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The Future of Regional Development and Public Investment in Wales, United Kingdom

image of The Future of Regional Development and Public Investment in Wales, United Kingdom

The Welsh Government has set an ambitious and innovative path for regional development and public investment – one focused on generating growth and increasing productivity, while also reducing territorial disparities and ensuring the well-being of citizens, now and in the future. Yet, it faces significant challenges, accentuated by limited fiscal decentralisation and changes to public investment financing post-Brexit. This OECD Multi-level Governance Studies report provides the Welsh Government and Welsh local authorities with analysis and recommendations on how to achieve regional development and public investment aims. The report offers insight into how the Welsh Government and Welsh local authorities can increase their fiscal and public investment capacity, and strengthen their governance practices. It stresses that the Welsh Government’s ability to coordinate regional development policy and associated public investment is a determining factor in meeting growth and well-being objectives. This report also proposes a variety of mechanisms to strengthen policy and service delivery at the local level. A case study featuring the challenges and benefits of establishing economic regions in Mid and South West Wales sheds a practical light on the various aspects explored throughout the report.

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Reinforcing the governance of regional development and public investment in Wales

Chapter 5 features an extensive discussion of the strengths and challenges of Welsh governance structures in their ability to support regional development and public investment. It focuses on the role of strategic frameworks and makes a case for introducing a unique national regional development policy, in order to align priorities and maximise limited resources, and for taking an integrated approach to development planning by regional and local bodies. It examines existing co‑ordination mechanisms for regional development policy and public investment, and identifies potential new ones. It also explores obstacles to policy implementation and options for overcoming these, such as cross-jurisdiction co‑operation, “learning by doing” and outcome-based monitoring and evaluation. The chapter emphasises the importance of building trust-based partnerships among different government actors, as well as with citizens, and closes with a series of recommendations for action.

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