The Pipeline Paradox

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. As AI reshapes entry-level work in professional and financial … Continue reading “The Pipeline Paradox”

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How Regional Models can Inform Policy Decisions- Notes from the Regional Economic Modelling Group Meeting

On 3 September, we brought together researchers from Universities of Birmingham, Curtin, Strathclyde and the OECD at the University of Birmingham for a meeting of the Regional Economic Modelling Group. Regional economics remains highly relevant to policy, and regional models have an important role in informing evidence-based policy decisions. The workshop was an opportunity to … Continue reading “How Regional Models can Inform Policy Decisions- Notes from the Regional Economic Modelling Group Meeting”

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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”

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Report Spotlight: Bridging the Innovation Gap through Innovation Intermediaries

In a new series of blogs, we will be looking at the current and historical work of City-REDI. In this instalment, Dr Chloe Billing shares findings from a report on innovation intermediaries and their role in regional innovation systems, co-authored with Dr Carolin Ioramashvili, Dr Pei-Yu Yuan, Dr Magda Rosario Cepeda Zorrilla, Professor Simon Collinson, … Continue reading “Report Spotlight: Bridging the Innovation Gap through Innovation Intermediaries”

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Unpicking the 2025 Budget

Johannes Read, Senior Policy and Data Analyst at the City-Region Economic Development Institute (City-REDI) outlines that announcements made in the 2025 Budget on 26th November is more about tinkering with the edges, rather than a deeper, and arguably necessary, reform.  Tackling different types of challenges  Football is a big part of my life. As a … Continue reading “Unpicking the 2025 Budget”

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Policy Briefing: Understanding the UK’s Rise in Economic Inactivity Since 2020 Across Local Labour Markets

Donald Houston talks though key findings of the report and policy implications of a recent City-REDI paper. The University of Birmingham’s City-Region Economic Development Institute (City-REDI) has published a Research & Policy Briefing paper based on the main findings from a major project that I led funded by the Economic & Social Research Council. The … Continue reading “Policy Briefing: Understanding the UK’s Rise in Economic Inactivity Since 2020 Across Local Labour Markets”

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City-REDI Wins Impact Award

Following the success at the 2024 Impact Awards, City-REDI reflects on the team’s influential research on economics, commerce and productivity. The University of Birmingham performs cutting-edge research in a variety of fields. No two projects are the same, but they all require significant amounts of time and planning to ensure that our research has civic … Continue reading “City-REDI Wins Impact Award”

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The LPIP Hub: Can Productivity Bring Around the Change We Need in Places?

Rebecca Riley recently attended an RSA Urban Futures Roundtable looking at the potential of the UK’s cities. In a series of blogs, Rebecca reflects on the challenges facing places in building regenerative economies. This blog is for the Local Policy Innovation Partnership Hub which launched early this year. The Hub seeks to address nationwide issues … Continue reading “The LPIP Hub: Can Productivity Bring Around the Change We Need in Places?”

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Innovation Policy: The Role of Universities, Priority Sectors and Micro-enterprises

Juliane Schwarz discusses the potential impacts of prioritising certain sectors over others and how universities can play a role in active industrial policy. Juliane also looks at the role of small and micro businesses in our economy and how they can be better supported. In her letter to the Financial Times, the Vice-Provost of Research … Continue reading “Innovation Policy: The Role of Universities, Priority Sectors and Micro-enterprises”

Tune in to the City-REDI / WMREDI Podcast

We launched our podcast series last summer, and since then we’ve discussed a whole range of regional and national issues with experts from business, economics, transport, education, work, skills and local government. Each episode is no more than 30 minutes long and ready to be downloaded to listen to on your commute, lunch break or … Continue reading “Tune in to the City-REDI / WMREDI Podcast”