Over the past decade, devolution has fundamentally reshaped the UK’s economic development landscape.
When ambition outruns delivery
Combined authorities, mayoral offices and regional partnerships have been given greater responsibility for growth, productivity, skills and investment and expectations have risen accordingly.
Yet in many regions, ambition has expanded faster than delivery capacity. Economic strategies have become more complex, funding programmes more demanding, and the requirement to operate at both local and international levels more pronounced. At the same time, public sector resources have tightened.
The result is a growing delivery gap. Not a lack of ideas, vision or intent – but a constraint on the ability to execute consistently and at pace. For many regions, capacity is now the binding factor that determines what gets delivered, and what remains aspirational.
The changing nature of regional delivery
Modern regional economic development is no longer confined to grant administration or place promotion. It now encompasses:
- international market engagement and investor relationship management
- complex programme design and delivery across skills, innovation and business support
- multi-partner governance involving local authorities, national agencies, industry and education
- increasing scrutiny around value for money, outcomes and evaluation
Each of these requires specialist skills, commercial awareness and sustained effort. Yet many teams are operating with structures designed for a far simpler era.
This mismatch is not a failure of leadership. It is a structural challenge facing regions across the UK.
Why traditional models are under strain
Historically, regions have relied on a combination of in-house teams and national agencies to deliver economic growth. While this model still plays an important role, it is increasingly under pressure.
Recruiting and retaining specialist talent is difficult within public sector pay frameworks. Budget cycles are short, while delivery horizons are long. Teams are often stretched across multiple funding programmes, each with its own reporting and compliance requirements.
At the same time, the inward investment environment has become more competitive and more technical. Market intelligence, lead generation, investor conversion and aftercare all demand dedicated focus. These capabilities are hard to sustain internally without scale.
As a result, many regions find themselves reactive rather than proactive. They respond to opportunities as they arise rather than shaping them strategically.
Capacity versus capability
It is important to distinguish between capacity and capability. Many regions have highly capable individuals with deep local knowledge and commitment. What they often lack is sufficient capacity to deploy that capability effectively.
This manifests in familiar ways:
- promising initiatives that cannot be followed through at scale
- international engagement that is sporadic rather than sustained
- reliance on short-term consultants with limited continuity
- difficulty converting interest into delivery-ready projects.
Over time, this creates frustration internally and undermines external confidence.
Partnership as a strategic choice
In response, an increasing number of regions are rethinking how delivery is resourced. Rather than defaulting to permanent headcount growth – which is often impractical – they are exploring partnership-based models that augment capacity while retaining strategic control.
When designed well, these partnerships are not about outsourcing responsibility. They are about complementing public sector leadership with external capability, networks and market reach.
Effective partnerships tend to share several characteristics:
- clear outcomes rather than activity-based contracts
- alignment with regional priorities and governance
- embedded working rather than arm’s-length delivery
- knowledge transfer that strengthens internal teams over time.
This approach recognises that delivery capacity can be flexed without being relinquished.
Moving beyond transactional outsourcing
There is an important distinction between partnership and outsourcing. Transactional outsourcing may deliver short-term outputs, but it rarely builds long-term resilience.
By contrast, outcome-focused partnerships are designed to evolve. They allow regions to test approaches, scale successful interventions and adapt to changing market conditions. Importantly, they avoid the creation of dependency by embedding learning and capability within the system.
For regions operating in volatile policy and funding environments, this adaptability is increasingly valuable.
Capacity, confidence and credibility
Delivery capacity has a direct impact on how regions are perceived externally. Investors, funders and partners assess not only what a region says it wants to achieve, but also whether it can realistically deliver.
Regions that demonstrate coordinated delivery, timely decision-making and sustained engagement build credibility. Those who struggle to respond consistently risk being deprioritised, regardless of their underlying assets.
Addressing capacity constraints is therefore not an internal management issue alone. It is central to a region’s competitiveness.
Building sustainable delivery models
The objective for most regions is not to externalise delivery indefinitely. It is to build sustainable models that balance internal leadership with flexible external support.
This requires honest assessment of where constraints are most acute – whether in international engagement, programme management, commercial expertise or market intelligence – and addressing them pragmatically.
Regions that take this approach are better placed to weather change, deliver outcomes and maintain momentum even as political and economic conditions shift.
A final reflection for regional leaders
When growth ambitions stall, the instinct is often to revisit strategy. Yet in many cases, the strategy is sound; the constraint lies in delivery.
Where is your region most constrained today – vision, funding, or capacity to execute?
Recognising capacity as the critical constraint is not an admission of weakness. It is a foundation for more effective leadership. In an increasingly competitive environment, how regions choose to deliver may matter as much as what they choose to deliver.
At Gateley Global, we work with regions to build sustainable partnerships that flex capacity while strengthening internal teams.
