Alongside high-tech advances, we need long-term, values-led innovation in community-powered health approaches to tackle health inequalities and ease pressure on services, writes Mark Swift, LPIP Hub Place Fellow with colleagues Tanuka Palit, Henk Parmentier, Liam Spence and James Smith. A Broader View of Innovation Health innovation in the UK is flourishing. Advances in AI, digital … Continue reading “Rebalancing Health Innovation for Health Equity: Put Communities at the Centre”
Author: Guest
Culture at the Crux of Place-Based Thinking: Positioning Locally Driven Cultural Development Within a New National Policy Framework
Val Birchall reflects on becoming a LPIP Fellow and the work she has planned for her fellowship. About Me As a Place Fellow at the LPIP, I am excited to be joining a team of practitioners at the intersection of policy and place. I bring over two decades of experience shaping and delivering local cultural … Continue reading “Culture at the Crux of Place-Based Thinking: Positioning Locally Driven Cultural Development Within a New National Policy Framework”
Second Cities, Shared Lessons: Insights From UK–Japan Devolution
Across advanced economies, national averages mask widening divides within countries. Big metros power ahead while many towns and smaller regions struggle to keep up. Our recent UK-Japan study with the City-Region Economic Development Institute (City-REDI) looks squarely at this problem through two ‘second city’ regions – Birmingham/the West Midlands (United Kingdom) and Osaka/Kansai (Japan) – and finds … Continue reading “Second Cities, Shared Lessons: Insights From UK–Japan Devolution”
Community Empowerment and Living Heritage in 2026: A Watershed Moment for Community-Owned Culture and Heritage in England?
Liam Smyth, LPIP Hub Place Fellow, discusses his recent briefing paper on how the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) and the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill could be triangulated with a place-based cultural development context to herald in a watershed moment for community-owned culture and heritage in England. … Continue reading “Community Empowerment and Living Heritage in 2026: A Watershed Moment for Community-Owned Culture and Heritage in England?”
Valuing What Matters: From Tick-Box to Stewardship – Reclaiming Social Value as a Driver of Trust, Equity, and Lasting Change
Mark Swift, LPIP Hub Place Fellow, argues that social value in public spending must move beyond compliance and tick-box exercises to a stewardship approach that embeds collaboration, citizen co-creation, and mission-driven investment to tackle inequalities and build resilient communities. When the Public Services (Social Value) Act 20121 was introduced in England and Wales, it was … Continue reading “Valuing What Matters: From Tick-Box to Stewardship – Reclaiming Social Value as a Driver of Trust, Equity, and Lasting Change”
Data, Housing, Culture, Vibes: What I’m bringing to the LPIP Hub
Joseph Owen, Research Fellow from the University of Southampton, introduces the work he has planned during his place fellowship for the Local Policy Innovation Partnership Hub. View other introductory blogs from our Place Fellows. Hello! I’m Joseph Owen, a research fellow at the University of Southampton. I’m a literary scholar by training and temperament, but … Continue reading “Data, Housing, Culture, Vibes: What I’m bringing to the LPIP Hub”
Meet Kevin Fenning – Director, Evidence First, and LPIP Hub Fellow
About Me I am an economic and policy consultant who has spent the past 20 years working with local and national government, universities, colleges, and major private sector investment and infrastructure firms across the country. An economist by training, my work applies economic thinking to a wide range of public policy issues that affect places … Continue reading “Meet Kevin Fenning – Director, Evidence First, and LPIP Hub Fellow”
Breaking the ‘Pretty Poverty’ Myth in Cornwall: Why Rural Deprivation Remains Hidden from Policy
Professor Tanya Ovenden-Hope explores how Cornwall’s scenic beauty masks deep-rooted deprivation that the government measurement, the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2019, systematically underestimates. This blog discusses the findings of the Plymouth Marjon University, The Pretty Poverty Report: Cornwall Rurality Matters. The Problem of ‘Pretty Poverty’ Deprivation in Cornwall is not immediately evident, hidden behind … Continue reading “Breaking the ‘Pretty Poverty’ Myth in Cornwall: Why Rural Deprivation Remains Hidden from Policy”
Lessons for a Place-Based Green Industrial Policy in the UK
Ed Atkins makes the case for new climate policies that boost local and regional economies. Ed is a Place Fellow at the Local Policy Innovation Partnership (LPIP) Hub. This blog introduces the work he will be undertaking for the LPIP Hub. The UK government’s legal obligation to reach net zero by 2050 necessitates wholesale action. … Continue reading “Lessons for a Place-Based Green Industrial Policy in the UK”
Neighbouring Data: Three Reports on the Data Observatory
And Towns Research Fellow, Joseph Owen, outlines the work from the Neighbouring Data research project. This blog was first published on the And Towns website. Across three reports, Neighbouring Data has drawn together, animated, and analysed place-based data on pride, culture, heritage, health, and wellbeing. By analysing different types of quantitative, qualitative and creative data collected from … Continue reading “Neighbouring Data: Three Reports on the Data Observatory”