In the 2023 Spring Statement the UK Government announced plans to expand free childcare to children between 9 months and 2 years old. Matt Lyons and Abi Taylor investigate what this could mean for the West Midlands. The UK Government announced a £4bn childcare expansion policy in England. Key objectives of the policy include removing … Continue reading “What Could the £4 billion Expansion of Childcare Support mean for the West Midlands Economy?”
City-REDI/WMREDI Round Up – June 2023
Media engagements City-REDI featured in WIREDGOV public sector alerting service “UKRI invests in policy innovation partnerships for local growth”. City-REDI featured in the West Wales Chronicle about the LPIP Hub. Rebecca Riley discusses levelling up in Scotland in Holyrood magazine. Simon Collinson and Charlotte Hoole wrote a commentary piece for the Academy of Social Sciences … Continue reading “City-REDI/WMREDI Round Up – June 2023”
Meet Darja Reuschke, City-REDI’s New Associate Professor of Regional Economic Development
Darja discusses her research interests including work, employment, cities and regions. I am interested in interdisciplinary perspectives on work, employment, cities and regions. New forms and locations of work and businesses are a central focus of my research. I have investigated how housing markets, regional and local economic conditions, households and gender influence self-employment and … Continue reading “Meet Darja Reuschke, City-REDI’s New Associate Professor of Regional Economic Development”
Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Place-Based Development: The Role of Creative Freelancers.
On 1st June 2023, City-REDI held a hybrid seminar with Nick Henry from Coventry University about Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Place-Based Development. For some decades the harnessing of culture and creativity has been cast as a local and regional development option – such as through regeneration, quarters, classes and clusters. In, around and beyond these … Continue reading “Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Place-Based Development: The Role of Creative Freelancers.”
EUniWell Staff Training Week
Programme Manager Liz Goodyear went to the recent EUniWell staff training week and tells us about everything she got up to in Italy. The EUniWell staff training week, hosted by the University of Florence, provided a unique and invaluable opportunity for the University of Birmingham, alongside 10 other universities from across Europe, to engage in … Continue reading “EUniWell Staff Training Week”
Skills and Regional Economic Development
Anne Green and Abigail Taylor discuss skills policy in the UK. How can we improve skill provision to reduce regional economical disparity? This blog post was produced for inclusion in the Birmingham Economic Review for 2022. The annual Birmingham Economic Review is produced by the University of Birmingham’s City-REDI and the Greater Birmingham Chambers of … Continue reading “Skills and Regional Economic Development”
WMREDI Policy Briefing: Pride In Place
Pride in place is one of four overarching objectives in the Levelling Up White Paper as well as the least detailed of its twelve missions. This policy briefing by Rebecca Riley and Des McNulty explores this objective from the perspective of the role universities could play. The underlying argument of the pride in place mission … Continue reading “WMREDI Policy Briefing: Pride In Place”
Meet Fumi Kitagawa, City-REDI’s new Chair of Regional Economic Development.
Fumi reflects on her return to the University of Birmingham where her academic adventure began, what she learnt along the way about regional economic development and the challenges that lie ahead. I joined the City-REDI team in April this year, and I was quite emotional when I arrived on campus in Edgbaston, looking up ‘Old … Continue reading “Meet Fumi Kitagawa, City-REDI’s new Chair of Regional Economic Development.”
The Creative Sector Vision: What Does It Say and What Might It Mean for the West Midlands?
On Wednesday the UK Government released the Creative Sector Vision a highly anticipated update to creative policy. Dr Matt Lyons provides a summary of the document and some initial reflections on what it could mean for the region. The Creative Sector Vision published yesterday is the much-anticipated latest iteration of the UK Government’s policy for … Continue reading “The Creative Sector Vision: What Does It Say and What Might It Mean for the West Midlands?”
It’s the Pandemic, Stupid. Understanding Rising Economic Inactivity in the UK.
Donald Houston discusses research undertaken with colleagues at the ONS on economic inactivity in the UK. This blog is part of a series looking at the UK Labour Market. See also: – Why are the Over-50s Leaving the Workforce?- Labour Market Flows and Future Participation Flows – What Are the Current Challenges in the UK … Continue reading “It’s the Pandemic, Stupid. Understanding Rising Economic Inactivity in the UK.”