In February 2004 the Government invited regional development agencies (RDAs) in the North and the Midlands to develop growth strategies to raise the international profile and performance of each of these regions.
The three Northern RDAs -One Northeast, Northwest Development Agency and Yorkshire Forward - published "Moving Forward: The Northern Way (First growth Strategy Report)" in September.
- It aims to bridge the £29bn output gap between the North and the rest of the UK. One of its main conclusions was that the North's eight city-regions are key to accelerating the economic growth of the North.
- In particular, it says that Manchester and Leeds are the two city-regions that appear to have the capacity to develop into European-level competitive cities.
At the same time, a £100mn Northern Way Growth Fund was established by the Government and the RDAs.
As a first step the eight city-regions identified in the Northern Way set out the key actions and investments needed to implement the Strategy. Their "City-Region Development Programmes", contributed to the Northern Way Business Plan which was launched in June 2005.
Further information on the Northern Way is available on the Northern Way website