The North East Automotive Alliance (NEAA) is a not-for-profit industrial cluster which has been established to support the economic sustainable growth of the sector in the North East of England. The NEAA provides a single unified voice to key stakeholder groups and promotes the true value created by NE Automotive sector. NEAA member companies find benefit from leadership and co-ordination of activities which have mutual benefit. Whilst the membership creates a collaborative network which is a more compelling and more attractive environment for investors. Through the NEAA companies take a cohesive approach to tackling strategic issues that companies could not address alone in order to overcome barriers to growth by providing: • Access to business excellence skills and training to improve regional competitiveness • Showcase regional capability and facilitate sector networking within the region • Provide a focal point for funding & interfacing with government bodies • Align regional and national strategic objectives Primary objectives of the alliance are to: • Facilitate the cluster members to share best practice, benchmarking and tackle common issues. • Provide support to access funding and co-ordinate regional bids to funds • Deliver business improvement programmes to support competitiveness and growth • Represent and promote the region nationally and internationally • Developing an innovation strategy for the automotive sector • Provide awareness of emerging technologies and strategies affecting the sector • Working with universities, colleges and schools to ensure correct skills and training to meet sector needs.