The Department for Enviornment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), is the UK government department responsible for the enviornment, food, farming and rural matters.

East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is one of nine Regional Development Agencies in England, set up in 1999 to bring a regional focus to economic development. The East Midlands is the third most rural region in England. Rural areas
and market towns make a distinctive and important contribution to the East Midlands' economy. emda works to ensure a thriving rural economy, where businesses and communities can access the support they need, to help achieve the vision of a 'flourishing region'.

EMEL is the voice of the non-government environment sector at the regional level in the East Midlands. We have 7 member organisations covering the full spectrum of environmental issues. We work in association with a number of government agencies to ensure this experience and knowledge informs the regional decision making process.

Formed in 2000 by voluntary youth groups and networks across the region, EMVY aims to be an inclusive and diverse network for the voluntary youth sector, providing strategic support, influence and advocacy at a regional level.
This website is the result of the EMVY Conference in May 2006, where delegates recognised the need for a regional website to provide resources and information to help people working in the field, and also to have capacity for any youth group or organisation to have their space within this regional site

This site contains general information on the work of GOEM drawing together policies, news, and events across the region. It describes how the office works with regional partners and local people to maximise competitiveness and prosperity in the East Midlands. Information on our work with rural communities can be found in the 'Environment and Rural'
section.