As power shifts from Whitehall to local leaders, Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) are being asked to do more than deliver – they must lead, reform, and innovate. But do they have the capabilities, relationships and resources to rise to this challenge?
This report was authored by Adrian Brown and commissioned by the Centre for Public Impact (CPI) in collaboration with Bloomberg Philanthropies. It offers a leaders’-eye view of the evolving MCA model at a pivotal moment in its development.
Based on in-depth interviews with metro mayors, MCA chief executives and national experts, alongside a review of policy and practice, it explores what it will take for MCAs to succeed, not just as delivery vehicles, but as entrepreneurial engines of place-based progress.
Read our report to dive deeper into:
- The leadership and strategic capabilities MCAs need to align diverse actors and drive change across political and institutional boundaries.
- The conditions that enable action, including fiscal flexibility, clear accountability, and the legitimacy to lead across complex systems.
- The importance of local context, shaped by history, identity, and lived experience, to develop strategies that are realistic, inclusive and place-specific.
England’s future prosperity may depend on the success of these regional institutions. Yet, the support systems around MCAs have not kept pace with their growing responsibilities. This report highlights the barriers holding MCAs back – and the levers that could help them move forward.
It is a call to action for national policymakers, regional leaders and partners across the public innovation ecosystem to work together to realise the promise of English devolution: a system where empowered places deliver better outcomes for people.
