Hertfordshire is entering a pivotal moment. With a £50bn economy, world‑leading innovation assets and a strong track record of delivery, we are ready to accelerate growth for the benefit of local communities and UK plc. Our new Economic Strategy 2026–2036 sets out how we will achieve this - placing innovation, inclusion and sustainability at the heart of a thriving, future‑ready economy.
Read the Economic Strategy Executive Summary
Read the full Economic Strategy
For over a decade, Hertfordshire’s public sector, business community and academic partners have worked together in a powerful triple‑helix model to drive transformative growth across the county. This partnership approach has attracted global investment and delivered real results with:
Europe’s leading cell and gene therapy cluster in Stevenage.
The UK’s largest film and TV production hub, now on par with Hollywood.
Nationally significant agri tech and clean growth assets, including Rothamsted Research and the Royal Veterinary College.
An emerging regional space and defence cluster centred around Airbus with £8bn of investment into data centres.
This proven track record - built on collaborative leadership, coordinated investment and innovation across sectors - underpins our readiness to deliver the next phase of growth.
By 2036, Hertfordshire will be recognised globally as the UK’s innovation heartland – a high-value, productive and sustainable economy where businesses and people thrive, and everyone will feel that life is tangibly better.
Innovation sits at the heart of our vision. It touches every aspect of how people live their everyday lives - from getting around the county, going to work and caring for loved ones, to accessing health and social care, learning new skills and connecting with their communities.
Hertfordshire is already powering innovation through globally significant strengths in life sciences, advanced manufacturing, creative industries, clean energy and digital technology, positioning the county as a place where high‑value businesses and people thrive.
Increase GVA to £63bn
Increase productivity to £85k per filled job
Grow priority sector jobs to 270,000
£80bn GVA
800,000 jobs
200,000 new homes
Hertfordshire begins this next chapter from a position of strength:
This diversity and depth of expertise - from life sciences and advanced manufacturing to creative industries and emerging technologies such as AI and robotics - form the backbone of our innovation economy.
Hertfordshire is already a significant and high performing economy, with aligned political leadership and strong support from the business community for greater local powers. There is clear consensus across Hertfordshire’s partners that devolution can unlock our full potential and enable the county to go further and faster.
We have set out our ambition to move at pace towards a Strategic Authority for Hertfordshire, with a future Mayoral Authority to follow. This would strengthen our ability to secure investment, accelerate delivery and ensure that all residents and businesses benefit from the sustainable economic growth that greater local powers would enable.