4NW is the new Regional Leaders Forum for England's Northwest.

It's a new organisation and its aim is to ensure that things that are important to the Northwest are defined and agreed by people in the Northwest.

A group of 23 leaders drawn from public, private and third sector bodies in the Northwest works together as a Board. It's a powerful approach because it works through gaining agreement and consensus amongst the key regional leaders in the Northwest. This Northwest consensus then shapes government thinking and spending decisions that affect the future of the Northwest, its people and places.

The Forum will operate with a board structure, with council leaders from each of the five sub-regions, Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside, along with seven representatives from the private, non-governmental sector.

We currently have two different strategies (the Regional Economic Strategy and the Regional Spatial Strategy) but these will soon be replaced with a single regional strategy or SRS. Produced in partnership with the NWDA, the SRS sets out how investment will be made in vital areas such as housing, transport, the economy and skills. 4NW helps formulate this strategy and is the body which ensures that the regional strategy is democratically accountable and wholly relevant to us as a region.

The Forum is made up of people who represent the leadership of Northwest organisations that will deliver the regional strategy on the ground. Working as a Board these people are selected to represent the leadership of the different sectors of the Northwest economy or of a sub-region. Members of 4NW typically include council leaders, business leaders and other opinion formers in the Northwest.

The 23 strong Forum meets at least six times a year to discuss and agree priorities for the region; taking tough decisions that will shape future regional investment. These decisions are informed by the recommendations from working groups consisting of other local authority and stakeholder members.