The examination of the role of the North East LEP in this research covered i) leadership style/capacity and capability, ii) the value-added of the North East LEP, and iii) approaches to coordinating and undertaking network governance.

Overall, the feedback on the North East LEP’s leadership was positive, with consultees observing that there has been a consistent overall strategic vision for the region through the complementary combination of the chief executive and main board chairs. The leadership was also praised as fostering a culture of transparency and accountability while providing steady leadership.

In addition to providing a clear and consistent economic vision, the added value of the North East LEP was classified as aiding the navigation of flux through the COVID-19 pandemic and EU transition, and providing continuity and representation for the regional (e.g., translating regional need into the national policy language to secure funding for strategic projects). The North East LEP acts as an aggregator, co-owner, and broker-facilitator within the broader local policy ecosystem, and this is a key role in developing and delivering policy, supporting legitimacy and effectiveness.

Capacity and capability is an essential variable to the delivery of differentiated regional policy. The North East LEP was praised in consultation for its strong organisational team and board memberships that demonstrate extensive connections within the region and which foster strong ties with a broad range of organisations and businesses.

Both consultation and other documentary evidence suggested that resourcing was largely appropriate, albeit with some fluctuation over the North East LEP’s years of operation. Evaluations of policy and programme delivery often noted that greater resourcing could allow the North East LEP to ‘do more’ (i.e., deliver further benefit). The capacity developed by the North East LEP was thought to support the commitment to transparency and accountability, via reporting, outcome tracking mechanisms, and other tools (including the data and evidence infrastructure).

The capacity and capability of the North East LEP also appears to support the North East LEP’s reflexivity, i.e., undertaking frequent communication with stakeholders (internally and externally), part of which is developing and delivering policy and programmes, and part of which is securing additional expertise.

Consultation undertaken for this research also highlighted the extent to which capacity and capability supported agility and the ability to pivot where needed in response to external developments. This includes a proactive approach to identifying and considering diverse funding streams in light of EU transition.

Consultees described the North East LEP as having demonstrated agility by actively exploring alternative funding options, such as post-EU transition replacements for long-standing European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) and other European funding sources. Showing the North East LEP’s adaptability to changing circumstances and commitment to securing resources for regional development.

This strategic exploration reflects the North East LEP’s capacity to navigate challenges and capitalise on opportunities in a dynamic economic landscape. It also demonstrates the North East LEP’s ability to leverage different funds, identifying opportunities, further building capacity, and innovating or pivoting approaches where needed.

Evidence and insights refers to the role of data and research in how the North East LEP has shaped economic policies in the region, and how data was identified and integrated to inform decision-making. Consultation undertaken for this research highlighted the consistent use of evidence, supported by the creation and maintenance of the Evidence Hub. This was regarded unanimously as a success of North East LEP delivery, and as a reliable source of data, drawing together national and regional data (secondary and primary) that was supported by proactive and adaptable data collection. The Evidence Hub was described as facilitating comparability in analysis and transparency and accountability in decisions.

Consultation also highlighted how the North East LEP had fostered a culture of evidence among stakeholders and partners, with evidence and data at the forefront of policy and decision-making and playing a critical role in justifying investments, attracting funding, and ensuring projects were strategically aligned. Communication was praised too, including the Our Economy conferences and commitment to publishing evaluative findings. The sum of these factors was felt by stakeholders to exemplify the North East LEP’s commitment to continual improvement, as enshrined in its values.

Partnership working was explored in relation to the North East LEP’s approach to partnership working and its coordinating activities and efforts across stakeholders, including organisations and delivery partners, to design and deliver the activities outlined in the SEP.

Consultation undertaken for this research was positive about the North East LEP’s view of and approach to partnership working, which was described as key to ensuring that policies and programmes are well-oriented, scoped, and targeted because of the role of co-design. Consultees felt that the North East LEP had managed to find and connected to the ‘right’ people from businesses and other organisations, harnessing their input views and leveraging external expertise alongside in-house knowledge.

The search for and engagement of external expertise was embedded in the North East LEP’s core approaches to communicating with stakeholders, from conferences and events to more bespoke arrangements such as the periodic refreshes of the SEP. The North East LEP’s approach to partnership working has bolstered legitimacy and trust, reputational development, and has contributed to good governance practices such as transparency and accountability.

Based on consultation and review of documentary evidence during this research, the value of the LEP over the period 2014-2024 can be characterised in three primary ways, each of which relate directly to chosen leadership approaches, and organisational culture:

• Fostering a culture of data and evidence-led decision making. This is itself a two-part action comprising: i) creating and maintaining the evidence base for policy and programme development for the region, including the initial independent economic review, described in consultation as being a central to the LEP’s ability to shape and orient policy and programmes; and ii) increasing data accessibility and appetite to use data among partners in the region through creating and maintaining primary and secondary datasets and leading by example.
• Facilitating the development and delivery of appropriate policy and programmes by performing the role of ‘honest broker’ among regional stakeholders. The LEP has been able to generate and maintain legitimacy through being openly data-led, developing a reputation as a neutral facilitator of policy decisions. This requires a combination of data infrastructure, organisational culture and processes, and sufficient capacity – as well as demonstrable adherence to good governance principles such as transparency. Each of these were highlighted in consultation for this research.
• Helping local actors to navigate flux (whether related to externalities such as the COVID-19 pandemic or EU transition, or elsewhere in the policy system). The LEP has been praised for the ways it worked across the multi-level governance system to articulate regional needs and priorities to national government (e.g., in developing responses to competitive funding calls and devolution processes, also highlighted in the interim evaluation of the SEP). The evaluation of the Growth Hub also praised the ways in which the team worked to ease access to business support by undertaking individually focused outreach and curating a network of providers. Developing and maintaining strong strategic and delivery partnerships that are truly bilateral is key to both providing consistency and stewardship and working across levels of governance. 

As discussed in relevant academic and grey literature, the viability of these approaches rests on developing supporting capacity, which the North East LEP appears to have managed despite some flux in budgets and staffing. The literature reviewed as part of this research notes that these behaviours and practices can also be seen to be interlinked and mutually reinforcing, insofar as values and organisational culture can only be actualised through sufficient infrastructure (e.g., the evidence hub) and appropriate advocacy (e.g., clear communication as part of an inclusive approach to developing partnerships and working methods). These are in turn support and are supported by the ‘honest broker’ role, which embeds and becomes legitimised over time, dependant on results.
  

Based on the evidence review and consultation undertaken for this piece of research, the North East LEP has been effective and impactful in a number of areas. This covers both design and delivery of policy and programmes, with consultees emphasising the role of the North East LEP in setting (and maintaining) the strategic direction for the region, and independent evaluations offering a uniformly positive view of policy and programme results. This positive assessment covers areas ranging from business support to entrepreneurship, innovation, skills development, and investments in economic development infrastructures. While the interim evaluation of the SEP highlighted progress against a number of key performance indicators and policy domains, particular examples of effectiveness derived from consultation include: the approach to engaging and supporting businesses in an individualised way, the COVID-19 response, and  the Gatsby pilot having become a national standard. 

The above examples demonstrate the North East LEP’s differentiated approach, and the importance of using evidence in developing targeted interventions. The results of reviewing prior evaluation findings and undertaking primary consultation for this research highlighted that the LEP’s effectiveness is underpinned by its ability to scope and deliver appropriate interventions through use of evidence and capacity to mobilise the analysis. The evaluation of the COVID-19 response (and the evaluation of the Growth Hub activities) also highlighted the importance of the North East LEP’s agility and ability to innovate and pivot delivery to react to changing circumstances. Consultation emphasised the  importance of the North East LEP’s values and commitment to continual improvement to this, and its adherence to the good governance principle of responsiveness (itself also noted in the academic and grey literatures as underpinned by capacity). 

A final area of effectiveness that is worthy of discussion in this section is the perception of the North East LEP as providing steady leadership. This relates to two main areas: i) the North East LEP’s reputation for transparency and accountability, and ii) the above-discussed navigation of flux. Consultees repeatedly praised the chair of the main North East LEP board and the current chief executive, noting the complementarity of the pair and the importance of the consistency in setting direction and culture (including the transparency and accountability), and influencing ways of working (including the emphasis on harnessing the business voice). The chief executive was also praised for providing a ‘calming’ influence during periods of uncertainty.

The last ten years of North East LEP delivery provides a number of important lessons for future activity through the new Combined Authority. The view of the North East LEP as an ‘honest broker’ that works across both the region (with partners) and the multi-level governance system (with government departments and agencies, and other policy bodies) highlights the importance of the organisation being able to act in an informed and neutral way. Based on consultation and independent evaluations, the North East LEP has succeeded in large part because of its knowledge of the local area in terms of needs and how this translates into a national policy language and context. 

This has been facilitated by the robust evidence base that is also kept up to date through continual investment, which allows the North East LEP to appropriately scope and orient its interventions. The honest broker role is a key element of developing trust in the North East North East LEP’s role, and is supported by the evidence base and values of the organisation, socialised among partners. In line with this, the leadership of the North East LEP has provided a consistent vision, updating the SEP iteratively and ensuring consistency with other areas of policy and delivery.

Despite some fluctuation, the North East LEP has been appropriately resourced to deliver its programmes and interventions, though consultation and evaluations note that greater resourcing would have allowed increased outreach/engagement/scaling. This includes some areas that are resource intensive (e.g. the Growth Hub), and efforts to respond quickly to external shocks such as the pandemic.

The values of the North East LEP have been central to ensuring consistency of approach (e.g., across numerous board chairs) while also facilitating individuality to be expressed. Advocacy of data and evidence-led decision making (and routinely bringing partners into the process of development as equals) has engendered shared value of the use of evidence. Adherence to good governance principles has been supported by resourcing and capacity, but also speaks to the values of the organisation and how they are embedded across all staff. This has resulted in a consistency of approach and a shared approach and baseline competencies.