Opportunities for Research Fellows to Work With Us at City-REDI on Our West Midlands Regional Economic Development Institute (WMREDI) Programme of Research
To meet the demands of a growing range of policy-oriented research projects we are looking for new members to join the City-Region Economic Development Institute (City-REDI). These posts are at the Research Fellow level (Grades 7 and 8) and are fixed term to September 2023.
We are an interdisciplinary team made up of academics, policy researchers, data analysts and support staff delivering relevant and impactful research with local, national and international partners. We have a collective interest in developing a better understanding of the factors that underpin sustainable, economic growth, increased regional prosperity, well-being and equality to inform policy.
Our WMREDI project portfolio extends across six regional themes: skills and labour markets, firms and industrial demography, regional innovation ecosystems, local and regional economic development, regional society, communities, health and well-being, and governance and institutional arrangements. Universities and their regional impact in terms of economic growth, skills, collaborative R&D and innovation and their civic role, are also a central focus of the research programme. We work in a collaborative partnership with regional stakeholders, including the WMCA, LEPs, Chamber of Commerce and City Councils.
Our research extends from qualitative case studies to surveys, data analytics, impact evaluation (of policy interventions and regional investments) and econometric modelling. A background or previous knowledge in economics, geography, labour market studies, management and business studies or political science would be preferable. Knowledge of qualitative or quantitative techniques, survey methods, impact evaluation or data analytics tools would also be desirable.
We are particularly interested in candidates who have specialised in one or a combination of the following fields, in connection with regional growth:
- Environmental sustainability, including research on the green economy, low-carbon energy technologies, innovation and adoption, or the effectiveness of policy interventions for promoting sustainable regional growth.
- Innovation and/or commercialisation practices and policies, including technology transfer, user adoption patterns, university-firm R&D collaboration and knowledge exchange, incubators and regional entrepreneurship, the R&D workforce and R&D skills.
- Data analytics, data science and/or evaluation, including the collection, integration, analysis, presentation and interpretation of data for social science research. Working experience of UK Data Services, ONS, Eurostat or OECD data or similar datasets on regional growth would be an advantage. This could include research involving comparative national and international statistics on productivity, labour markets, R&D, innovation, business performance or industry structures at the regional level.
- Economic modelling. This post would require proven experience in regional econometric modelling and/or CGE modelling, input-output, applied econometrics and data mining. We are looking for at least one of our posts to work with our existing UK interregional input-output model and we are also looking to develop our expertise in skills and labour market modelling. Quantitative modelling skills in languages such as Stata, R, Python, Matlab and/or GAMs would be required. A combination would be desirable.
For further details and information on how to apply please click on the relevant Research Fellow Grade:
The deadline for applications is the 7th November 2021.
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The opinions presented here belong to the author rather than the University of Birmingham.
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