Political and business leaders in Norfolk and Suffolk will go through 'dragons den style' scrutiny and will not be guaranteed cash from a £2bn pot from Whitehall.
Cities minister Greg Clark likened the process that areas would have to go through to the hit TV show where businesses bid for backing from successful entrepreneurs.
Mr Clark said the local enterprise partnership would have to show their plans would 'demonstrably drive growth locally better than if this money was kept at the centre'.
He said that plans aiming to get cash from the Local Growth Fund, which will have to be submitted before the end of the month, will have to show that they are bringing in money they would not otherwise have got for investment such as transport projects.
He added that on economic impact they would have to prove which employers had expressed an interest, and which jobs would be created and in what number. 'There are a lot of specifics. It needs to withstand the process. It is a bit of a dragons den style. They present their plans, they will get cross examined by the different departments and see if they stand up to scrutiny,' he added.
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