Practical insights into how devolution frameworks, regional groupings, funding mechanisms and monitoring and evaluation practices can be harnessed to best effect to secure sustainable and inclusive growth for their regions.
This report examines how regional growth can be enabled outside of national capitals. It draws on lessons from two second cities: Birmingham in England and Osaka in Japan, and focuses on four critical issues:
- institutional conditions for growth
- regional group formation
- funding mechanisms
- monitoring and evaluation.
By comparing the experiences of the West Midlands metropolitan region and Osaka region (Osaka Prefecture), the report provides fresh insights into how local and regional actors can build stronger, more responsive governance frameworks – and how national governments can better support them.
For UK practitioners and policymakers, the findings offer practical guidance for implementing the government’s evolving devolution agenda and regional growth strategies. For Japanese counterparts, the report highlights transferable models of regional finance and governance innovation. For both countries, it opens the door to deeper bilateral policy learning and knowledge exchange.
Download the report
日本語訳 (Japanese translations)
レポート - 地域における成長の実現 イングランドと日本における制度的・財政的教訓
(download the Japanese translated report)
ユーチューブ - 地域における成長の実現 イングランドと日本における制度的・財政的教訓
(watch the YouTube video)