What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth
The What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth (WWG) was set up in October 2013 as part of the What Works Network to analyse which policies are most effective in supporting and increasing local economic growth.
Its work programme includes three principal approaches: systematically reviewing the evidence base on policies for local economic growth using a robust methodology; convening events and workshops for policymakers to help them understand and make better use of evidence in designing and delivering policy; and improving the quality of the UK evidence base by helping to develop ‘demonstration’ projects, or local policy experiments.
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Henry Overman (Principal Investigator, Professor of Economic Geography)
Gabriel Alfehdt (Associate Professor of Urban Economics and Land Development)
Rita Biden (External Affairs Manager)
Andrew Carter (Deputy Director)
Paul Cheshire (Emeritus Professor of Economic Geography)
Vicky Evans (Project Manager)
Jerome Frost (Director)
Stephen Gibbons (Professor of Economic Geography)
Jonathan Haskel (Chair in Economics)
Alan Harding (Director)
Christian Hilber (Associate Professor in Economic Geography)
Simona Iammarino (Professor of Economic Geography)
Simon Jeffrey (External Affairs Officer)
Alexandra Jones (Chief Executive)
Meg Kaufman (Project Manager)
Neil Lee (Assistant Professor of Economic Geography)
Karen Lucas (Director of Research and Innovation)
Ralf Martin (Assistant Professor in Economics)
Lynne Miles (Project Manager)
Max Nathan (Deputy Director)
Andy Pike (Professor of Local and Regional Development)
Ilia Popovski (External Affairs Officer)
Joanne Rowelle (Deputy Director)
Olmo Silva (Research Associate)
Helen Simpson (Reader in Economics)
Development of a comparative evaluative framework and online database for Local Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships to assess policies on local growth and employment.
Knowledge exchange and training through learning sessions, events and other programmes to build the capacity of stakeholders to design, assess and deliver policy.
Creation of a longer term evidence base as the foundation for future research and funding.
Do local hiring conditions increase job creation for local residents?
7 December 2018
What can the 2008 crash teach us about life after Brexit?
25 May 2018
Metro mayors can play a big role in expanding the evidence base of UK policy making
1 February 2018
Urban incubators, innovation and inequality
5 October 2017
What we have learned from our evidence reviews
29 January 2016
Creating an evidence ecosystem: lessons from Greater Manchester
16 November 2015
What works better?
5 November 2015