THE POWER OF PEOPLE, PLACES & FIRMS
Reading Time: 4 minutesReducing red tape and administrative burdens is not just a matter of convenience. It is a vital step towards encouraging business creation, innovation, and competition, for a more productive and prosperous future. Simplifying rules, digitising services and working across levels of government can unlock the potential of local businesses – whether they are launching tech startups or providing care services. How can we avoid suffocating our SMEs through red tape?
Reading Time: 3 minutesGreater Manchester has recently outpaced London in productivity growth – a surprising shift that’s prompting many to ask: Is this the long-awaited “devolution dividend”? And could it finally help close the UK’s deep economic divides? Our recent study for the Manchester-based Productivity Institute suggests that advances in data science make it possible to identify a “sweet spot” in subnational government design. We must find it.
Reading Time: < 1 minute先進国の多くでは、国内の地域格差が拡大している現実が、全国平均の統計値の裏に隠れてしまっている。大都市圏が急速に成長する一方で、多くの中小都市や地方部はその歩みに追いつけずにいる。わたしたちCIPFAとバーミンガム大学City-REDI （City-Region Economic Development Institute：都市地域経済開発研究所）による最新の英日共同研究（日本語版報告書）は、この課題に真正面から取り組み、イギリスの「第二の都市」バーミンガム（およびウェスト・
Reading Time: 5 minutesAu cours des quinze dernières années, la population vivant dans les zones urbaines de l’Union européenne a augmenté de près de 12 millions de personnes. Dans un contexte d’urbanisation, une telle tendance n’a rien de surprenant. Mais sous la surface se cache une réalité plus complexe : toutes les villes ne profitent pas de cette croissance. Concrétiser le droit de rester suppose des politiques qui rééquilibrent la prospérité.
Reading Time: 3 minutesPowerful forces are reshaping the world of work. Ageing populations, the transition to green energy, rapid digitalisation, and uneven connectivity are already redrawing the economic landscape. AI tools promise a way out – automating routine tasks, optimising schedules, even predicting maintenance needs before breakdowns. But for local leaders, a dilemma looms: will AI ease labour shortages or put people out of work – and their region?
Reading Time: 4 minutesOver the past 15 years, Europe’s cities have grown by nearly 12 million people. Yet while Europe’s large cities have expanded by around 6.5%, smaller cities have shrunk by 1.7%. Western cities have been generally growing, while many in Eastern Europe are losing residents. This uneven growth raises an important question – what does it mean to have the Right to Stay in Europe’s shrinking cities?
Reading Time: 4 minutesBig metros power ahead while many towns and smaller regions struggle to keep up. A recent UK-Japan study, looks squarely at this problem through two ‘second city’ regions – Birmingham/the West Midlands and Osaka/Kansai – and distils a practical playbook that local leaders can use now. The argument is simple: finds durable institutions, functional regional geographies, flexible finance, and open learning loops are the levers that turn strategy into outcomes.
Reading Time: 4 minutesPortugal shows that the green transition in textiles is both a climate imperative and a business opportunity to reshape production, secure jobs, and meet global demand for sustainable fashion. With SMEs at the core, progress must come from the bottom up, backed by coherent top-down policies. As the fashion cycle accelerates, so too does its environmental footprint – and the need to change our approach.