Report

Place capacity and institutional thickness: Leadership, agency and the governance of English devolution

This report from UK think tank City-REDI explores why some English city-regions turn devolved powers into effective strategy while others struggle to get off the ground.

This report examines how institutional capacity, leadership and governance shape the success of devolution and place-based development in England. The report revisits the concept of institutional thickness, arguing that effective local and regional governance depends not only on formal institutions and devolved powers, but also on strong relationships, shared purpose, analytical capability, collaborative culture and distributed leadership across places. It highlights significant variations in capacity between different areas, explores how central government practices can either support or undermine local governance, and argues that successful devolution requires sustained investment in partnerships, institutional learning and place leadership.

The authors conclude that building effective meso-level governance is as much a cultural and relational challenge as a structural one, and that reducing regional inequalities will depend on creating the right mix of institutional capacity, local agency and supportive national frameworks.