In this episode of Placecast, presenter Nicola Headlam is joined by Amy Burnett, LPIP Policy Fellow, researcher and practitioner in local governance, sustainability and community-led change. Amy reflects on her journey from working on decentralisation projects in Angola to researching town and parish councils in England, exploring how local democracy, stewardship and participation can create … Continue reading “Placecast Episode 22: Ecological Citizenship, Stewardship and Local Democracy”
Placecast Episode 21: Place, Pride and Poetry – Creative Ways to Understand Community
In this episode of Placecast, presenter Nicola Headlam is joined by Joseph Owen, Nicky Marsh, and Cara Headon to explore how communities understand, experience and shape the places they call home. Drawing on the University of Southampton’s Feeling Towns research and the Mansbridge Heritage Project, the conversation examines the complex idea of “pride in place” … Continue reading “Placecast Episode 21: Place, Pride and Poetry – Creative Ways to Understand Community”
Trust as Infrastructure in Place-Based Innovation
In this blog, Gerardo J. Arriaga‑Garcia, Sophie Cloutterbuck and Nina Ruddle discuss how innovation in place depends on trust, stewardship, system skills and the often invisible intermediary work that connects communities, institutions and decision-making. In a recent episode of Placecast, Dr Gerardo J. Arriaga-Garcia, City-REDI Research Fellow and LPIP Innovation Co-lead, spoke with Nina Ruddle, … Continue reading “Trust as Infrastructure in Place-Based Innovation”
Policy News – August 2026
Policy News highlights the latest reports, inquiries, consultations and research shaping local and regional policy across the UK. Explore key developments in devolution, economic growth, community ownership, skills and place-based policymaking. View previous editions. If you have a research piece you would like to feature in Policy News, please get in touch. UK Government and Parliament … Continue reading “Policy News – August 2026”
Green and Pleasant Land? Rural Resilience in the Welsh Marches
Rural areas face a set of urgent and existential challenges. These will bite hard along the ancient boundary between Wales and England. “The bourgeoisie has subjected the countryside to the domination of city. It has built enormous cities; it has greatly increased the urban population relative to the rural, and has thus wrested a considerable … Continue reading “Green and Pleasant Land? Rural Resilience in the Welsh Marches”
Learning Across Places: Reflections from the Local Innovation Partnership Hubs Environment Theme Cross-Hub Meeting
Dr Annum Rafique reflects on the key messages emerging from the Local Innovation Partnership Hubs – Climate & Environment Theme Cross-Hub Meeting, highlighting how researchers from across the network are tackling common challenges in delivering place-based environmental action. The transition to net zero is often framed around technologies, policies and carbon targets. However, one of … Continue reading “Learning Across Places: Reflections from the Local Innovation Partnership Hubs Environment Theme Cross-Hub Meeting”
Rethinking Institutional Thickness: What England’s Uneven Devolution Reveals
Des McNulty and Anne Green ask why some English city-regions turn devolved powers into effective strategy while others struggle to get off the ground. Their answer revives and updates a decades-old idea from economic geography — institutional thickness — to explain the gap. This blog draws on their new working paper and accompanying policy briefing, … Continue reading “Rethinking Institutional Thickness: What England’s Uneven Devolution Reveals”
Placecast Episode 20: How AI Could Transform Local Government
In Placecast Episode 20, presenter Nicola Headlam speaks with economic development consultant and LPIP Policy Fellow Kevin Fenning about the growing role of artificial intelligence in local government. Drawing on research that identified more than 100 examples of AI use across the sector, Kevin explores how councils are adopting AI to support services ranging from … Continue reading “Placecast Episode 20: How AI Could Transform Local Government”
Introducing My Research: Understanding Place-Based Net Zero Delivery Systems
Dr Annum Rafique, Research Fellow at City-REDI, University of Birmingham, and Theme Lead for Environment: Living and Working Sustainably in a Greener Economy at the Local Policy Innovation Partnership (LPIP) Hub, introduces her research on place-based net zero delivery systems. The transition to net zero is often framed as a technological challenge. We hear about … Continue reading “Introducing My Research: Understanding Place-Based Net Zero Delivery Systems”
Built From Below: Why Manchesterism Doesn’t Need London’s Playbook – Just Its Powers
Rebecca Riley explores why “Manchesterism” is not a product of copying London, but the result of decades of bottom-up collaboration, shared institutions, and place-based leadership that offer lessons for cities across England. As a Manc (Boltonian and that creates its own issues on whether we think we are from Manchester or not!) who has worked … Continue reading “Built From Below: Why Manchesterism Doesn’t Need London’s Playbook – Just Its Powers”