Manchester Urban Institute is delighted to welcome Mike Emmerich to The University of Manchester on Thursday, 9 November to deliver the biennial Brian Robson Lecture
Researching the City - the Economic Transition of Manchester: A Case Study
We hope you can join us for what is set to be an inspiring speech, which will close with a small drinks reception.
While this event is free, spaces are limited, so please register early to secure your place.
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LECTURE SUMMARY
Manchester has been at the forefront of policy and economic change: a favourite case study for those studying urban renewal in the UK.
In this lecture Mike will take the long view on of Manchester’s renewal, both at the trends in the city’s economy and in the changing approach of researchers.
Mike’s own research on the issue started in the late 1980s working with colleagues at the University of Manchester. Since then he has been involved in the changing economic fortunes of British cities, mostly as a policy maker, in government at HM Treasury and in the No. 10 Policy Unit and more directly as the creator of New Economy Manchester and instigator of the Manchester Independent Economic Review. He also had a stint in academia, running the Institute for Political and Economic Governance here in Manchester (during which time he worked closely with Brian Robson). Today his company Metro Dynamics retains a keen interest in the issue.
In this lecture Mike will chart the course both of the city’s economy and in a series of case studies, at the changing approaches taken by researchers to the issue. His aim is to shed light on the process of economic transition in Manchester but also to understand how we have sought to research the city. His central thesis is that our research on Manchester has sold the city short: that neither academics nor policy makers have consistently and coherently risen to the challenge of understanding the issues at play in this rapidly changing city. His provocation, he hopes, might serve as a call to action.
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ABOUT MIKE EMMERICH
Mike is a Founding Director at Metro Dynamics, which was established in 2015 to add lasting capacity to places, working across the intervention life cycle, from analysis, strategy, project development, finance and business cases, through delivery, evaluation and monitoring.
Mike leads Metro Dynamics’ work on investment in cities and has built the consultancy’s practice advising major regeneration projects and innovation district development.
Prior to establishing Metro Dynamics, Mike was Chief Executive of New Economy Manchester, a renowned centre of excellence delivering policy, strategy and research covering economic issues, housing, planning, the environment, public health and crime for Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the Local Enterprise Partnership. Under his leadership, New Economy initiated the Manchester Independent Economic Review, delivering a high-quality evidence base to inform decision makers in Manchester. Alongside Sir Howard Bernstein, Mike was responsible for developing and negotiating the Greater Manchester devolution deals.
Mike has also previously worked at HM Treasury and the Prime Minister’s Policy Unit, where he advised the Prime Minister in local government, housing, planning regeneration, social exclusion, youth, community cohesion, and the voluntary sector. Mike is a Member of the Economic & Social Research Council and of the Policy Committee of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics.
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BRIAN ROBSON LECTURES
The Brian Robson Lecture is a biennial event named in honour of Brian Robson OBE, Emeritus Professor of Geography and Founder of Centre for Urban Policy Studies (now the Spatial Policy Analysis Lab) at The University of Manchester, who died in June 2020.
