North East

The Economic Geography of the North East

The EGotNE project is being developed by Dr John Mooney of NERIP as part of the programme of evidence to support the Regional Strategy and Local Economic Assessments. The work should be finished in November, but some interesting findings are already emerging.

EGotNE builds on work done in 2006 on spatial analysis of economic flows (which helped to define city regions, and rural/urban comparisons), and aims to address further issues, such as :-

-   identifying economic linkages between parts of the region, functional economic areas and eonomic hotspots;
-   resultant implications for housing, transport, etc;
-   exploring links between pockets of persistent, significant deprivation and economic hotspots;
-   pinpointing economic linkages between this region and other parts of the UK;
-   linking this work to Local Economic Assessments.

The project has generated a large number of maps that will inform and influence the Regional Strategy and Local Economic Assessments, all of which are accessible from this page.

County Durham Economic Assessment

Local Authorities and their partners are taking work forward to develop Local Economic Assessments in the region. There are major projects underway, for example, in the City Regions and the counties in the North East, as this paper from Durham County Council shows.

 
Durham's first publication has been the County Durham Economic Assessment (CDEA) Scoping Paper which has been prepared to set out the background, task ahead and the key research question for data collection: "How can County Durham be more economically competitive?"

Equality Measurement Framework

The Equalities and Human Rights Commission has been working with the Government Equalities Office (GEO), the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and a range of other stakeholders and subject experts to develop a measurement framework that can be used to assess equality and human rights across a range of domains relevant to 21st century life.

It is important to note that the Equality Measurement Framework (EMF) is not a performance measurement framework. Rather it provides a baseline of evidence for evaluating progress and deciding priorities. The framework will enable the Commission to discharge its legal duties to monitor social outcomes under the Equality Act 2006. It will also provide data that may help Government and other public bodies prioritise their activities to meet the public sector duties on equality.

This link enables you to view the ten domains and the indicators that have been selected, following the consultation, to make up the framework.

 Flag 4 Migration Data

ONS recently published Local Authority - level data, taken from GP Registrations, which indicates whether an individual was born outside the UK. This new and comprehensive source of migration data, often referred to as Flag 4, can be found here

A Green New Deal for the North East

The next in the policy-focused Regional Insights seminar series, run by the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies (CURDS) at Newcastle University, looks at the concept of a 'Green New Deal'. This is being promoted internationally by the United Nations, nationally by the Japanese Government, and by state and local government in the US. The Green New Deal raises the prospect of a new model of development incorporating policies for the shift to a low carbon economy with reforms to improve the stability of the financial and economic system and the achievement of broader social objectives. The aim of this day long seminar is to explore those ideas in the context of the North East. The event is free to attend, but registration is essential. This event takes place in Newcastle on 11 November, and more details can be found here.

Teesside University : Social Futures Institute (SOFI)

SOFI runs a series of seminars, aimed at academics and policy-makers in the region. The full list of seminars, and details of how to register, can be found here.

Equality North East : The Equality Bill 

The long-awaited Equality Bill is now making its way through Parliament. It is the most far-reaching discrimination legislation for many years and will have a major impact on every employer. Equality North East is running this event on 27 November to explain what's in the Bill, and its implications.

Introduction to Quantitative Methods Course: 2010 dates

NERIP is organising further dates for a one day introductory course on quantitative methods training, run by the Industrial Statistics Research Unit at Newcastle University.  This course is targeted at those who regularly use statistics in their work but who do not have a background in statistical analysis, as well as those who have such a background but would like to refresh their skills.  The aim is to build confidence in using data in everyday work and the day's training will consist of an equal balance of theory, examples and practical application.  The 2009 courses are now full, but you can put your name down for dates in 2010 - 13 January, 3 March, 5 May, 21 July.  If you are interested, please email catherine.lincoln@nerip.com for a course outline and booking form, indicating which date you would prefer.

New Degree in Transport and the Environment

Newcastle University's School of Engineering and GeoSciences is starting a new degree in Transport and the Environment. It is a one year full-time programme leading to an MSc degree, and can also be taken part time over two or three years. The programme provides knowledge and understanding of transport systems and their impact on the environment. All of the programme's modules are directly associated with the concerns of modern transportation, traffic management and environmental impacts of transport systems.

Northumbria University: Urban Policy and Regeneration

The MSc Urban Policy and Regeneration at Northumbria University offers a programme which discusses the key factors influencing urban change today and the contemporary policy response. The programme seeks to develop practitioners understanding of current and emerging policy debates whilst allowing students to reflect on the complex professional environment in which they operate.

Click on these links to find out more about the Msc Urban Policy and Regeneration (Starting Jan 2010, subject to numbers) and the Certificate in Regeneration (Starting Jan 2010) and to find out how to join the programmes. Alternatively, you can contact Msc Programme Leader, Sarah Cohen (Sarah.cohen@northumbria.ac.uk) 0191 243 7312, or the Certificate Programme Leader, Seema Patel (Seema.patel@northumbria.ac.uk) 0191 227 3864

Index of Economic Deprivation

Rather quietly, CLG have slipped out an Index of Economic Deprivation, with data available at Lower Super Output Area level for years 1999 to 2005. This appears to take the economic data used in the Indices of Multiple Deprivation, remove those datasets which are not measured consistently for those years, and present the remaining datasets individually and as an index. A full report, and LSOA-level data for the whole country, can be found here.

The Angel of the North : Public Art and Community Well-being

A PhD studentship, funded by Durham University’s Wolfson Institute, Gateshead Council, and SASS, is available to research the impacts of public art, in particular The Angel of the North, on local and regional community life.  The successful candidate will become a member of St. John’s College. The studentship arises from a series of discussions, initiated by the Bishop of Jarrow, and inspired by Anthony Gormley’s sculpture, and comes at a time when a number of public art projects are either being planned, completed or evaluated across the UK, creating a good general environment for critical analysis and rigorous research into the meanings and impacts of The Angel in its local and regional context.

The successful candidate will become a doctoral student in SASS, supervised by Professor Roy Boyne.  Gateshead Council will appoint a mentor for the student, and additional supervision will be provided by Professor Douglas Davies, of the Department of Theology and Religion, an anthropologist and theologian with interests in well-being, symbolism and ritual, who was involved from an early stage in the discussions leading up to this studentship.  The combination of Professor Boyne’s current research in the socio-economic impacts of aesthetic investment and Professor Davies’ expertise provides a unique opportunity for candidates, probably with a social science and humanities background at undergraduate and Master’s level - thus with skills in social research - and  a strong interest in public art and debates concerning community values and regional development.  More details, and how to apply, can be found here.

Press Digest

NERIP produces a regular electronic digest of articles from the national, regional and local newspapers. The focus is on news relating to the region's economy, but social, cultural and environmental news also feature. If you would like to receive the digest, please contact catherine.lincoln@nerip.com 

An important part of information dissemination is knowing who is interested in what. We invite all our readers to become part of our network of contacts by allowing us to add you to our contacts directory. To do this, either contact us directly (info@nerip.com) or, better still, sign-up to receive the Newsletter via our website.

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NERIP is funded by One NorthEast and the Association of North East Councils.