Very excited by today’s announcement on Pride in Place. Very happy to see it builds on the work of NDC and Big Local (which I know very well). Much needed money in neighbourhoods but the work is never done. Opportunity for long-term change is there - if the end is thought about from the start.

Day 1 of #HDCA2025 over! Very thought provoking presentations from UNDP on the future of AI and human development, and Kunal Sen on whether inequality is inevitable with development (spoiler: it’s not!) using the Kuznets curve - but interesting patterns in the US and UK…

Day 1 of the #HDCA2025 Summer School at the University of Bradford was very inspiring. Lots learnt, lots thought about, lots added to the reading list. Also great to have opportunity to discuss challenges faced when using the capability approach for the first time!

Interesting piece from The Guardian Oz yesterday on how we all need community, and different ways we can find it. Importantly highlights issues with volunteering bureaucracy - balancing protection with too much admin can act as a large deterrent. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Excellent start to the #PPPconf2025 with Lord David Blunkett talking about communitarianism and its role in tackling populism. ‘We have got to restore people’s belief that they are part of the process of change’

Welcome to see the Spending Review announcing 25 ‘trailblazer neighbourhoods’ across the four nations but have various questions What will spend be targeted on? How will residents be involved meaningfully? How will change be measured? Through VFM or diversifying into e.g., capability measurement?…

Having read the Shared Prosperity Fund evaluation update, it’s disappointing to see the ‘Communities and Place’ study groups focusing solely on capital projects. Whilst significant for places, it would be interesting to have cases of more intangible aspects of community developed through the UKSPF

Very exciting week for developments in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 neighbourhood policy First the (re?)announcement of Plan for Neighbourhoods from DHCLG - interested to see the impact of 75% capital spend Then the launch of ‘Think Neighbourhoods’ by ICON - definitely highlighting the crucial role of the ‘mission million’

Feeling like a proper researcher today! Train down to London planning a presentation of my MRes research to go to the National Archives to access New Deal for Communities files. Feel slightly out of my depth with historical sources, but sure it will be fine!