The apparent lack of progress in the case-study EAZ on many of these high profile issues was not peculiar to this Zone. As already indicated, many of the difficulties faced by this Zone were reflected in the experience of other EAZs (OfSTED 2003; PriceWaterhouse Coopers undated; Carter 2002). It is almost certainly the case that this failure to demonstrate results on these ‘flagship’ issues is what in part contributed to a governmental loss of confidence and interest in the EAZ policy at a nation level. However, what was clear from research in the case-study Zone was that from the perspective of those at the point of delivery this was not a policy failure. Quite the reverse, those working in school demonstrated high levels of support and commitment for the policy – unusually so given attitudes to externally imposed policies. Support for the Zone appeared to stem from the way in which it contributed to school improvement, not simply in terms of helping teachers and other achieve better results (for which there was limited evidence), but in the way that it built the capacity to support further improvement (Hopkin et al. 1996). How this was achieved in the case-study Zone requires further analysis.