The Greater Nottingham Partnership was formed in 1994 by the City and County Councils to improve partnership working and attract more Government money for regeneration. It represents the conurbation's local authorities, companies, public service agencies, voluntary organisations and community groups.
In 2002 it became the Sub-regional Strategic Partnership of the East Midlands Development Agency. As such, it is responsible for putting emda's regional economic strategy in place, and for helping to develop the agenda for Nottingham.
It is well placed to take a leading role in Nottingham's development strategy. However, it must be stressed that the GNP is the sum of its members. It could not hope to implement change without the collaboration of all the partners it was set up to represent.
The recent GNP consultation confirmed serious issues that must be addressed as work continues on the Nottingham development strategy. The first hurdle to be crossed is semantic.
By Nottingham we must mean the conurbation that is served by six local authorities. It is only then that Nottingham achieves the critical mass of population - around 620,000 - that has allowed it to become a Core City.
This acknowledges economic interdependence. It does not detract from the local authorities' duty to serve the needs of their own communities.
The second is Nottingham's position within the East Midlands region - a debate that has traditionally preoccupied the city, perhaps to the detriment of wider comparisons. Closer working that has followed a Three Cities study must continue.
Both these issues may be challenging. However successful examples of a partnership approach to city economic development, both local and regional, do exist. The pairing of Newcastle and Gateshead, for instance, or the fact that Manchester and Bristol both collaborate with neighbouring authorities.
Paradoxically, partnerships - and their proliferation - is another problem. On one hand this gives the city a rich vein of civic engagement that is often unmatched elsewhere. Equally, it can be confusing, and draining, particularly for those who give their time.
All of these factors affect our ability to organise ourselves sufficiently to agree on a vision - and achieve it through our own actions.
Finally we need to be sure that we have sufficiently raised our sights. The city needs to embrace ambition - to speak out, be bold and think big. Our Core Cities' membership will allow us to compare ourselves with the best in England, but we need to think wider and keep Europe in view. Fifteen of the top twenty European regions measured in GDP are German. Bristol is the highest ranking Core City - and it comes 34th.
It is only a new kind of civic collaboration that will deliver the scale of improvements we are seeking. The accountable leadership of local government must be joined by the commercial talent of local companies, the specialist expertise of the voluntary organisations, and by the community groups that are connected to Nottingham's citizens. This must be allied to the combined force for change represented by the health, education and business support sectors.
Change must reach the groups and areas that are excluded from the economic mainstream. A more equitable city, where all could profit from new jobs and new markets, would make a more prosperous Nottingham for us all.