Our annual Cities Outlook report evaluates the economic performance of the UK’s 64 main cities, is read widely in Whitehall, Westminster and cities across the UK, and receives extensive media coverage.  

Through our Partner City programme we work with specific cities, to produce new solutions and fresh thinking on the challenges and opportunities that they and other cities face. We publish tailored research reports on each of our partner cities, as well as featuring them as case studies throughout our work. Previous partner cities include Belfast, Cambridge, Hull, Liverpool, York, Derby, Croydon and Sheffield.

2012 research

Our 2012 research programme will focus on helping UK cities and businesses to support private sector economic and jobs growth at a time of global economic uncertainty. 

We will be working closely with cities across the 64 Primary Urban Areas we study, national Government and the private sector to ensure our research offers practical policy advice on what they can do to promote private sector economic and jobs growth in cities over the medium term.   

Key themes for our 2012 research include:

City Transitions – What is the continued impact of the recession on UK cities and their growth potential?  What are the different models of economic growth for different cities? Are there lessons that can be drawn from elsewhere about cities making successful transitions during such significant economic change?  What is the future for city centres and the “high street” in light of business and consumer trends?

Business & Innovation – How do patterns of business and innovation vary across UK?  Is the presence of many large employers a good thing or bad thing for the dynamism of city economies? Does the public sector reduce the dynamic nature of the private sector in cities?  What is the role of central and local government in supporting innovation?

Funding & Finance – How has the recession impacted on the level of debt held by UK cities? Do UK cities need more or less access to credit? How can local government finance economic growth and what are the challenges and opportunities they will face under localism?

Links & Networks – What are the economic linkages between UK cities and with cities across the globe? How does this impact on their position within supply chains and decision-making hierarchies?  What are the interrelationships of London as a global city with other UK cities? What role can policy makers play in supporting businesses in different cities to expand their global reach and access new markets?

To find out more about our 2012 research programme, and how your organisation could get involved, please contact:

Andrew Carter
Director of Policy & Research
020 7803 4318