Structural Transformation, Adaptability and City Economic Evolutions
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Geography
Abstract
Over the past few years, cities and city-regions have assumed growing prominence in discussions over economic growth and performance. Both geographers and economists point to the increasing concentration of economic activity and wealth creation in cities, and their crucial importance as the loci of national prosperity. National governments and international bodies have likewise recognized the key economic role that cities play, and have correspondingly directed attention to cities as the foci of policy intervention and governance reform. In the UK, interest in the economic performance of cities takes on particular importance given the Government's concern spatially to rebalance the economy between the less prosperous North and the more prosperous South. 'Powering up' northern cities to unlock their growth potential is seen as crucial to securing that political imperative. This project is intended to help inform these concerns and debates by focusing on how far and in what ways, over the medium to long term, cities have differed in their ability to reorientate and transform their economic structures in response to or anticipation of changes in demand, competition, trade, and technology, and how those differences have then influenced the comparative growth paths of cities.
While a city's growth performance is influenced by a wide range of factors, over the medium to long run, much turns on how successful a city is in moving out of old declining or slow-growth sectors of activity into new more dynamic ones. If, for some reason, a city's economic structure becomes increasingly uncompetitive, outmoded, or falls behind in productivity, it will fall behind in economic growth, job creation, per capita incomes and welfare. What matters then, especially when viewed over the medium to long term, is what some economists call the structural dynamics of economic growth, or adaptive growth. It is this key issue that this research project seeks to explore, in relation to some 70 cities across the UK. There is some evidence to suggest that cities have differed significantly in economic growth in recent decades, especially as between more southern cities and more northern ones. How far these divergent growth evolutions have been influenced by differences in structural transformation and reorientation is the basic focus of this research. Most of the analysis will focus on the past forty years, since 1971, a period when, nationally, a major shift in the national economy has occurred from manufacturing to services. How the structural details of this shift have played out across Britain's cities, and with what consequences for city growth patterns, are key questions the research seeks to address.
To address the research aims, new data sets for British cities will be constructed, on employment and output for numerous individual sectors. For a more recent period, since 1991, it is also possible to examine in some detail the role of various city-specific factors (such as agglomeration, skills, innovation and firm demographics) in explaining differences across cities in structural adaptation and economic growth. Further, some 10 case study cities will be examined in yet more detail over this more recent period, with a view to ascertaining how local economic and industrial policies and what are increasingly called governance arrangements (for example locally active and collectively acting political and business institutions) have interacted with and shaped the pace and direction of structural change and economic growth. It is intended that the research will not only contribute to our understanding of city economic evolutions, but also help to inform current policy debates about the creation of a 'northern powerhouse' centred upon Britain's northern cities.
While a city's growth performance is influenced by a wide range of factors, over the medium to long run, much turns on how successful a city is in moving out of old declining or slow-growth sectors of activity into new more dynamic ones. If, for some reason, a city's economic structure becomes increasingly uncompetitive, outmoded, or falls behind in productivity, it will fall behind in economic growth, job creation, per capita incomes and welfare. What matters then, especially when viewed over the medium to long term, is what some economists call the structural dynamics of economic growth, or adaptive growth. It is this key issue that this research project seeks to explore, in relation to some 70 cities across the UK. There is some evidence to suggest that cities have differed significantly in economic growth in recent decades, especially as between more southern cities and more northern ones. How far these divergent growth evolutions have been influenced by differences in structural transformation and reorientation is the basic focus of this research. Most of the analysis will focus on the past forty years, since 1971, a period when, nationally, a major shift in the national economy has occurred from manufacturing to services. How the structural details of this shift have played out across Britain's cities, and with what consequences for city growth patterns, are key questions the research seeks to address.
To address the research aims, new data sets for British cities will be constructed, on employment and output for numerous individual sectors. For a more recent period, since 1991, it is also possible to examine in some detail the role of various city-specific factors (such as agglomeration, skills, innovation and firm demographics) in explaining differences across cities in structural adaptation and economic growth. Further, some 10 case study cities will be examined in yet more detail over this more recent period, with a view to ascertaining how local economic and industrial policies and what are increasingly called governance arrangements (for example locally active and collectively acting political and business institutions) have interacted with and shaped the pace and direction of structural change and economic growth. It is intended that the research will not only contribute to our understanding of city economic evolutions, but also help to inform current policy debates about the creation of a 'northern powerhouse' centred upon Britain's northern cities.
Planned Impact
1. Impact Target Community
The principal non-academic beneficiaries are anticipated to be economic policy makers at both national and local scales, to assist understanding about the impact of structural change on city-region economies and the policies that are required to enable their local resource base to adjust accordingly.
Other beneficiaries include the business community and in particular those who assist with the workings of labour, land and property markets in the broadest sense including the housing market.
2. Engagement Activities
Our plans for engagement and dissemination include;
i) Developing a web-site that will focus on promoting understanding of the impact of structural change on local economies and co-ordinated with social media channels including a project blog, Twitter feed and LinkedIn group;
ii) Working closely with the Centre for Cities to ensure that all key findings are disseminated through their extensive network of contacts and publicity channels (see below);
iii) Holding three workshops during the course of the work to bring together academics, policy makers and professionals;
iv) Extensive development of professional research networks. involving HM Government, local authorities and the research community to make the relevant user groups aware of the research;
v) Knowledge exchange with local authorities through the Local Government Association, Local Enterprise Partnerships and other similar bodies in order to make them aware of the research and its findings;
vi) Distribution of four short (non-technical) summary documents and policy briefings targeted at end-users;
vii) Organisation of of a major conference to be held in Cambridge in Summer 2018 that would be an opportunity to bring together the research studies findings with that of other academic work on City and Regional Structural Adaptive Change from an International Perspective.
3. Milestones and Measures
Key measures include:
i) Establishing a Project Steering Group consisting of 8 members, four of which would be drawn from representatives from local and central government; 3 would be from the academic research community, and one from private sector data providers.
ii) Regular meetings of the project Steering Group to review progress on engagement and delivering impact.
iii) A workshop towards the end of year one would seek feedback from participants on the quality and effectiveness of the research to date.
iv) A second workshop in the middle of year two would be concerned to discuss and disseminate a number of emerging findings
v) A third workshop towards the end of the project would seek to communicate further research, including the case-study city findings, results to a wide range of the beneficiaries targeted above and would be seen as the basis for the final round of dissemination activity.
4. Resources for Dissemination: Using the Centre for Cities to Maximise Impact
Given the importance of impact, and the potential relevance of the project for policy-makers and others involved in city economic development, the project will utilise and harness the expertise and dissemination facilities of the Centre for Cities in London. The Centre has an extensive network of stakeholders and key actors involved in city development and policy across the national urban system. Their services will be used to help disseminate the research findings of the project. The Centre will assume most of the administrative, organisational and promotional activities associated with our Workshops and Conference, together with designing and issuing publicity on the project, including the summary documents and policy statements referred to above. They will work alongside and under the guidance of the Pi and Co-Is to ensure the widest possible impact of the project. We regard the involvement of the Centre for Cities in our impact strategy as a key strength.
The principal non-academic beneficiaries are anticipated to be economic policy makers at both national and local scales, to assist understanding about the impact of structural change on city-region economies and the policies that are required to enable their local resource base to adjust accordingly.
Other beneficiaries include the business community and in particular those who assist with the workings of labour, land and property markets in the broadest sense including the housing market.
2. Engagement Activities
Our plans for engagement and dissemination include;
i) Developing a web-site that will focus on promoting understanding of the impact of structural change on local economies and co-ordinated with social media channels including a project blog, Twitter feed and LinkedIn group;
ii) Working closely with the Centre for Cities to ensure that all key findings are disseminated through their extensive network of contacts and publicity channels (see below);
iii) Holding three workshops during the course of the work to bring together academics, policy makers and professionals;
iv) Extensive development of professional research networks. involving HM Government, local authorities and the research community to make the relevant user groups aware of the research;
v) Knowledge exchange with local authorities through the Local Government Association, Local Enterprise Partnerships and other similar bodies in order to make them aware of the research and its findings;
vi) Distribution of four short (non-technical) summary documents and policy briefings targeted at end-users;
vii) Organisation of of a major conference to be held in Cambridge in Summer 2018 that would be an opportunity to bring together the research studies findings with that of other academic work on City and Regional Structural Adaptive Change from an International Perspective.
3. Milestones and Measures
Key measures include:
i) Establishing a Project Steering Group consisting of 8 members, four of which would be drawn from representatives from local and central government; 3 would be from the academic research community, and one from private sector data providers.
ii) Regular meetings of the project Steering Group to review progress on engagement and delivering impact.
iii) A workshop towards the end of year one would seek feedback from participants on the quality and effectiveness of the research to date.
iv) A second workshop in the middle of year two would be concerned to discuss and disseminate a number of emerging findings
v) A third workshop towards the end of the project would seek to communicate further research, including the case-study city findings, results to a wide range of the beneficiaries targeted above and would be seen as the basis for the final round of dissemination activity.
4. Resources for Dissemination: Using the Centre for Cities to Maximise Impact
Given the importance of impact, and the potential relevance of the project for policy-makers and others involved in city economic development, the project will utilise and harness the expertise and dissemination facilities of the Centre for Cities in London. The Centre has an extensive network of stakeholders and key actors involved in city development and policy across the national urban system. Their services will be used to help disseminate the research findings of the project. The Centre will assume most of the administrative, organisational and promotional activities associated with our Workshops and Conference, together with designing and issuing publicity on the project, including the summary documents and policy statements referred to above. They will work alongside and under the guidance of the Pi and Co-Is to ensure the widest possible impact of the project. We regard the involvement of the Centre for Cities in our impact strategy as a key strength.
Publications
Martin R L
(2016)
Divergent Urban Economic Development: Reflections on a Tale of Two Cities
in Regional Studies
Clarke G
(2016)
Divergent cities? Unequal urban growth and development
in Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society
Martin R
(2016)
Divergent cities in post-industrial Britain
in Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society
Sunley P
(2017)
Cities in transition: problems, processes and policies
in Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society
Tyler P
(2017)
Growing apart? Structural transformation and the uneven development of British cities
in Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society
Emil Evenhuis
(2018)
Case Study Report Middlesbrough-Stockton and Tees Valley
Martin R
(2018)
The city dimension of the productivity growth puzzle: the relative role of structural change and within-sector slowdown
in Journal of Economic Geography
Sunley P
(2019)
In search of the skilled city: Skills and the occupational evolution of British cities
in Urban Studies
Martin R
(2019)
The resilience of cities to economic shocks: A tale of four recessions (and the challenge of Brexit)
in Papers in Regional Science
Pike A
(2020)
Coping with deindustrialization in the global North and South
in International Journal of Urban Sciences
Martin R
(2021)
6. Institutions and Policies for "Levelling Up" and "Left Behind Places"
in Regional Studies Policy Impact Books
Martin R
(2021)
1. Introduction: The New Discourse of "Left Behind Places"
in Regional Studies Policy Impact Books
Martin R
(2021)
3. Why Places have Fallen Behind: The Geographically Uneven Effects of Economic Transformation
in Regional Studies Policy Impact Books
Martin R
(2021)
2. Becoming "Left Behind": How Places have Grown Apart
in Regional Studies Policy Impact Books
Martin R
(2021)
5. Learning from Past Policies for "Levelling Up" and "Left Behind Places" in the UK
in Regional Studies Policy Impact Books
| Description | The main findings from this project can be summarised as follows: 1. For the period of study, 1971-2014, British cities showed cumulatively divergent growth, both in terms of employment and outputs (GVA). Northern cities tended to grow more slowly than southern cities. A key exception was London, which from 1971 to the late-1980s was among the slowest growing cities, and more like northern counterparts, but thereafter underwent a dramatic 'turnaround', and became one of the fastest growing cities. That turnaround would seem to coincide with the 'Big Bang' of 1986, when the financial and banking system was deregulated, much of that system being concentrated in London. 2. The 'core cities' have underperformed over the study period, with Bristol being the most dynamic. These second-tier cities have lagged behind dynamic smaller cities, and more recently behind London. 3. Dynamic shift-share analyses enable the growth of cities to be decomposed into a 'structural change' effect, and a 'competitiveness' effect. While the structural change effect was positive in London, and in other cities that grew faster than the national average, it was negative in other cities. Further, the 'competitiveness' effect was increasingly negative in London until the early-2000s, whereafter it improved. In the slowest growing cities - mostly in northern Britain - both the structural effect and competitiveness effect were negative. 4. In the context of a slowdown in national productivity growth, our analysis reveals that during the 1970s and 1980s northern cities recorded above average productivity growth, whilst most southern cities lagged behind. From the end of the 1980s onwards, the situation changed, with northern cities recording lower rates of productivity growth than southern cities, although both groups exhibited rates below those of the 1970s and 1980s. Part of this slowdown can be attributed to structural shift from manufacturing to services, in many sections of which the scope for significant productivity advance is less. 5. Skills have often been singled out as a key drive of city growth. Data for our cities shows that contrary to studies in the United States, large British cities have not accumulated skills faster than other cities, although southern cities, and especially those near to London have fared better than northern cities. In all cities there has been a hollowing out of middle range skills, leading to a polarisation of the skill profile. 6. Another aim of the project was to investigate the resilience British cities to major recessionary shocks, specifically the recessions of 1973-75, 1979-81, 1990-91 and 2008-10. Measures of the resistance and recoverability for each city were calculated for each of these downturns. Two key features were apparent. First a shift is evident in the relationship between resistance and recoverability across cities as between the first two and second two recessions. In the first two recessions, the more resistant a city to recession. the more rapidly it was likely to recover more rapidly. In the last two recessions this relationship had disappeared: cities that were more resistant to recession were not necessarily those that had better recoverability. But, second, in the past three recessions, many southern cities have tended to be more resilient in terms of superior recoverability than their northern counterparts. Analysis of various structural and other characteristics of cites suggested that it is easier to explain the differential recoverability of cities than their resistance. Structural composition was found to influence recoverability in the first two recessions, but much less so in the last two recessions. Estimates of the likely impact of Brexit on British cites revealed a complex pattern, with no strong evidence that northern cities would be worse hit than southern cities. Such analysis must be viewed as highly speculative, however, in the absence of detailed trade data for cities, and the fact that the impact of Brexit will only be known after some significant time has passed. Moreover, at the time of the analysis the precise terms of the Brexit deal were not known. 7. A further aspect of the research explored the role that local economic governance and policy may have played in shaping the economic growth paths of cities. Five case study cities were chosen for this purpose: Peterborough, Bristol, Birmingham, Glasgow and Middlesbrough-Stockton. selected for their different growth experiences. Several findings emerged from these case studies. One stood out, namely that the greater the churn (lack of continuity) of local governance arrangements and institutional forms, the worse the economic outcomes have been. Policies seem to have accommodated ongoing economic shifts and changes and have had limited effect on shaping and giving direction to those changes. Policies have also tended to focus more on urban regeneration, and much less on strategic economic development (Peterborough being a notable exception). Local governance and policy mixes need better alignment and coordination, including between different levels (local and national). |
| Exploitation Route | The data set used in this project requires several months to be constructed, and covered the period 1971-2014. It would be extremely useful to be able to update the data sets as far as possible, which should be up to 2019. As official data on output have recently been revised (using balanced chained estimates) it would also be useful to revise the the city series in this new basis. Updated data could be used to examine the lead-up to Brexit, and to provide better estimates of its likely impact on British cities. A further line of enquiry would be to expand the 85 cities used in the project to include towns, as the latter have become a key component of the Government's 'levelling up' agenda. There are several highly relevant lines of research that could be based on the city data sets developed for this project. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Financial Services, and Management Consultancy,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Retail,Transport,Other |
| Description | 1. From almost the start of the project, our research began to attract the close interest of the UK Government. A number of invited presentations have since been made to The Department of Business, Energy, Innovation and Skills (BEIS), The Department for Communities and Local government (DCLG), and HM Treasury. Our work, especially on long-run productivity growth across British cities, has been used by these Departments in discussions and materials relating to Local growth Funds, the northern Powerhouse initiative, and the Government's new Industrial Strategy. and H1. 2. Our work has also been used in various submissions to the Government's Industrial Strategy. In 2017, the Key Cities Group commissioned a substantial report on the economic performance of the 24 cities making up this group, which report was then incorporated into the Key Cites' own submission to the Industrial Strategy Green Paper. In 2017 we were also asked by the Industrial Strategy Commission to supply it with analysis and key policy implications based on our ESRC project. 3. In November 2017, Prof Martin was invited to participate in an Invitee-Only Round Table Working Group on the Government's Industrial Strategy held in 10 Downing Street, to report on the findings of our ESRC project, and to discuss the potential implications of those findings for the redrafting of the Industrial Strategy. 4. On 12 December 2017, Prof Martin was invited to give the Centre for Cities' Annual Horizon Lecture (at the London Shard), to an invited audience 100 policy-makers on the research findings of the ESRC project, focusing particularly on the resilience of Britain's cities to economic recession. 5. Over October-November 2018, Prof Martin was invited to contribute to the preparation and discussion of a major report by the European Commission (Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy), on incorporating the notion of resilience into regional and local economic policy-making across Europe. This contribution drew on one of the research streams of the ESRC project, on "The Residence of Cities to Economic Shocks". 6. During 2018 our project attracted the close attention of the Core Cities Group (10 cities outside of London). The Team was invited to give two one-day presentation sot the Core Cities Group, in Manchester and in Newcastle. Two major research papers were the commissioned by the Core Cities Group - one on the economic performance, productivity, skills and resilience of the 10 cities, and one on policy implication, and delivered in December 2018 and January 2019. These reports have both informed and been incorporated into a major Core Cities Commission report to be submitted to central Government relating to the industrial strategies and growth initiatives drawn up by the Group. 7. On 13 February 2019, with assistance from the Centre for Cities, a one-day workshop on "The Economic Performance of Britain's Cities: Patterns, Processes and Policy Implications" was held at great George Street, London. This event was attended by attended by 80 Local Government and Central Government policymakers, and included an address on our work by Lord Kerslake. The presentations consisted of research findings, and discussions of policy implications and options, with large-scale participation from attendees. 8. On the basis of our findings, representatives of the research team - Prof Martin, Prof Tyler and B. Gardiner - have now (February 2019) were invited by Lord Kerslake to join his UK2070 Commission on devising a grown strategy for Northern England. 9. in October 2019 Bury City Authority committed a study of the economic resilience of that city. This work produced both a report, ad a presentation to workshop in Bury (100 attendees). 10. The Department for Levelling Up, Using and Communities requested and hosted a webinar for the research team to present the findings of our new book, Levelling Up Left Behind Places: The Scale and Nature of the Economic and Policy Challenge, January 2022. This eating was attended by 50 Departmental policy makers and analysts. Some of the findings we presented helped to inform the Government's White Paper on Levelling Up. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Other |
| Impact Types | Economic |
| Description | Collaboration with Centre for Cities. Centre for Cities is a think tank based in London, whose goal it is 'to understand how and why economic growth and change takes place in Britain's cities, and to produce research that helps cities improve their performance'. |
| Organisation | Centre For Cities |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Provide key findings of research about economic development of cities in the UK Provide expertise and content for Centre for Cities activities (e.g. website, podcast, lecture series, other events) Provide new conceptual and theoretical insights that can benefit more applied work by Centre for Cities |
| Collaborator Contribution | Redesigned website for project, and now maintain this webstite (www.cityevolutions.org.uk) Create more accessible and short briefing papers with key findings from the academic papers written as part of the project; which are then distributed among practicioners and policy makers in the field of urban and regional economic development. Organise a series of workshops as part of the project, to present first findings in various cities acress the United Kingdom, and get feedback and suggestions from a diverse group of practicioners and policy makers. Advertise briefing papers (with key findings), academic and on-academic events, and other new developments in the project, through social media (mainly Twitter), their (widely distributed) e-mail newsletter, and personal contacts. |
| Impact | Redesigned website for project (www.cityevolutions.org.uk) Produced 2 short briefing papers with key findings from the academic papers written as part of the project In the process of organising 2 workshops as part of the project Ongoing advertisement of events and news from the project. Project Twitter account has about 150 followers meanwhile. And Centre for Cities can reach several 1000 stakeholders, through announcements on their website, their newsletter, and their own Twitter account. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | A Second invited presentation and discussion with the Core City Group to set out the remit of two reports commissioned by the Group - one on economic performance of the Core Cities, and another on policy options |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | To discuss two reports that the Core Cities were inviting the research team to prepare for the Core Cities |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | A major one day workshop on the economic performance of britain's Cities: Patterns, Processes and Policy Implications, held in London, attended by 80 local government and central government policy-makers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The one-day workshop consisted of a series of presentations by the research team on various aspects of the project, its findings and policy implications. Each presentation was followed by an audience discussion of policy issues. Lord Kerslake gave an address related to the research project's findings. A final panel of experts then discussed the whole day's events, focusing on the way forward for strategies intended to revive national economic performance by means of city-based industrial and other policies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Appointed Consultant on National Infrastructure Commission's study of the Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford Corridor |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Assisted in the research for and writing of major Report of National Infrastructure Commission, as input to policy deliberations concerning the funding of improved transport link between Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Appointed Member of Academic Panel to oversee Consortium project on Local Growth Interventions Evaluation for Transport for the North |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Appointed as member of Academic Panel to provide academic oversight and rigour to the evaluation of Local City Deals for the consortium led by Transport for the North and the Manchester Combined Authority |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Appointment as Consultant and Commissioner on London-Stansted-Cambridge Growth Corridor Commission |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Provided academic ave t the Report of the London-Stansted-Cambridge Growth Corridor commission , and appointed as one of the Commissioners of that Commission |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Cities and Productivity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Response to an invitation from representatives from HM Treasury and Departmaet of Business, Innovations and Skills |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Divergent Cities in the Post-Industrial Economy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A keynote presentation to open the Conference on the Transformation of Cities held at St Catharine's College July 2016 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Divergent Cities; Structural Transformation and Productivity Growth |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Departmental Research Seminar on 'Divergent Cities; Structural Transformation and Productivity Growth', University of Portsmouth |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Institutions and Policies in City Economic Evolution: Evidence from British Cities |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Paper presented at Association of American Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting, Boston, 5-9 April 2017 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Invited one day workshop presenting research findings to Chief Executives and Senior Economic Officers, of the 10 Core Cities, Manchester |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Invited to present findings of the project to the Core Cities and to discuss with them potential policy implications |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Invited paper at Conference on Urban Psychology, Heseltine Institute, London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited presentation to give a keynote paper on'Personality Traits and the Economic Performance of Cities', to a conference on Urban Psychology organised by the Helsetine Institute of Public Policy (University of Liverpool) in London, to an audience of over 200 academics and policy makers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Organised conference Cities in Transformation: Processes, Problems and Policies in Cambridge on 14-15 July |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Organised international conference with over 30 speakers about economic change in cities over the world. About 80 people attended, among whom many people from abroad and many policy makers and economic development practitioners (from British government departments, European Commission, Local Enterprise Partnerships, local authorities, etc.). Received very positive feedback from participants, and policy makers and practitioners reported they appreciated being informed about state-of-the-art research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.caths.cam.ac.uk/cities-transformation-processes-problems-and-policies |
| Description | Organised session at Regional Studies Association Winter Conference in London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Organised a special session at the Regional Studies Association Winter Conference in London on 24 and 25 November 2016, to present our ongoing work. Received postive feedback and valuable suggestions from academics as well as practicioners. The conference and our session was not only attended by academics, but also many practicioners, policy makers, and media; and hence was a good opportunity to showcase our work, and interact with a wide group of stakeholders. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.regionalstudies.org/conferences/conference/rsawinter2016 |
| Description | Policies, Institutions, and City Economic Evolution: A Tale of Five British Cities |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presented at Regional Studies Association (RSA) Winter Conference, London, 16-17 November 2017 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | The City Dimension of the Productivity Problem: The Relative Role of Structural Change and Within-Sector Slowdown |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Paper Presented to the Regional Studies Association Annual Conference, London, November |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | The Resilience of Cities to Economic Shocks |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Paper presented as the City Horizons 2017 Lecture, Centre for Cities, The Shard, London, December |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | The Unequal Growth of Cities |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Presentation given day the Regional Studies Association Annual Winter Conference, London November 2016 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Webinar to present results of book Levelling Up Left Behind Places, presented to Department of Levelling Up, Housing nd Communities, London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Webinar to present results of book Levelling Up Left Behind Places, presented to Department of Levelling Up, Housing nd Communities, London. Book based on research project supported by Regional Studies Association |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Webinar with HM Treasur officials on Local Economic `resilience |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The meeting with HM Treasury officials (Local Resilience Group) was in response to a contact from them to discuss the issue of local economic resilience, its meaning, measurement and implications for policy. The discussion related to what economic reliance means at the local level, and what sort of data are required to measure it effectively. Plans were made for follow up engagement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Workshop with Stakeholders on Case Study City - Middlesborough |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Workshop with local stakeholders and police practitioners on project research results and implications for the city of Middlesborough |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Workshop with stakeholders on case study city of Birmingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Workshop with local stakeholders and police practitioners on project research results and implications for the city of Birmingham |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Workshop with stakeholders on case study city of Bristol |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Workshop with local stakeholders and police practitioners on project research results and implications for the city of Bristol |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Workshop with stakeholders on case study city of Peterborough |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Workshop with local stakeholders and police practitioners on project research results and implications for the city of Peterborough |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Workshop with stockholders on case study city of Glasgow |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Workshop with local stakeholders and police practitioners on project research results and implications for the city of Glasgow |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |