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 heat pumps, renewable energy, electric vehicles and smart technologies, all of which are essential for reducing carbon emissions. Yet technology alone will not deliver the transition.
The real challenge is delivery.
How do national ambitions become successful local projects? How do innovative pilots become mainstream programmes? How can governments ensure that investment creates not only environmental benefits but also stronger local economies, healthier communities, and more resilient public institutions?
These are the questions that underpin my research.
As a Research Fellow at City-REDI, University of Birmingham, my work sits at the intersection of environmental economics, public policy, innovation, and regional economic development. I study how place-based governance, public procurement, and institutional collaboration can accelerate the transition to net zero while maximising wider economic and social value. Ultimately, my research seeks to understand not simply what should be delivered, but how it can be delivered effectively, equitably, and at scale.
Alongside my research, I serve as the Environment Theme Lead for the Local Policy Innovation Partnership (LPIP) Hub.
My Journey into Environmental Economics
My interest in environmental economics began with a fascination for the relationship between economic development and environmental sustainability. During my doctoral research, I explored the sustainability and efficiency of agricultural systems, developing an appreciation for the role that economic evidence can play in shaping better policy decisions.
Since joining the University of Birmingham, my research has expanded into public procurement, regional development, innovation policy, housing retrofit, and place-based economic development.
Although these themes may appear diverse, they are connected by a common question:
How can public investment create the greatest possible environmental, economic, and social value?
Governments are investing billions of pounds in achieving net zero. Every public contract, infrastructure project, funding programme and policy intervention presents an opportunity not only to reduce emissions but also to support local businesses, stimulate innovation, improve public services, reduce inequalities and strengthen communities.
Understanding how these wider benefits can be realised has become the central focus of my work.
Why Place Matters
Net zero is often discussed as a national challenge, yet it is delivered locally.
Local authorities develop climate action plans. Housing providers retrofit homes. Businesses invest in innovation. Community organisations engage residents. Universities generate evidence and support policy development. Combined authorities coordinate investment across regions. Each organisation has a different role to play, but none can achieve the transition alone.
This is why I focus on place-based delivery systems.
By place-based delivery systems, I mean the networks of organisations, institutions, funding mechanisms, governance arrangements and communities that work together within a locality to plan, coordinate and deliver net zero.
Successful delivery depends not only on technology or funding but also on relationships, trust, collaboration and effective governance. Understanding how these systems function and how they can be strengthened is becoming increasingly important as governments move from developing strategies to implementing them.
Housing Retrofit: A Delivery Challenge
Housing retrofit provides one of the clearest examples of why delivery systems matter. Improving insulation, installing low-carbon heating technologies and increasing energy efficiency are essential for reducing emissions. At the same time, retrofit can lower household energy bills, improve health, reduce fuel poverty and create local employment.
Despite these benefits, delivering retrofit at scale remains one of the UK’s greatest implementation challenges.
Previous research that I undertook through the Innovation Procurement Empowerment Centre (IPEC) identified several recurring barriers through interviews with policymakers, housing providers, local authorities and industry stakeholders.
These included:
- fragmented supply chains
- procurement complexity
- skills shortages
- inconsistent and short-term funding
- limited organisational capacity
- weak coordination across organisations
- challenges in engaging communities effectively.
Many of these issues are not technological problems; they are governance and delivery challenges.
Building on this work, my current research with LPIP Hub investigates how place-based partnerships translate investment into effective local delivery.
Specifically, I will examine how local authorities, combined authorities, housing providers, universities, businesses and community organisations work together to design, coordinate and deliver net zero programmes.
My research uses the Local Net Zero Accelerator – Powering Up Castle Vale programme in Birmingham as a case study for understanding place-based delivery in practice. Rather than viewing communities as passive recipients of investment, the programme seeks to involve residents and local organisations in shaping priorities, identifying local needs and co-designing interventions. I am investigating several key questions:
- How are place-based partnerships formed and sustained?
- How do organisations coordinate multiple funding streams and governance arrangements?
- What barriers emerge during the co-design and delivery of net zero programmes?
- How are these barriers overcome?
- What role do communities play in shaping local priorities?
- Which collaborative practices contribute to successful delivery?
- What lessons can be transferred to other places?
My aim is to understand the wider delivery ecosystem that enables successful place-based action. By identifying the governance arrangements, partnership models and collaborative practices that support effective delivery, I hope to generate practical evidence that can help policymakers and practitioners strengthen future net zero programmes.
I look forward to sharing insights from my research and contributing to conversations about how stronger collaboration, effective governance and community-centred approaches can help turn net zero ambitions into practical, lasting action.
This blog was written by Dr Annum Rafique, Research Fellow, City-REDI, University of Birmingham.
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this analysis post are those of the authors and not necessarily those of City-REDI or the University of Birmingham.