Evaluating the North of Tyne Investment Fund

The North of Tyne area spans the Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland local authorities, and includes city, coastal and countryside landscapes. In 2018, the North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA) was created through a Devolution Deal agreed with HM Treasury.

A key element of the Devolution Deal was the creation of a 30 year, £600m Investment Fund with an annual value of £20m. To date, the NTCA has used the Investment Fund to support a wide range of interventions to help deliver against its locally defined policy priorities.

In common with other long-term devolved Investment Funds, the North of Tyne Investment Fund is also subject to a five yearly Gateway Review by Government. SQW has been commissioned by NTCA to undertake an evaluation to provide independent evidence to inform this process. The evaluation has three phases: Evaluation Plan; Baseline Report; and Final Report.

This evaluation builds on SQW’s previous role as lead of the National Evaluation Panel which evaluated the progress and impact of devolved Investment Funds in ten local areas across the UK over 2016-2020.