Enabling Regional Growth: Institutional and Fiscal Lessons from England and Japan

Second cities and devolved regions can play a key role in tackling regional inequality — if supported by effective devolution.

This report explores how second cities can drive inclusive, long-term growth. Through comparative case studies of Birmingham in the West Midlands and Osaka in the Kansai region, the research provides a practical framework for implementing devolution effectively. Insights focus on actionable steps to build strong institutions, flexible regional groupings, and sustainable funding models.

The experiences of Birmingham and Osaka, and their wider regions, show how place-specific strategies, strong regional leadership and cross-tier collaboration can generate meaningful progress outside of national capital regions. The report further demonstrates the value of international knowledge exchange — a finding in itself.

For long-term regional success, policymakers and regional leaders should focus on four key enablers:

• Stable institutions: Consistent governance structures help build momentum and accountability.
• Functional regional groupings: Flexible collaborations based on shared economies and identity enable more effective partnerships.
• Empowering funding models: Adequate, fair and locally influenced funding supports tailored investment strategies.
• Embedded monitoring and learning: Evaluation systems should track outcomes, not just outputs, and feed back into strategy.