Organisation Membership: Deyton Bell

Deyton Bell is a multi-disciplinary economic and place-making consultancy providing services to global public, private and not-for-profit organisations.

For the Cambridge-based organisation, which operates across a range of disciplines: local economic development; inward investment, innovation and business support, Organisation Membership of the Institute of Economic Development (iED) is about much more than professional recognition. It is about being part of the UK’s economic development community, building relationships, influencing the profession, and ultimately helping shape its future.

Neil Darwin, Managing Director at Deyton Bell, has been involved with the Institute for over three decades. “Personally, I’ve been an iED member since my first local authority role in Milton Keynes back in 1995,” he said. “Wherever I work, I encourage people to be part of the iED because it’s the professional community you should belong to. You’ll always learn something from someone at some point.”

Deyton Bell itself joined the iED as an Organisation Member five years ago, shortly before the Institute refreshed its membership offer.

“We had a conversation about iED membership because Deyton Bell wasn’t a member,” Neil explained. “I mentioned that we could get corporate membership. With everything being revamped, it felt like the right time to join, and we think it’s good value for money because it puts us in a room with local authorities, current and prospective clients, and partners.”

For Neil, one of the main advantages of IED membership is fundamentally belonging to the UK’s professional body for economic development – however, that sense of community has been reinforced through a range of opportunities.

“The biggest benefit is probably the networking,” he reflected. “The last Annual Conference, for example, was excellent. It actually led directly to a couple of contracts simply because we were in the room with the right people. Through the years myself and the Deyton Bell team have attended different iED events and engaged in learning modules on the way. Connections are also being facilitated above and beyond the conference, and we are seeing a more inclusive network, sharing of knowledge and experiences, as well as movement to influence national decision-making on economic development.”

Neil has also served voluntarily as an iED Board Member since 2024. “Ultimately, my ambition – and one of the reasons I’m on the Board – is to help create a genuinely dynamic professional network,” he shared. “We’re the people helping places improve, we’re supporting local economies, we’re shaping communities. Economic development is fundamentally about making places better. There is more value in iED membership than ever before.”

Case study developed: July 2026