Webinar: Everything in its right place – establishing strong organisations and practices for successful devolution
Next month Localis will be launching a new report on the evolution of strategic authorities entitled ‘Everything in its right place – establishing strong organisations and practices for successful devolution’. To herald the release of this report, we are hosting a webinar on the 17th June from 11am to 12pm.
With the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act now enshrined into law, the advent of mayoral combined authorities – redubbed as Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MSAs) – is close to completion. The government’s devolution agenda grants additional powers and more flexible governance arrangements to mayors and MSAs, leading to fewer but more visible local politicians. The importance of strategic authorities in the local governance ecosystem is set to increase further with the devolution of integrated departmental funding settlements, first to the two ‘trailblazer’ combined authorities in Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, and then out across the country.
For the devolution agenda to be a success in delivering economic growth and improved living standards across the country, MSAs will need a well-established culture of discipline and ingrained capabilities, including accountability, expert risk management, and objective strategy assessment, built on a strong foundation of scrutiny and overview.
Yet many new strategic authorities are relatively young, lacking established processes, relationships and expectations. For there to be a chance of success, the lessons of the first wave of new authorities must be well institutionalised across the board, both at central and local levels.
Developing institutional maturity and an organisational culture set up for positive change is as important a policy challenge as any of the formal metrics which underline the outcomes framework for the integrated settlements, yet it is not a process that lends itself easily to data snapshots. Qualitative work must be done to trace the process of development, identifying commonalities and shared problems.
This period of transition will be marked by significant structural changes impacting the organisational culture, service delivery mechanisms, and accountability processes of local and strategic authorities. When it comes to devolution, there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach: the success of strategic governance is heavily influenced by the specific histories, civic identities, and geographies that define England’s places.
Guiding questions
- How should we work within the current agenda for devolution to embed a new breed of capable and dynamic institutions at the local and regional level that are to last through multiple electoral cycles?
- What is needed organisationally and structurally at local and regional level:
- To create the greatest public value;
- To demonstrate accountability and strong governance;
- And to ensure the ability to deliver value for money in placemaking and service delivery?
- How can we accelerate the maturation of emerging strategic authorities and ensure that they align with the national ecosystem for driving economic growth?
Please join us for this webinar from 11:00 to 12:00 on Wednesday, 17th June.
Webinar Speakers
- Stephen Jones, Director, Core Cities
- Kirsty Spindler, Client Development Director, Local Partnerships
- Sandy Forsyth, Senior Researcher, Localis
In collaboration with:
