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A series of empirical research studies, underpinned by economic theory, explored enterprise support and urban settlement structure. The research contributed significantly to the evidence base used by East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA) in developing their Regional Economic Strategy (RES), and was key in shaping two of the Strategic Priorities. More generally, the research-based recommendations informed EMDA policy development, in particular, the £290 million Single Programme investment set out in the RES. The research also helped shape county councils' support for enterprise, innovation and business. More recently, the research has informed the shape of regional economic development beyond the regional development agencies into new government policy through the new Local Enterprise Partnerships; for example Lincolnshire's £14 million investment in broadband.
A major challenge to economic policy and public sector governance is how to provide a sustainable economic basis for less prosperous localities and neighbourhoods. Research findings demonstrated the need for a greater focus upon enterprise and jobs at a sub-regional level and improved co-ordination and integration of governance arrangements in order to tackle this issue. These findings influenced the development of national and local government policy and practice towards the economic development of deprived areas from 2004 onwards. Impacts were evident through shaping a significant re-orientation in policy approaches towards deprived neighbourhoods as well as the development of specific policies and governance practice.
The North East Economic Model (NEEM) was designed and developed at Durham University Business School (DUBS) from 2003. Customized to the regional economy, the aim of the research was for NEEM to model intra- and extra-regional economic relationships to provide quantitative estimates/projections of the impact of both long-term economic trends and shorter-term economic `shocks'. Its application has had significant impacts on policy practitioners in the region by: (1) facilitating more robust evidence-based policy analysis; (2) giving rise to knowledge transfer to policy-makers regarding the structure and workings of the regional economy; and (3) acting as a catalyst for an extended regional policy-modeling capacity. By influencing professional practice, it has had demonstrable impacts on regional economic policy, regional economic restructuring and local planning.
This case study focuses on research into how sectors such as automotive and clothing are restructuring themselves, the consequences for communities, and the implications for industrial and regional policy responses. Impact has been achieved through: directly informing and shaping government policy and strategy; recommendations applied by government organisations and agencies; and through direct benefit to organisations and communities. Three linked areas where impact is evidenced are highlighted: industrial policy for traditional and emerging sectors; policy for funding and developing sub-regional economic development structures; and policy for dealing with economic shocks.
Economic prosperity in the UK is very unevenly distributed across space. Tackling these persistent disparities by improving local economic performance is a key policy objective. Research conducted by LSE staff has made direct contributions to government thinking and to specific policies both at central and local levels. First, the research has influenced the Government's shift from regional to city policy-making: abolishing Regional Development Agencies; establishing Local Enterprise Partnerships [LEPs] and bespoke `City Deals'. Second, researchers from LSE have directly influenced the development of economic strategies in Birmingham, Cambridge, the North East LEP area and Manchester.
Research by Lawton Smith into analysing firms' behaviour and the relationships between entrepreneurship and innovation and regional growth has impacted on policy-making by regions and governments with international reach though the OECD. An initial Oxfordshire focus of the research resulted in the establishment of the Oxfordshire Economic Observatory (OEO) (joint Oxford University/Oxford Brookes/Birkbeck) which facilitated the application of the results of the research. Since 2008 OEO has been commissioned to undertake policy-focussed research in a variety of national and international contexts. The research has led to Lawton Smith's involvement in influential policy advisory groups in the UK and overseas.
McNay's work is at the boundaries between HEIs and their environment: policy analysis, particularly of Access and, here, Research Quality Assessment, and the impact on internal strategies; and organisational analysis and the way internal cultures and processes are conditioned by external influences. His conceptual model of cultures is used by professionals worldwide to evaluate and improve leadership and management and introduce change. RAE impact analysis has influenced policy (eg on the teaching /research nexus) in the UK and elsewhere) and staff behaviour. It was a factor leading to adjustment of later exercises towards profiling, consistency of criteria and impact
Research at UWE Bristol has informed the productivity-related policies of the South West of England Regional Development Agency and enabled them to form a more focused spatial economic strategy. It influenced and enhanced job creation in strategic industries and locations geared towards growing the economy and flattening the welfare divide. It informed the Welsh Assembly Government's policies to improve Broadband coverage and enable greater online engagement and innovation activities. Also, it informed the preparation of the Sub-Regional Economic Assessment for the West of England and, in turn, the West of England Multi-Area Agreement.
Bradford research led to the development of the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) model which fed into the formulation of international policy tools: namely the Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment (PRAI) and the Indicators for Measuring and Maximizing Economic Value Added and Job Creation from Private Investment in Specific Value Chains (IMMEV). PRAI was adopted by the Group of 20 (G20) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in 2010 and is currently in use to determine relevant national policies aiming to attract investment in agriculture, in Africa and South East Asia. IMMEV is used to support the Development Pillar of G20 and its use is currently implemented in six countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Dominican Republic, Laos, Mongolia and Mozambique).
Traditionally seaside towns have been one of the least understood of Britain's `problem areas'. Research by Beatty and Fothergill in the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) has broken new ground by developing and applying methodologies to assemble systematic evidence on the population and economy of seaside towns, dispelling myths about their decline, providing more subtle view of trends around the coast, documenting economic growth as well as unemployment, and highlighting the diversity of local experience. Impact has been achieved through the dissemination of findings and the provision of advice and guidance to government, policy makers and politicians. The major beneficiaries of this research have been policy makers and politicians in central and local government.