While major political parties mostly agree that devolution is a good thing, it is less clear how this can successfully be delivered. Drawing on our evaluation of the UK Government’s Opportunity Areas programme, and wider research on place-based approaches to NEET prevention, in this brief we propose a research-informed approach to devolution.

Rather than simply transferring responsibility to local areas, government should:

• invest in long-term local capacity
• devolve power to people with knowledge of their communities
• create stronger partnerships in which local and national policymakers learn from one another.

This means giving local partners the time and flexibility to experiment, build relationships and develop solutions that reflect the realities of their places. This includes the social conditions that enable young people to feel that they belong, have a valued place within their communities and can see a positive future for themselves.