"We actually started to exercise more independence in the way we channelled investment," he says.
One programme he drove through the City Deals was around building skills while another was around social care. Another programme looked at how to get people into work.
The way he sees it, with City Deals or any version of this kind of programme (in New Zealand, the Provincial Growth Fund would be the most similar), the projects shouldn't be viewed one deal at a time.
"In Manchester it was a long-term project, there wasn't one transformative project, it was a number of things over a 20-to-30-year period."
Manchester has repositioned itself and become much stronger all round as an economic force, he says.
Under Bernstein's leadership, the city council also invested in science and innovation, pushing for the merger of Manchester University and the Manchester Institute of Science and Technology in 2004.
"The leaders of two institutions realised that they were not punching their full weight, it was an opportunity to create a world class institution."
The city has 100,000 students and it used to be that the bulk of them would head south after university but no longer, he says.
A fan of promoting and supporting new growth industries in Manchester and across the UK, Bernstein says having a reputation as a centre of science and tech has helped Manchester greatly.
Cities have to start facing up to the challenges of how the increased level of digitisation is going to change the workforce.
"People currently doing xyz jobs won't be doing xyz jobs any more. What they've also got to do is stay ahead of the challenges rather than reacting to them," he says.
He has tips on attracting and spending regional funding.
In order to win the ear of your national government as a region that wants to go places, you have to show good, strong, robust local leadership, Bernstein says.
"You've got to be competent, accountable, and the leadership has to enjoy the confidence of the business community and the people who live in the area."
You also have to have a very clear vision of how the city is going to transform, advises Bernstein.
"The vision should be realistic yet ambitious," he says. It should show how it is going to develop significant outcome for the nation and the people who live in that region.
How will these changes offer value for money? How will you do things differently?
Put your money where your mouth is, is another tip. Manchester City Council put in close to $2 billion of its own money into transport.
"If we wait for our government to do sensible things, we're waiting a long time.
"Then we demonstrated to the Government that we were competent, serious people who knew what we were doing."
Bernstein is now retired from the city council and working as a strategic advisor for Deloitte and for other private and academic institutions in the UK. He likes the fact that communities and businesses in the regions have to pitch to the Provincial Growth Fund for funding rather than being allocated a certain amount.
"So the good bids will succeed," says Bernstein, who is speaking at this week's Infrastructure New Zealand's Building Nations Symposium.
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones is always closely questioned on how many jobs various regional projects supported by the Provincial Growth Fund are going to provide.
Bernstein says: "Some of our bigger projects were all linked to direct employment. Doing all that is good discipline, it makes for informed decisions."
To those pitching their ideas to the Provincial Growth Fund, Bernstein says: "What you have to talk about is what happens if this project doesn't go ahead. And what is the impact of the project going ahead?"
Get right to the heart of it, he advises.
