The Welsh Government is creating an expert group to consider whether Wales is suitable for a city-region approach to economic development and what areas might be appropriate to become city-regions.
The new group will be chaired by South East Wales Economic Forum director and former CBI Wales director Elizabeth Haywood.
It will be required to report early next year.
"I am keen to examine if the Welsh economy could benefit from identifying and nurturing potential Welsh city-regions and whether they could become drivers for future economic growth across Wales," said business and enterprise minister Edwina Hart.
"The conclusions from the task and finish group will inform our future approach."
The group will be requred to:-
- consider the evidence for supporting city regions, identifying specific areas that might be appropriate to support in Wales and their characteristics;
- establish the likely key economic development opportunities and benefits offered by each of the identified city regions and any potential from working together;
- identify the strategic and high-level issues associated with each of the areas as part of a consistent approach to supporting city regions in Wales;
- suggest how the proposed city regions might best benefit from opportunities in the short, medium and long-term, such as future EU funding, rail electrification and local development plans;
- outline the distinguishing propositions offered by each of the identified city region areas; and
- establish whether, and if so what, policy and institutional changes will be required in Wales to deliver an effective approach to supporting city regions.
"This is a time of real economic hardship and it is encouraging to see a groundswell of opinion in Wales thinking beyond standard administrative boundaries in order to increase jobs and prosperity," said Dr Haywood.
"The city region approach may well be a good model for us, and I will want to look closely at what works best on the international stage."
