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”
Being the Grit in the System: Reflections from a Social Entrepreneur and LPIP Fellow
In this reflective blog, Mark Swift explores how his LPIP Fellowship reinforced the importance of community knowledge, participation and productive challenge in helping institutions remain open to learning, innovation and transformation. A fellowship and a moment of reflection When I joined the Local Policy Innovation Partnership (LPIP) Fellowship programme, I expected to learn more about … Continue reading “Being the Grit in the System: Reflections from a Social Entrepreneur and LPIP Fellow”
Art Without Architecture – The Accidental System for Supporting Cultural Development and Why It Needs Addressing
Val Birchall reflects on how fragmented cultural funding and governance are undermining place-based cultural development, and argues that local government reorganisation and devolution present a rare opportunity to create a more coherent cultural ecosystem. While Local Government tackles another reorganisation, the promise of devolution and the increasing challenge of funding discretionary services, the government has … Continue reading “Art Without Architecture – The Accidental System for Supporting Cultural Development and Why It Needs Addressing”
We Are Guest – Part Five
Join LPIP Hub Place Fellow Helen O’Gara as she finishes her blog series ‘We Are Guests’, exploring the felt experience of the community development workforce. This final blog brings knowledge mobilisation into focus and asks what policy creation and implementation should look like. View the other blogs in the series. What should it look like? … Continue reading “We Are Guest – Part Five”
How Does Civic Power Accumulate?
Mark Swift argues that places must move beyond one-off participation initiatives and invest in the civic infrastructure that enables civic capability, confidence, leadership and influence to accumulate across the life course. This blog is based on Mark’s recent report – Building Civic Capability: A Life Course Framework for Place. From participation to capability Over the … Continue reading “How Does Civic Power Accumulate?”
Policy News – July 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 piece of research you would like to feature in Policy News, please get in touch. UK Government and … Continue reading “Policy News – July 2026”
We Are Guests – Part Four
This is the fourth blog in the series ‘We Are Guests’, by LPIP Hub Place Fellow Helen O’Gara. Helen looks at the interaction of policy with the community development workforce based on interviews with four community development professionals. View the other blogs in the series. What is policy? “It’s a messy space, but I sometimes … Continue reading “We Are Guests – Part Four”