In March 2025, Miller Research was commissioned by the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) to undertake an external review of the Northern Valleys Initiative (NVI) Programme, a £50 million investment designed to increase economic growth in the Northern Valleys area of South East Wales. Launched in April 2024, the five-year programme supports projects in three key areas: Strategic Sites and Premises (Infrastructure), Tourism, and Digital Connectivity. 

NVI was established to address long-standing economic challenges in the region — including low productivity, limited private sector growth, and poor connectivity to economic hubs — by enabling flexible, place-based investment that drives high-value job creation and regeneration. The programme operates across six of CCR’s ten local authority areas and seeks to leverage both public and private sector funding. 

Our Role 

Miller Research’s review took place approximately one year into programme delivery, focusing on two core areas: 

• Programme Design and Construction – assessing alignment with the Full Business Case, Green Book principles, lessons from comparable public sector programmes, and emerging regional needs. 

• Programme Operation – evaluating governance, stakeholder engagement, coherence with other initiatives, and the effectiveness of the application process and project pipeline. 

Methodology 

Our review, undertaken one year into delivery, assessed how the programme has been designed and implemented, and explored its role alongside other regional and national initiatives. We engaged with a wide range of stakeholders — from local authorities and Welsh Government representatives to businesses directly involved — to understand their experiences of the programme so far. 

The evaluation has provided CCR with an in-depth view of NVI’s progress to date and insights to help shape its future delivery, ensuring it continues to drive meaningful, long-term benefits for communities and businesses across the Northern Valleys. 

For more information about the evaluation, then please contact the Project Director Tom Bajjada  tom@miller-research.co.uk