While Cambridge secures the bulk of the investment, it does not operate in a vacuum and will always be symbiotically linked to Peterborough and the Fens.
How the three parts of this whole collaborate was a key topic of debate, particularly with regard to inequality around income and opportunity.
Establishing a wider and better-connected business network was seen as a priority in order to stretch the established systems that drive much of the prosperity and innovation in the city of Cambridge into the surrounding areas.
By bringing more people into the conversation instead of risking silos across what is quite a geographically condensed space, the whole region would benefit from a more diverse range of solutions.
The city of Cambridge was recognised for its ability to establish networks that are very good at sharing ideas and knowledge.
However these networks often fail to reach outside of their immediate area. Potential is being missed due to a lack of awareness about what other organisations are doing.
Integration between the regional economies was accepted as an important yardstick of success - and a means of levelling-up the area.
Encouraging a broader mix of people into the bodies and processes that drive development would also allow for a more inclusive decision-making process.
However, it was stressed that this type of collaboration was not a new idea and that there were reasons why this had not already been achieved that need to be addressed.
Some of the obstacles include the county’s administrative geography which created barriers to collaboration. A lack of suitable public transportation was also identified.
Another issue was the disparity in house prices and the respective economies, with Cambridge likened to London, while the Fens are more akin to the North and Peterborough sits somewhere in-between.
Similarly, differences in available skills were noted, with some areas facing a skills challenge that are hampering progress.
There are a few changes on the horizon that provided the participants with hope that this integration could indeed become a reality over the course of years rather than decades.
One of these is the opening of a new university, ARU Peterborough in September 2022, which could help to create new links across the region, particularly in the academic community.
Discussion also centred on other practical challenges that would need to be overcome, such as how to create environments that are conducive to exchanging ideas and information.
These spaces will be vital to facilitate the required networking and unlocking the potential of the people, businesses and organisations in the area.
But, there were many question marks over what these buildings look like, where they are placed and how people get there.
