Themes

ippr north research themes

Theme 1: Overcoming Poverty and Inequality

These projects are designed to take a fresh look at the causes and consequences of poverty and inequality in the northern regions and explore the opportunities created through emerging sub-regional economies for linking areas of disadvantage with areas of opportunity.

Making City-Regions Work for Deprived Communities
City-regions have been identified as the engines of economic growth in the North of England, and this project will explore how links can be made between people living in deprived areas and the economic opportunities offered by the wider city region. Based on a rigorous quantitative study and case study research in six deprived neighbourhoods this work will point the direction for future regeneration policy. This work is being carried out in partnership with The Northern Way and Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Making Ends Meet
This project seeks to gain a detailed understanding of the impact of the current recession on the lives of people in three distinct communities in two northern cities. In particular we are looking at their household finances, employment and coping strategies, using community-researchers and household diaries.
Localism, Inequality and Entitlement
This project will explore notions of the ‘postcode lottery’ in a number of significant service areas. It will consider evidence of the extent to which inequalities in service provision are mitigated or exacerbated by central government policy and seek to establish what types of ‘entitlement’ citizens might expect, should a more localist approach be adopted.
It’s Green Up North
This project explores the role that the 'green economy' might play in economic recovery in the Northern regions of England. The project will commission a series of working papers, each presented at its own seminar, culminating in a report and conference.
Revealing Stories
We are working with Northern Film & Media to support a young film-maker who is producing a short documentary about the impact of the Corus closures on the town of Billingham.
Youth Voice in Child Poverty
We are working closely with Newcastle City Council to engage disadvantaged young people in speaking out about child poverty in the North East as part of the European Union Year for Combating Poverty.
The Impact of the Recession in the North
In October 2009 ippr north carried out statistical analysis demonstrating the impact of the recession in the north of England. This project will now dig deeper to uncover the impact of public spending cuts and the potential of a ‘double-dip recession’ in the North.

Theme 2: Capable and Creative Communities

These projects – many planned for roll-out in the latter half of 2010 – explore the developing relationship between citizens and the state. They will investigate what makes a resilient, capable community and look at the role of local communities in transforming policy and public services.

Communities Outlook 2010
This will be the headline project for ippr north in the second half of 2010. It will be the first annual stocktake of the relative strength of communities across the northern regions of England. Based on a series of ‘domains’ and incorporating a range of different themes and issues it will provide a comprehensive analysis and comparison of community capability and resilience and seek to predict future trends for communities in the north. It is hoped this might be funded as part of the Department for Communities and Local Government’s Connecting Communities support programme.
Community Capability
This project, developed as part of the ippr/PricewaterhouseCoopers Smarter State programme and carried out in partnership with ippr London, is exploring the role citizens and communities can play in directly producing services through a case study local authority in Tees Valley.
Community Enterprise in the North West
This project, funded by the North West Together We Can Network, is exploring the role and support needs of community and social enterprises in the North West of England by focusing on a series of case studies across the region.
Measuring Social Capital in the North East
This project will build on our Making Connections report and work with local authorities to develop new measures for monitoring, understanding and building social capital.
Community Safety
Building on ippr research on Community Capability (see above), this project will work closely with three Newcastle-based community organisations to explore the role of local communities in addressing issues of community safety and cohesion. Using action research it will consider how the work of the police and other public agencies can better complement and support community-based activity.
Total Neighbourhoods
This project will explore the extent to which the ‘Total Place’ methodology adopted by a growing number of local authorities can be applied at the neighbourhood level. It will take the form of a peer learning network of interested local authorities. More details
The Foundations of Aspiration
By comparing cohorts of very similar neighbourhoods this study will try to understand the factors behind the fact that some places seem to foster and support aspiration, creativity and reliance whereas others seem steeped in a cycle of negativity and decline.
Innovation in the North East
This project, developed in partnership with the RSA, will bring together innovation champions from across the North East to develop ideas for closer collaboration in public service innovation.