Best Use of Thought Leadership
Inner Circle Consulting convened ten partner cities to produce “A Case for Cities,” a thought leadership initiative that reframed the national debate on local government reform, strengthened city collaboration, informed policy engagement, and reinforced ICC’s role as a trusted advisor during a period of significant governance change.
This case study of thought leadership sits at the intersection of two complex systems – the city and government.
In early 2025 English cities began navigating some of the most consequential governance decisions since the major reforms of the 1970s. As Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) accelerated, cities were expected to respond to structural change within a national framework that did not fully recognise how cities function as economic, civic and democratic systems.
National debate was dominated by scale, efficiency and administrative simplification. Through its day-to-day work with local and regional government, Inner Circle Consulting saw a common pattern emerging across multiple places: leaders understood the value of their cities but lacked a shared evidence base, language and platform through which to make that case credibly at a national level.
ICC responded by convening a coalition of ten partner cities and creating A Case for Cities: a piece of thought leadership designed to reframe the debate and equip cities to act. Delivered over four months and sustained through a wider programme of engagement, the work combined economic analysis, spatial thinking, storytelling, practitioner insight and public policy expertise. Following publication, it was carried into parliamentary engagement, city advocacy, roundtables, submissions and follow-on dialogue with government.
Since launching, the programme has informed live LGR submissions, shaped policy engagement with government and parliamentarians, strengthened collaboration between participating cities, and generated new strategic commissions. Reinforcing ICC’s role as a trusted strategic partner to places navigating one of the most politically sensitive governance reforms in decades.
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