Dr Sara Hassan, Research Fellow at City-REDI (City Region Economic Development Institute), University of Birmingham, shares what a year of listening in Digbeth revealed about who regeneration is really for. The work is part of Creative Futures in Regeneration, funded through the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Creative Communities programme. A creative quarter at … Continue reading “Can Digbeth Grow Without Losing Itself?”
Tag: policy
The London Problem Has Morphed
In a new series of blogs following a Senior Leaders roundtable, we hear from Hilary Smyth-Allen, CEO of SuperTech, the West Midlands’ cluster body for financial and professional services technology and partner of City-REDI, co-producing the evidence base for the region’s Next Generation Services cluster sector. In 2019, we worried about talent leaving the West … Continue reading “The London Problem Has Morphed”
Local Labour Market Buoyancy Holds the key to Solving the UK’s NEET ‘Crisis’
Donald Houston summarises his recent report examining the geographic inequalities in young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) across the UK. The issue The dominant policy response for decades to tackle youth employment has been chiefly supply-side in nature, tackling ‘deficiencies’ in young people themselves. New analysis just published in a … Continue reading “Local Labour Market Buoyancy Holds the key to Solving the UK’s NEET ‘Crisis’”
Policy News – July 2026
This blog summarises the latest policy news including reports, inquiries, consultations, government research and events. Reports from Academics and Think Tanks Title Details Published Centralising council tax would make Burnham’s job more difficult Proposals for replacing council tax are common and it should be reformed, but it shouldn’t be centralised. Checking out: The varying performance … Continue reading “Policy News – July 2026”
Learning by Doing: My First Steps into Research and Policy at City-REDI
Emma Davies reflects on her time as a City-REDI Intern. As a first-year undergraduate student, joining City-REDI as an intern marked my first experience working within a professional research environment. It was an exciting opportunity to engage with experts and observe how research and evidence inform policy – an area that has always interested me … Continue reading “Learning by Doing: My First Steps into Research and Policy at City-REDI”
Policy News – September 2025
This blog summarises the latest policy news that is important to place, including reports, inquiries, consultations, government research and events. Reports from Academics and Think Tanks Title Details Published HMRC Research Future Strategy A report prepared by the HMRC Research Future Strategy project, which aims to enhance the use and widen access of HMRC … Continue reading “Policy News – September 2025”
Facing up to the Foundational Economy
Economic growth is the primary mission of the current UK government, with more people in good jobs, higher living standards and productivity growth. Yet traditional economic development approaches have been questioned in academic and policy debates about how inclusive and sustainable economic performance can be achieved across the UK. A recent paper in Urban Studies … Continue reading “Facing up to the Foundational Economy”
Report Spotlight: Unlocking Procurement Insights
In a new series of blogs, we will be reviewing the current and historical work of City-REDI. In this latest blog, a recent study by Annum Rafique (University of Birmingham) and Pei-Yu Yuan (University of Manchester) delves into how text mining can be harnessed to analyse procurement contracts, offering valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders. … Continue reading “Report Spotlight: Unlocking Procurement Insights”
Project Spotlight: Digital Skills Demand and Shortages and Their Impact on the UK Regions
In a new series of blogs, we will be reviewing the current and historical work of City-REDI. In the latest blog, we look at Dr Hunajia Ma, Dr Matthew Lyons, Dr Konstantinos Kollydas and Professor Anne Green’s work on the shortage of digital skills in the UK. In an era of rapid technological transformation, digital … Continue reading “Project Spotlight: Digital Skills Demand and Shortages and Their Impact on the UK Regions”
When will the UK hit ‘Peak Car’?
New car purchases have fallen since their peak in 2016 and driving licenses are falling amongst the young. In this blog, Matt Lyons, Kurt Kratena and Sara Hassan consider the question when will the UK reach peak car? View our policy briefing – Preparing the region for ‘peak car’ People are driving less Figures from … Continue reading “When will the UK hit ‘Peak Car’?”