IfG DevoLab #5: How can mayors and local leaders create a shared vision for regional growth?

The IfG DevoLab is dedicated to exploring the innovations enabled by devolution, learning from the results, and sharing the lessons so that places can take better decisions about how to use devolved powers and budgets. We were in Sheffield for the fifth DevoLab event, where three speakers set out how mayors and local leaders can build and sustain a shared vision for growth across their regions. The three case studies presented at IfG DevoLab #5 were: ‘Developing a shared vision for growth in South Yorkshire’, by Kate Josephs CB, Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council ‘Corridors of Growth in a Polycentric City Region’, by Tony Reeves, Chief Executive of Wakefield Council ‘Delivering an inclusive growth strategy in the East Midlands’, by Damien Dacey, Executive Director of Strategy and Inclusive Growth at the East Midlands County Combined Authority The three speakers were joined by Pete Gladwell, Group Managing Director, Public Investment at L&G, for a broader discussion on how mayors can work effectively with partners across their region, build consensus around shared priorities, and sustain ambition as political contexts shift. This event was chaired by Dr Hannah White, Director and CEO of the Institute for Government. Insights from this discussion will inform a published policy briefing containing the three case studies and a synthesis of key lessons. The Institute for Government would like to thank L&G for its support for this event and for its wider support of the IfG DevoLab series.