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 Juliane Schwarz, a research fellow.
Innovation and Business Support
As a Research Fellow at City‑REDI, my research focuses on innovation and business support, with a particular interest in how organisations, entrepreneurs, and small firms can be better equipped to grow and adapt to the benefit of the region and the economy of a whole. My work often involves examining the structures, programmes, and policies designed to help businesses innovate, as well as understanding how these interventions operate in practice. This includes exploring the challenges faced by startups and SMEs, the role of support organisations, and the wider regional context that shapes business development. In addition, I am interested in how the Net Zero challenge can be addressed within business support and the wieder entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Evaluating Startup Business Accelerators
I joined the team in October 2018 to contribute to a Leverhulme Trust–funded evaluation of a London-based early‑stage business accelerator. The project was a collaboration between the University of Birmingham, the London School of Economics, and University College London, led by Professor Max Nathan. It remains one of my most memorable experiences at City-REDI.
After ten years of working as an independent consultant, I was returning to academia and stepping into an entirely new discipline. Trained as a Linguist, I had developed a strong foundation in qualitative Social Science research during my PhD at Lancaster University. At the time, Regional Studies and Business Studies were unfamiliar fields. Over the years, they have become my academic home, areas where I can combine strong research skills with the practical insights gained from setting up and running my own business.
Best Practice Net Zero Transition
My role has evolved from contributing as part of a project team to leading projects, most notably my latest EPSRC funded project on best practice in Net Zero transition in Business Support. This project explores how the Net Zero agenda can be strengthened within startups, scaleups, and SMEs through business support. It aims to understand how best practices can be shared across organisations and sectors to accelerate progress. For example, can innovation that supports Net Zero transition in High Value Manufacturing also benefit the Energy sector—and vice versa? The project is delivered in collaboration with the Innovate UK Catapult Network.
Driving Regional Development Through Research
At City-REDI, our research is dedicated to supporting and strengthening regional development by contributing to the well-being of people, the success of businesses, and the resilience of institutions. We address place-based challenges across four key dimensions: People, Business, Place, and Infrastructure. We take pride in delivering projects that combines depth and breadth grounded in academic research and enriched by extensive expertise and knowledge of the region and its economic and social development.
This blog was written by Dr Juliane Schwarz, Research Fellow, 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.