Placecast podcast - Episode Seven - Rethinking Public Funding and Place-Based Governance in England

In the latest episode of Placecast, Nicola Headlam sits down with Dr Charlotte Hoole and Professor Andy Pike for a deep dive into one of the most pressing challenges facing England today: how we allocate public funding and govern economic development across regions. Drawing on extensive experience in subnational governance and policy research, Charlotte and Andy offer sharp insights and grounded expertise in a conversation that’s both timely and urgent.

As England grapples with entrenched geographical inequalities and a fragmented funding landscape, this podcast explores the findings of their recent ESRC-funded project on improving public funding allocation. From reflections on the legacy of regional development structures to lessons from international models like France and Australia, the episode offers a compelling look at what it will take to build a fairer, more effective system of place-based investment.

PlaceCast is a Local Policy Innovation Partnership (LPIP) Hub production based at City-REDI, University of Birmingham. Our new podcast is essential listening for those keen to explore the ins and outs of knowledge mobilisation for influence in central and local government, based on the view that it’s only through animating the power of place-based leadership that the wicked problems of 2025 can become more manageable.

Guest speakers

Andy Pike is the Henry Daysh Professor of Regional Development Studies in the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies (CURDS), Newcastle University, UK. His research interests, publications and research projects are focused on the geographical political economy of local, regional and urban development and policy. He has undertaken research projects for the OECD, UN-ILO, European Commission, UK Government and national, regional and local institutions. He is a Fellow of the Regional Studies Association and an elected Fellow of the UK’s national Academy of Social Sciences.

Dr Charlotte Hoole is a Research Fellow at the City-Region Economic Development Institute (City-REDI). Her current research examines regional governance capacity in the context of English devolution and public funding allocation. Before this, she worked on projects looking at the impact of governance structures on the formulation of place-based policies and central-local relations, and their role in shaping regional disparities.

Presenter

Dr Nicola Headlam has more than 20 years of experience working within all aspects of the multi-helix innovation system; central and local government, civil society and campaigning, academic research, knowledge mobilisation and in industry. Along the way, she has honed expertise in urban and regional subnational economic development, the roles of government in making and shaping place, and in data and evidence for transformation.

In 2024, she became a freelance economic advisor on the role of leadership and partnerships, urban and living lab forms for research, future of cities and foresighting methods, urban transformations, place-branding and urban regeneration and the spatial consequences of public policy.

Find out more about the LPIP Hub.

Transcript from the podcast

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