Improving public funding allocations to reduce geographical inequalities

The aim of this project is to examine how the UK Government can create an improved public funding allocation system in England to drive forward Levelling Up. This project will contribute to the Government's policy goal to level up the UK by proposing better ways of allocating funding between places in England, based on a much clearer understanding of the funding system and the policy problems arising from it. We will achieve this by drawing together existing evidence on public funding allocation to assess the current landscape in England and bring new knowledge to bear on the issues via stakeholder engagement, in coproduction with national and local policymakers and other interested groups. In doing so, we directly address one of three challenge questions posed by the Levelling Up Advisory Council (LUAC) during the ESRC Sandpit process that asks: "how can allocative efficiency in the use of scarce public resources be improved to the benefit of Levelling Up?". The impact will be to provide government with actionable lessons based on different options of policy reform for improving funding allocation mechanisms that, if taken forward, will positively impact policy, people and places.

To achieve this the project will answer the following research questions:
1. What funds and funding allocation approaches exist in the UK relevant to the 12 Levelling Up Missions, and how do they interact at different institutional levels and geographical scales?
2. How do funding approaches impact opportunities to utilise funding in places to best meet local needs?
3. What are the implications of devolution for the allocation and use of funding in place?
4. How can funding allocation better align with the priorities of people in place?
5. What are the options for policy reform to improve funding allocation in England?