assessing infrastructure demand, and spatial economic analysis for the 2003 Aviation White Paper.