Business for a purpose: Growing the civic core of the Northern Powerhouse

Article

The north of England has a long and proud history of civic-minded enterprise. Many northern businesses, large and small, are longstanding institutions that provide significant value to their area, above and beyond their role as employers and taxpayers. Many more are already rethinking their civic role in relation to their staff, their supply chain and their impact upon the environment.

However, the scale and nature of the challenges faced, from low pay and poverty, to productivity and the skills gap, to climate change, mean that, a step change is needed in the purpose and practice of private sector enterprise. Although there are many good examples of civic-minded business, too many businesses exhibit behaviour that is short-termist and extractive.

This report seeks to understand the role of business in the 21st century North. It explores how we might support, sustain and incentivise greater social purpose among private sector organisations, working in collaboration with partners from across all sectors. It sets out what role the state can play to encourage, develop and sustain this type of activity and provides recommendations for the local, northern and national scale.

Related items

  1. A little girl in a red school uniform looks at the camera while another student writes with a pencil next to her

    What comes next: A fairer approach to primary assessment

    England’s primary school accountability and assessment system is not working well for disadvantaged children.
  2. A woman’s hand filling in a postal ballot / voting form.

    A durable majority?: How public opinion on the EU performs under pressure

    A decade on from Brexit, Andy Burnham has signalled that a reassessment of the UK’s relationship with the EU might be around the corner.
  3. Flags of Great Britain and European Union

    New world, new relationship: Our future with Europe

    Britain’s assumptions about its place in the world no longer hold, upturned by Russian aggression, American unreliability and Chinese coercion.