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In this episode of Placecast, Nicola Headlam sits down with Dr Sarah Longlands, Chief Executive of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES), to explore why place matters more than ever in shaping policy, economy, and community wellbeing. Their conversation offers a compelling case for moving beyond one-size-fits-all solutions and embracing the complexity of local contexts.
Placecast is a Local Policy Innovation Partnership (LPIP) Hub production based at City-REDI, University of Birmingham. Our new podcast is essential listening for those keen to explore the ins and outs of knowledge mobilisation for influence in central and local government, based on the view that it’s only through animating the power of place-based leadership that the wicked problems of 2025 can become more manageable.
Sarah Longlands leads CLES, the Centre for Local Economic Strategies, the National Organisation for Local Economies, based in Manchester. She is an expert in regional and local economic development and argues for economic and social justice and the creation of places which enable people to live good lives.
Before joining CLES in 2021, Sarah was Director of IPPR North, the dedicated think tank for the North of England. She previously worked for CLES until 2011 and began her career in local government, working in County Durham and North Yorkshire. She has a PhD in Urban Studies from the University of Glasgow.
Sarah is a member of the LPIP Hub Partnership Team.
View Sarah’s online profile
Dr Nicola Headlam has over 20 years of experience working across all aspects of the multi-helix innovation system, including central and local government, civil society and campaigning, academic research and knowledge mobilisation, and industry. Along the way, she has honed her expertise in urban and regional subnational economic development, the roles of government in shaping place, and in utilising data and evidence for transformation.
In 2024, she became a freelance economic advisor on the role of leadership and partnerships, urban and living lab forms for research, future of cities and foresighting methods, urban transformations, place-branding and urban regeneration and the spatial consequences of public policy.
Find out more about the LPIP Hub.
Transcript from Podcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
By City-REDI, University of BirminghamIn this episode of Placecast, Nicola Headlam sits down with Dr Sarah Longlands, Chief Executive of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES), to explore why place matters more than ever in shaping policy, economy, and community wellbeing. Their conversation offers a compelling case for moving beyond one-size-fits-all solutions and embracing the complexity of local contexts.
Placecast is a Local Policy Innovation Partnership (LPIP) Hub production based at City-REDI, University of Birmingham. Our new podcast is essential listening for those keen to explore the ins and outs of knowledge mobilisation for influence in central and local government, based on the view that it’s only through animating the power of place-based leadership that the wicked problems of 2025 can become more manageable.
Sarah Longlands leads CLES, the Centre for Local Economic Strategies, the National Organisation for Local Economies, based in Manchester. She is an expert in regional and local economic development and argues for economic and social justice and the creation of places which enable people to live good lives.
Before joining CLES in 2021, Sarah was Director of IPPR North, the dedicated think tank for the North of England. She previously worked for CLES until 2011 and began her career in local government, working in County Durham and North Yorkshire. She has a PhD in Urban Studies from the University of Glasgow.
Sarah is a member of the LPIP Hub Partnership Team.
View Sarah’s online profile
Dr Nicola Headlam has over 20 years of experience working across all aspects of the multi-helix innovation system, including central and local government, civil society and campaigning, academic research and knowledge mobilisation, and industry. Along the way, she has honed her expertise in urban and regional subnational economic development, the roles of government in shaping place, and in utilising data and evidence for transformation.
In 2024, she became a freelance economic advisor on the role of leadership and partnerships, urban and living lab forms for research, future of cities and foresighting methods, urban transformations, place-branding and urban regeneration and the spatial consequences of public policy.
Find out more about the LPIP Hub.
Transcript from Podcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.