The voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector works alongside local and national governments to provide support for residents. But alongside facing their own struggles as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, charities and community organisations are also being relied on more and more by people and local organisations. In this article, from our Power […]
Targeting the ‘(professional) enablers’ of economic crime
The UK government has published its second Economic Crime Plan (ECP2), which aims to reinforce the government’s priorities in relation to economic crime in (or affecting) the UK. ECP2 arrives at a time of considerable political attention on economic crime, with the global focus on kleptocracy and increased use of financial sanctions following Russia’s invasion […]
Levelling up or widening the gap?
There are deep-rooted regional inequalities in health and wealth across England. ‘Levelling Up’ is the UK Government’s flagship policy to redress these inequalities through additional investment, with the Community Renewal Fund (CRF) one strand of this funding. In this article, Christine Camacho and Dr Luke Munford examine the allocation of the first round of the […]
Graphene as a regional-global innovation model
A new national policy report has identified the graphene innovation ecosystem at Manchester as a regional hub for international partnership and investment. In this article, James Baker explores how this success demonstrates that research and development (R&D) investment into specialist regional clusters like Graphene@Manchester provides national government with an excellent return on investment as they […]
Sustainability transitions: catalysing innovation in the foundational economy for a green and just future
The UK is making progress to achieve net zero, with the latest findings indicating that UK emissions in 2021 fell below 2019 levels. These efforts, however, are still identified as insufficient for fulfilling the Paris Agreement. To lead the way towards a green and just future, regional and urban areas are developing ambitious strategies to […]
Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage – real-worlding emission estimates
Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) could play an important role in meeting the UK’s net zero emissions target according to the sixth carbon budget scenarios. However, there are many different ways BECCS could be deployed in the UK, and how that roll out is managed could make a big difference in terms of […]
Turning gadgets into productivity
The Industrial Revolution brought about great economic success in the north of the United Kingdom that translated into a social, cultural and urban transformation. However, the Digital Revolution of today has not had the same impact on the UK, and particularly, the north. In this blog, Professor Bart van Ark explores how and why productivity […]
Skills, Productivity and Regional Inequality: why a ‘one size fits all’ approach can’t work
Skills are important contributors to the improvement of productivity. With new skills, there are associated higher wages and better living standards. However, implementing a better agenda for skill improvement in policy can prove extremely challenging. There are several layers of skills and their applications that need to be considered at different levels of distribution. Professor […]
Global partnerships: How can international research collaborations boost our health and economy?
The University of Manchester is a founding partner of the Kenya-UK Healthcare Alliance, which aims to share best practice and reciprocal training between the two nations, particularly in the area of cancer care. In this article, from our On Cancer publication, Professor Keith Brennan, Dr F. George Njoroge, and Professor Rob Bristow outline how these […]
Child of the North: The economic impacts of child health
The economic performance of the North of England consistently lags behind the national average. One factor that could partly explain this ‘productivity gap’ is the poorer physical and mental health of children in the North, along with a widening educational gap, with long-lasting impacts on the labour market. In this blog, Dr Rose Atkins and […]