Ride the Wave
Balancing investment risk and opportunity to guide urban renewal
Work in progress
In her 29 January speech outlining the Government’s ‘Plan for Growth’, chancellor Rachel Reeves argued our cities will require focus on the two key areas of infrastructure and investment if they are to realise their potential and promise, with central government bringing in a raft of institutional and policy reforms to help support the financing of local projects. This new wave of investment will require our place leaders to understand how to properly and professionally manage investment risks or imperil the urban growth agenda.
Ride the wave will seek to address the issue from the perspective of local public finances, asking how responsible S.151 officers can help structure and balance their decision-making in the context of the government’s push for growth. This involves understanding what the frameworks for decision-making are, along with the various models of delivery and institutional partners that might be considered, placing these options within the wider devolution framework and ascertaining what the unique role of local finance officers should be. More broadly, the research will look at how central government can create a supportive context for officers to make decisions to drive investment in local economies.
For more details on the project and how we are seeking to integrate the views of stakeholders from across the local growth ecosystem, please contact head of research Joe Fyans (joe.fyans[at]localis.org.uk).
Project kindly supported by:
