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Indicators and Strategy Monitoring: The Case of the English Regions

The recent pursuit of regional planning agendas in England has coincided with a strong push from the government towards an evidence-based, information-intensive approach to policymaking, with the increased use of statistical indicators to inform and evaluate emerging regional policies. In this paper we aim to examine the monitoring arrangements, and the way indicators are used, in the development and monitoring of key regional strategies (Regional Planning Guidance, Regional Economic Strategies). The idea is to examine indicator usage and monitoring arrangements from a political–managerial perspective through an exploration of the realm of rational–technocratic activities of monitoring within the institutional environment of Regional Planning Bodies and Regional Development Agencies. Following a review of academic literature, we explore the regional intelligence management and the monitoring arrangements of the two key regional strategies in each of the English regions. The analysis is based on documentary and web-based reviews as well as in-depth interviews conducted with key regional actors.