Regeneration and economic development
We have a longstanding interest in researching and evaluating regeneration and economic development programmes. Our staff have national and international reputations in these areas, and many act in an advisory capacity to national and local government.
Through our wide-ranging work, we research deprived areas and populations, and the drivers and impacts of community involvement and participation. We evaluate programmes and projects that aim to support regeneration and community development, and assess their impact.
In 2010, we completed the ten-year evaluation of the New Deal for Communities initiative on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government. It was the largest and most comprehensive evaluation of an area-based initiative ever commissioned in the UK.
In the field of economic development, we look at local and regional economies, and what may be the drivers for economic development in a given context. We evaluate programmes and projects that aim to promote economic growth, and assess their impact on geographic areas and communities. Our research has informed EU, national, regional and local strategy and policy.
Examples of our work include
- an assessment of schemes promoting higher level skills as a basis for improved economic performance
- a review of rural community-based social enterprises as a basis for reviving village economies
- a study of the economic links between coalfield areas undergoing regeneration and neighbouring cities
- an estimate of the scale and nature of the seaside tourism industry
Talent Match Evaluation and Learning Contract
Project Director: Professor Peter Wells
Project Duration: 2013-2019
Talent Match is a Big Lottery Funding initiative of up to £100 million. It is investing resources in a number of areas in England where youth unemployment is a significant issue. BIG will invest for a period of up to five years to improve the lives of people aged 18-24 who have been out of education, employment or training for 12 months or more. The aims of the evaluation and learning contract are: to track the success of the programme and projects within it; to identify what works well, for whom and in what circumstances; and to share learning and improve practice.
Our Bigger Story: Longitudinal Multi Media Evaluation of Big Local
Project Director: Angus McCabe (TSRC, University of Birmingham)
Project Duration: 2018-2019
The second stage of a planned ten year multi-media evaluation of the 'Big Local' community-based regeneration programme, using creative visual data collection and interaction techniques - film, audio, diaries, photography and elicitation.
Green Leaders evaluation
Project Director: Dr Will Eadson
Project Duration: 2016-2018
Groundwork’s Green Leaders programme aims to give 900 disadvantaged young people (aged 14-19) a stepping stone to future employment by recruiting them to lead local environmental projects. In doing so, the programme also aims to make local environmental improvements and catalyse climate action in local communities. The evaluation involves tracking outcomes through a range of qualitative and quantitative methods, as well as providing learning to projects throughout the duration of the programme.
Addressing transport barriers to work in low income neighbourhoods
Project Director: Dr Richard Crisp
Project Duration 2017-2018
This research is looking at how transport acts as a barrier to work in low income neighbourhoods, particularly in more peripheral locations. It will use a mixture of mapping and resident interviews to examine employment options and propensity to commute. The findings will be used to develop policy and practice recommendations for overcoming transport-related barriers to work.
Industrial Strategy and the Regions
Project Director: Professor Peter Wells
Project Duration: 2017-2018
This project builds on prior work by CRESR into the government’s industrial strategy. CRESR has been commissioned to build on this work and develop proposals for the Labour Party. The research is covering three main areas: the instruments or industrial strategy and regional policy; the institutions required to deliver the policy; and a series of datasets on sub-national indicators.
Staff undertaking research include
Elaine Batty Christina Beatty Dr Ellen Bennett Professor Ian Cole Dr Richard Crisp Chris Damm Chris Dayson Professor Ed Ferrari Del Roy Fletcher Professor Steve Fothergill Jan Gilbertson Dr Tony Gore Professor Paul Lawless David Leather Dr Rob Macmillan Sarah Pearson Elizabeth Sanderson Professor Peter Wells Ian Wilson
Get in touch
For further information please contact Sarah Pearson at s.pearson@shu.ac.uk or call 0114 225 4902.
Key clients
Big Lottery Fund
Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation
Community Fund
DEFRA
Délégation interministérielle à la ville (DIV)
Department for Communities and Local Government
Department for Work and Pensions
Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR)
Financial Inclusion Services (Yorkshire)
Foundations Independent Living Trust (FILT)
Furness Enterprise Ltd
Groundwork
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Labour Party
Lambeth Council
Local Trust
New Deal for Communities Partnerships
North East Derbyshire District Council
Oldham Council
Visit Wales
Voluntary Action Rotherham
Wakefield Metropolitan Borough Council
Working Links