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Levelling Up

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Levelling Up

Levelling up: making the case for investment in the central South This new report from Southern Policy Centre was launched on July 30th 2021 and asks whether the central South risks losing out to areas in the Midlands and the North in the Government’s Levelling Up agenda. There is a widely held assumption that all areas in the supposedly affluent South East experience the positive effects of prosperity but SPC research suggests that some areas of the population experience poor…

pen business eyewear research

Recovery in the central South: collaboration for growth

Recovery in the central South: collaboration for growth Click here to read “Recovery in the central South: collaboration for growth” June 2020 Click here to read “Recovery in the central South: an update” March 2021 In June 2020 following a series of consultative seminars, the Southern Policy Centre (SPC) published a short policy paper on Recovery in the central South: collaboration for growth which sought to identify the key issues facing the central South when lockdown is eased and we…

Tomorrow’s City Centre

Tomorrow’s City Centre A project in partnership with Blake Morgan   On November 20th 2020, Blake Morgan and the Southern Policy Centre launched their research report exploring the future of the central South’s city centres. We were joined by Andrew Carter from the Centre for Cities and over 100 participants from across the region – representing councils, businesses and the community. Our report and the lively discussion at its launch demonstrated there is a real appetite for continuing a broad…

Poverty: Deprivation in the South

Poverty: Deprivation in the South Despite its perceived affluence relative to other parts of the UK, pockets of severe multiple deprivation exist across the South Coast region. The 2018 report ‘Making ends meet: The lived experience of poverty in the south’ offers a timely corrective to over-simplistic ideas of an English North-South divide by highlighting the significance of ‘hidden’ deprivation in affluent areas. It also provides some depth and nuance to our understanding of the broader effects of deprivation, which…

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Barker Mill Estates
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Time for London and the South East to listen to Frank

September 6, 2021
Nick Bowes
All, Blog, Guest posts, Skills

Time for London and the South East to listen to Frank This is a guest post by Nick Bowes. Nick is Chief Executive of Centre for London. He was most recently the Mayoral Director of Policy at the Greater London Authority. Nick has previously worked at the Royal Society, EEF (now Make UK) and the CBI. Between 2010 and 2015, he was the Special Adviser to Sadiq Khan as Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Constitutional Reform. Nick has…

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Responding and adapting to Covid-19: a Chief Executive’s reflection

August 17, 2021
Paul Cox
All, Blog, Guest posts, Skills

Responding and adapting to Covid-19: a chief executive’s reflection This is a guest post by Paul Cox, the Chief Executive at Eastleigh College. Paul also serves on a wide range of external educational and employer bodies, including the Hampshire Principals’ Group, and the Eastleigh Consortium Heads and Principals. Paul is also a co-opted governor at Solent University. During the Coronavirus pandemic Paul also chaired the JISC and Association of Colleges national ‘Shaping the Digital Future of FE and Skills’ research that…

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Data Analytics & Social Care: using data to improve care outcomes

February 5, 2021
Simon Eden
Blog, Health and social care

Final report from the Seminar and Workshop – 3 December 2020 In December 2020 Southern Policy Centre (SPC) and Nquiringminds (NQM) completed a 21-month project – Care Analytics. The project, supported by Innovate UK, explored how social care authorities can use Artificial Intelligence techniques and a wide range of data to guide service improvement, support decision-making and allow for more efficient use of resources. An important output was an analytic tool which used local authority date to provide detailed assessments…

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Seminar: Friday 26th February

February 2, 2021
Ruth Eastwood
All, Events, News

In June 2020 the Southern Policy Centre published ‘Recovery in the central South: collaboration for growth’ the result of a series of online consultations with key players from business, economic development, local authorities, further and higher education and the voluntary sector. The report focused on priorities for economic recovery for the central South in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the challenges of 2020, this latest seminar will examine what progress has been made since the publication of our report,…

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Re-imagining Tomorrow’s City Centres: Report Launch

November 25, 2020
Simon Eden
Blog, Tomorrow's City Centres

Re-imagining Tomorrow’s City Centres: Report Launch   “We can’t predict the future of cities, but we can invent them” Mike Batty, UCL Last week Blake Morgan and the Southern Policy Centre launched their research report exploring the future of the central South’s city centres. We were joined by Andrew Carter from the Centre for Cities and over 100 participants from across the region – representing councils, businesses and the community. A full copy of the report can be accessed here.…

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A Green Recovery: The opportunities ahead

September 28, 2020
Simon Eden
Blog, News

A Green Recovery: The opportunities ahead   In July 2020, Simon Eden published a paper on green recovery in collaboration with Green Halo and Future South. The introduction to this thought-provoking discussion is reproduced below while the full document can be accessed here. 2020. Not the year we expected it to be. Whatever it was supposed to be known for, it will forever be the year we went into lockdown. COVID – for all its disruption and destruction has perhaps…

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Trauma and change: will we do things differently?

August 20, 2020
Simon Eden
Blog

Trauma and change: will we do things differently?   In July 2020, Simon Eden published this blog in collaboration with Green Halo. In his book “The Language of Cities” Deyan Sudjic, Journalist and Director of London’s Design Museum, suggests that: “It takes trauma to make a complacent city invest in its future”. It’s only when a major crisis – from a loss of a key part of the economy to a natural disaster – shakes a place from the conviction…

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Making the most of devolution

August 7, 2020
John Denham
Blog

Making the most of devolution The Southern Policy Centre’s seminar ‘What does the central South want from devolution?’ drew in regional leaders from local government, business, and further and higher education. The presentation is available here. With a number of related media stories and government announcements since the seminar, it’s worth looking at how any government plans might help us tackle the wider challenges facing the region and its leaders. As the seminar made clear, formal devolution – usually badged…

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Levelling up and devolution: what might it mean for the central South

September 21, 2021
Simon Eden
All, Blog, Devolution, General, Local Government

Levelling up and devolution: what might it mean for the central South ‘Levelling up’ – ensuring there is equality of opportunity across all parts of the United Kingdom – is a key theme for Boris Johnson’s Government. We are promised a White Paper in the autumn which will address regional disparities and put forward proposals to give those who feel they’ve been left behind the chance to catch up. There is a perception in some quarters that we can achieve…

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The Circular Economy – just how do we do that?

September 20, 2021
Chas Bradfield
All, Blog, Guest posts, Local Government, Skills

The Circular Economy – just how do we do that? This is a guest blog by Chas Bradfield, who recently stepped down as Strategic Director – Place at Winchester City Council after a career in the health service, local government and regeneration consultancy work. Town centre regeneration has been a passion in recent years, in particular, Camberley, Basingstoke and Winchester, building partnerships with local businesses and directing large scale regeneration schemes. Chas is currently a consultant with Citicentric, (a regeneration…

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Deliberative Democracy: exploring fresh approaches to consultation

September 16, 2021
Simon Eden
All, Blog, General, Local Government

Deliberative Democracy: exploring fresh approaches to consultation Introduction Test Valley Borough Council led a Government-funded pilot to explore how a deliberative approach could inform decision-making on important local policy and service issues. Following that pilot the Council are keen to adopt that model for citizen engagement where it offers the best approach to informing decision-making. The Council commissioned the Southern Policy Centre to lead a seminar designed to help their senior managers understand how deliberative democracy works and discuss when…

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Register for our seminar on how business sees its role in meeting our environmental and social challenges: 3rd November

September 14, 2021
Ruth Eastwood
About, All, Events

Register for our seminar on how business sees its role in meeting our environmental and social challenges: Wednesday 3rd November Our local businesses have an important role in helping us meet regional and national environmental challenges, whether by reducing energy use, using more sustainable materials, in their production processes or many other ways. Terence O’Rourke, the Bournemouth based planning, design and environment practice have sponsored SPC to find out more about just what businesses are doing across the central South…

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