Study on the implementation of EU Cohesion Policy in the UK and lessons for UK government's Levelling Up policy

In recent years, understanding why spatial and social disparities are increasing in contemporary economies has become an important theme in several academic disciplines. More academic research is required to help shed light on the socio-economic, institutional and policy processes at play in order to develop innovative ways of tackling such widening disparities, in different places. In this context, the European Union's (EU) Cohesion Policy (CP), is of considerable academic and policy interest. Initially developed in the late 1970s to help less developed regions and Member States, EU CP has evolved over time and currently focuses on 'place-based' interventions to try to tackle increasing social and spatial disparities across Europe. From its inception, the UK has been a recipient of EU CP and it has played a key role in regional economic development ever since. Between 1975 and 2020, the UK received around £66bn from Brussels, which amounted to over £100bn with additional domestic 'match funding'. This funding was targeted mainly at supporting the UK's poorest cities and regions to boost jobs, (small) firms and growth, in different places. Given that the UK left the EU in 2021, it no longer participates in EU CP and funding will cease after 2023. Prior to Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, the spatial and social inequalities in the UK were already greater than in other 'rich' countries but the 'gap' is now widening. In response, UK government (HMG) policy promotes 'place-based' interventions to level up productivity and growth in the whole country, particularly tackling disparities in lagging behind places (not only) in northern England and the devolved nations. Recently, HMG published its Levelling Up White Paper which outlines domestic approaches to tackling economic development across the UK, replacing EU funding.
This project, joint with HMG's Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC), provides a unique and timely opportunity to research a strategic national policy issue. The aim is to explore the lessons from several decades of EU CP implementation in the UK in order to inform ongoing academic and policy debates related to levelling up.