City Growth Commission

RSA 2020 Public Services launches the City Growth Commission, a major new inquiry into how best to enable England’s major cities to drive growth and respond to the fiscal and economic challenges of the future. Speakers included Commission Chairman Jim O'Neill, retiring Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management; Alexandra Jones, Chief Executive, Centre for Cities; Councillor Jon Collins, leader, Nottingham City Council & Ben Lucas, Chair of Public Services, RSA.

There is increasing recognition of the role of cities in creating economic growth in the UK and globally. In this context, RSA 2020 Public Services launched the City Growth Commission, a major inquiry into how best to enable England’s major cities to drive growth and respond to the fiscal and economic challenges of the future. The City Growth Commission developed an overarching plan for supporting city led growth and rebalancing the UK economy. It engaged with Whitehall, business and the political parties in order to generate broad support for its proposals and to lay the policy foundations for the next stage of devolution to our cities.

The Commission was chaired by Jim O’Neill, retiring Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. It was hosted and run by RSA 2020 Public Services with support from the Core Cities Group, the GLA, and London Councils.   The launch event set out the Commission's main areas of enquiry. It asked how growth in other English cities can complement London’s economic success and what the benefits of such an approach would be; and what the practical, organisational, cultural and systemic barriers are to moving to a multi-polar growth model.

Speakers included: Commission Chairman Jim O'Neill; Manchester City Council Leader, and Alexandra Jones, Chief Executive, Centre for Cities.

Councillor Jon Collins, leader, Nottingham City Council took the place of Sir Richard Leese.

The event was chaired by Ben Lucas, Chair of Public Services at the RSA.

Please note the event took place from 13.00-14.00 on Monday 28th October, in the Great Room of the RSA, 8 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6EZ. 

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