In the latest episode of Placecast, Nicola Headlam sits down with Dr Sarah Longlands, Chief Executive of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES), to explore why place matters more than ever in shaping policy, economy, and community wellbeing. Their conversation offers a compelling case for moving beyond one-size-fits-all solutions and embracing the complexity of … Continue reading “Placecast Podcast – Episode Nine – Place is a Unifying Force”
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?”
Collaborative Innovation in Employment Policy: A Liverpool City Region Case Study
This blog summarises a new LPIP Hub policy briefing authored by Susan Jarvis, which explores how Liverpool City Region demonstrates the power of place-based relationships in sustaining innovation and collaboration in employment support policy. Read the full Policy Briefing. Persistent challenges and local resilience Persistent worklessness and labour market disparities remain long-standing challenges in disadvantaged … Continue reading “Collaborative Innovation in Employment Policy: A Liverpool City Region Case Study”
Business Cases and Place-Based Funding
Alice Pugh discusses her recent report exploring how sub-national institutions apply the HM Treasury Green Book’s Better Business Case model when bidding for place-based economic development funding. Context and Methodology This report critically examines the application of the Better Business Case Green Book model by practitioners when seeking to secure past place-based economic development funding. … Continue reading “Business Cases and Place-Based Funding”
Business Cases for Environmental and Climate Change Projects
On 24 September, the Local Policy Innovation Partnership (LPIP) Hub and the Yorkshire Policy Innovation Partnership (YPIP) attended the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Change Commission Annual Convention to present on developing business cases for environmental and climate change projects. The presenters at the event included: Professor Andrew Brown – Discussed his experience of developing a … Continue reading “Business Cases for Environmental and Climate Change Projects”
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”
Policy News – November 2025
This blog summarises the latest policy news that is important to place, including reports, inquiries, consultations, government research and events. It is updated every week. View previous editions. If you have a piece of research that you would like to be featured in Policy News, please get in touch. UK Government Title Details Published English … Continue reading “Policy News – November 2025”
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”