Recurve has co-authored Local Power, Global Reach, a practical toolkit to help UK places attract and keep global investors, research partners, talent and visitors.
The toolkit puts the findings of the Commission on Devolution and Diplomacy into practice. It was produced for the Invest in UK University R&D Midlands campaign by Sam Markey (Recurve), Jack Shaw (Groundwork Research) and Alex Favier (Favier Ltd).
The toolkit is written for the people who turn international ambition into results: officials in strategic and local authorities, growth companies, universities and cultural institutions.
When we announced the Commission on Devolution and Diplomacy last year, we argued that universities and local leaders needed a more integrated approach if the UK was to make full use of its civic and soft power. The Commission reported earlier this year at the inaugural UK Global R&D and Science Investment Summit 2026. It found that since the Regional Development Agencies were abolished in 2010, international activity in most English regions has become fragmented and uneven, and the gap between the best-resourced places and the rest keeps growing.
Local Power, Global Reach turns those findings into practical steps. It starts with a five-question self-diagnostic that shows a place where to focus first. It then works through five steps in two phases:
In Development, places Assess what they offer, Convene the partners who need to act together and Decide which markets to prioritise.
In Delivery, they Activate the strategy and Curate the relationships that turn interest into lasting commitments.
Practical tests run through the toolkit, including ‘the Tipp-Ex test’ which assesses whether a place's proposition is distinctive. It also includes a market prioritisation framework, a model mission-planning protocol, and case studies from Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester, Birmingham, Derbyshire, Flanders, Brainport Eindhoven, Fukuoka, Biscay and Barcelona.
Sam Markey, lead author of the toolkit, said:
“Places across the UK hold far more international assets than they use. Universities have research partners on every continent. Cultural institutions tour overseas. Local businesses have overseas parents and customers, and diaspora communities keep ties with home. As geopolitics shifts, partners in other countries are looking for new counterparts, and they will choose the places that are ready to receive them.
“The toolkit draws on what we heard from practitioners across the UK and abroad. It's designed to be worked through with partners, because the gap we found most often was co-ordination. Places need to go out and find new partners, and they need to look after the ones they land. I'm grateful to Jack Shaw and Alex Favier, and to everyone who gave their time to the Commission which underpins this resource.”
Thanks go to Mayors Claire Ward and Richard Parker of the East and West Midlands respectively for steering the Commission, to Midlands Innovation for funding the work, to Professor Rebecca Riley at City-REDI and the wide array of expert contributors to both the Commission and this supplementary output, especially Dr Tim Moonen from The Business of Cities.
Local Power, Global Reach
A practical guide for places that want to attract and keep global investors, research partners, talent and visitors. Start with the five-question self-diagnostic.
- 01Assess
- 02Convene
- 03Decide
- 04Activate
- 05Curate
Our free Global Partnerships Readiness Check is based on the toolkit's self-diagnostic and takes a few minutes.
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