BELFAST BRIEFING:IF IMITATION is the highest form of flattery then how much economic mileage might there be for Northern Ireland to simply just "borrow" some good ideas in 2012?

There is no shame in admitting that the North has not exactly been a powerhouse when it comes to generating original economic strategies that work. So perhaps one of Northern Ireland’s new year resolutions should be to ditch some bad habits, like sitting around talking about creating a stronger economy, and just get on with it.

For starters it could take a look at how one initiative in Britain is working to “oil the wheels between the banks and businesses”. Last January a local enterprise partnership (LEP) was established in Coventry and Warwickshire to give the people “who know their local economy best” the power to “plan and undertake the most appropriate actions”. It has brought together more than 170 people who are working together to “make Coventry and Warwickshire one of the best and easiest places to start, grow and locate a business”.

One of the areas best known local companies, Jaguar Land Rover, has even given it an office to operate from.

LEP chairman Denys Shortt, says it represents a new collaboration between the public and private sectors and one that will be “much smarter and much more focused in how we deploy and utilise our assets and talents and the resources available to us”. It is a game plan that he has followed closely in his own life – a former international hockey player, Shortt is the founder and chief executive of DCS Europe.

He has grown his Stratford-upon-Avon-based company, which sells and distributes health, beauty and household brands, into 10 businesses with annual sales of more than £130 million.

Shortt’s personal motto is “what you believe . . . you create” – it is one the LEP intend to make their own. It is hoping to foster a different kind of relationship between banks and businesses in the region to create jobs.

It has established a special finance group which involves all the key local banks and which is headed up by a senior banker, Brian Colquhoun, a regional director of Yorkshire Bank.

This group meets every month to bring businesses, banks and other finance providers face to face in a neutral environment.

The LEP believes it provides local firms with an opportunity to get direct access to banks that they might not otherwise be able to get. It also gives local businesses an opportunity to ask for advice and learn about other options without having to commit to a particular bank or organisation. The LEP group is producing 20 case studies of local businesses and their tales of good and bad access to finance to help other companies learn from their experiences.

It is an open door policy that allows businesses to see what exactly the banks and various potential financial backers have on offer and it is a concept that many Northern Ireland firms struggling to secure vital credit and financing facilities would probably welcome.

Perhaps the North needs to look at the momentum this LEP has managed to create in its own community. Have initiatives in Northern Ireland – such as the Economic Advisory Group set up by the Minister of Enterprise or the Cross Sector Advisory Forum established by the First Minister and deputy First Ministers – created a similar ripple of enthusiasm? Probably not.

Is there a lack of passion in Northern Ireland about all things to do with the economy – is there still a culture of waiting for someone else like the British Chancellor to pick up the tab?

Well maybe 2012 is the year to change all that and it is time for action not meetings.

Arlene Foster, the North’s Enterprise Minister, for one believes there are “deals to be won and untapped potential to be realised” by Northern Ireland businesses in the next 12 months.

Successful businesses create opportunities for themselves, which is exactly what Northern Ireland needs to do in 2012.