UofG Centre for Public Policy

3 March 2026: University of Glasgow experts Professor Graeme Roy and Dr David Waite, with Dr Claire Charbit and Dr Margarida Bandeira Morais from the OECD, write about the mechanism of contracts in regional development and how it binds different layers of government in regional policymaking.

Across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), there are ongoing questions about appropriate multi-level governance architectures to support regional development. Such concerns are now heightened given the multiple challenges faced by regional policymakers and the constraints on regional action.

In this policy briefing note - a collaboration between social science researchers at the University of Glasgow Centre for Public Policy and policy analysts at the OECD - we explore how contracts have been used in multiple OECD contexts to bind different levels of government for the purposes of regional development.

With ongoing discussions taking place in the Scottish context about what comes next after the initial city-region and growth deals, and how regional working can be pursued, the note sketches out considerations for the promises and pitfalls of a contract or deals-based approach. In the New Zealand context, where deals are now being embarked upon for three select areas, we step out considerations for the process ahead. The note also draws on wider insights from across the OECD, including France, Portugal and Iceland.

Read and download the note:

Policy Insights - From agreement to action: Supporting regional development through contracts across levels of government (PDF)

Authors

Claire Charbit, Former Employee - Regional Development and Multi-level Governance Division - OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities

Margarida Bandeira Morais, Policy Analyst - Regional Development and Multi-level Governance Division - OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities

Graeme Roy, Professor of Economics - Deputy Head of the College of Social Sciences and Assistant Vice Principal - University of Glasgow

David Waite, Senior Lecturer – School of Social and Political Sciences and Fellow of the Centre for Public Policy - University of Glasgow

This brief was prepared by Claire Charbit and Margarida Bandeira Morais from the OECD Secretariat and Graeme Roy and David Waite and does not necessarily reflect the official views of OECD Member countries.

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©OECD 2026. The Centre for Public Policy has the persmission of the OECD to publish this note.

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First published: 3 March 2026