This year marks a major milestone for City-REDI as we celebrate a decade of research, impact, and collaboration. Over the past 10 years, we’ve grown from a bold idea into a leading centre for regional economic development, shaping policy and practice across the UK and beyond.
To mark this anniversary, we’re launching a special blog series that looks back on our journey—highlighting key projects, partnerships, and the people who’ve helped make it all happen.
The next part of our series is from Research Fellow, Dr Kostas Kollydas.
I joined City-REDI in 2021. It was a strange time, as the pandemic had not long affected how we worked and met. I arrived on screen first, then in person. Even so, I felt part of something important from the start.
I am a Research Fellow and an applied economist by training. My work has centred on skills, labour markets, the R&D workforce, and graduate pathways. I spend much of my time with data and econometric models, trying to make sense of patterns that are not always obvious. But the purpose has never been technical for its own sake. It has been about people and about who gets access to opportunity, and who does not.
City-REDI has given me the space to do that kind of work. It is a place where careful analysis matters and a place where research travels, informs debates, reaches policymakers.
One moment that perhaps stands out for me is my secondment to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). It was a research collaboration between City-REDI and DSIT, which led to the report “UK R&D Skills Supply and Demand: long-term trends and workforce projections”. We examined the size and composition of the R&D workforce. We also looked at skills and labour shortages and considered future scenarios. The work combined quantitative analysis with qualitative insights. It was intense, collaborative, and also felt timely. Discussions about the future of the UK’s R&D and innovation workforce continue, and it is good to know that our evidence informs them.
Another important part of my journey has been academic collaboration. For instance, the paper on university-related migration, co-authored with Tony Champion and Anne Green, explored which areas gain and which areas lose from graduate mobility. It was a chance to think about and analyse how flows of graduates can reinforce regional divides.
Looking back over these years, I think City-REDI’s impact comes from its ability to connect levels: local realities, regional dynamics and national policy. It is important that research speaks across these scales and it is also important that evidence is clear and accessible.
What about the next ten years? Labour markets are changing and technology is moving fast. Also, demographic pressures are real. It appears that the interaction between skills and innovation will become even more central. In that context, understanding how local and national policies respond to labour market change will matter greatly. Places face different challenges and national priorities evolve. Hence, bridging the two will require robust evidence.
For me, City-REDI can be described in three short phrases: talented people, a good environment, and an innovative institute. The people make the difference, and joint projects stretch our thinking. There is energy here, but also patience. Ten years is a significant milestone. It is also a reminder that good institutions are built over time, through trust, shared standards and collective effort.
This blog was written by Kostas Kollydas, Research Fellow at City-REDI, University of Birmingham.
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this analysis post are those of the author and not necessarily those of City-REDI or the University of Birmingham.