Strategy
We helped a newly formed mayoral combined authority build the strategic foundation it needed to deliver for 2.3 million residents. Inner Circle was commissioned to build an economic evidence base for the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA). As the partnership deepened, the scope of what we could achieve together grew: from the evidence base as a starting point to the strategy, organisational architecture, and delivery infrastructure for a new kind of regional institution.
The East Midlands is a region of 2.3 million people and a £60 billion economy. In 2024, devolution brought something the region had never had before: a mayor with a mandate and the powers to act across the whole geography. What EMCCA needed next was the strategic foundation to make the most of them.
Working in genuine partnership with EMCCA’s leadership, we built the region’s first comprehensive economic evidence base, developed its first ever Growth Plan, a ten-year blueprint committing the region to £13bn more in its economy and 60,000 more people in work, and designed an Inclusive Growth Framework that connects every decision the organisation makes to the outcomes that matter for residents. We then designed and embedded Mission Control, helping EMCCA build the coherence to act as one organisation, and established the Programme Management Office to ensure it can deliver and demonstrate value.
EMCCA has since applied for Established Status at the earliest possible opportunity, recognition that this new tier of government is credible and working. At a moment of declining trust in public institutions, that matters far beyond the East Midlands.
View the profile in the MCA Members Directory.