In this issue:
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Welcome to the first IPM Members' bulletin of 2023..!
IPM influencing UK high street policy
The IPM team and our Members have been involved in government briefings on UK high street policy issues with the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
IPM Chair, Prof Cathy Parker, attended a workshop with the Department to discuss future policy development, putting forward ideas on place leadership, partnership development and collaborative working.
Should new policies be adopted by HM Government, more details will be announced soon, including on future consultation and iterative development to shape the policy.
Commenting on the meeting Cathy said: “Politicians and policymakers are obviously very open to learning from people that have been studying high street change, and also hearing directly from those place leaders on the grounds that make it happen. This is all very positive for good policy development. It is early days, but the signs are very promising.”
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Multi-million-pound research and innovation bid submitted
IPM has recently submitted a bid for over £3m to lead a new kind of innovation network. The Local Policy Innovation Partnerships commissioned by UKRI will research and innovate local solutions to local problems, building capacity across universities, local authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships, businesses, and community groups.
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Reframing high street viability, new data
In a paper published in Cities, which is Open Access, IPM researchers examine the nuanced aspects of viability as discussed in the literature since the influential URBED report in 1994. Read the new paper here.
There's also a reminder that, in early December, BBC News released its analysis of two years of British high street data from the Ordnance Survey. The stats paint a picture of changing British high streets since the start of the pandemic.
IPM’s Professor Cathy Parker and Dr Steve Millington took to the BBC airways to comment on the figures, for Radio 4’s Today programme and other media.
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Exemplars of the night-time economy
The crucial night-time economy will be in the spotlight with a special meeting of The BID Foundation Leadership Network in Bristol (February 8th).
IPM Communications Lead, Matt Davis, says: “In the aftermath of COVID, leisure and the evening economy is an even more significant aspect of successful towns and cities, as residents and visitors seek experiences during less frequent trips to centres, locally or on a short getaway. But obstacles remain; nightclubs are closing across the UK, staffing and costs are challenging, and ensuring the public feel safe at night is a major issue. At the Leadership Network, we're devoting time to look at exemplars of the night-time economy, and hearing from experts on what BIDs can do to support the sector.”
We’ll bring you the outputs from the Leadership Network later in February.
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Latest JPMD issue out now
The latest issue (Vol 16 Issue 1) of the Journal of Place Management and Development is now available online. The issue contains seven articles covering:
- making places safer through everyday management practices
- how UN SDG goals can be misrepresented in city branding strategies
- the impact of mega-projects on neighbourhood quality of life in Riyadh
- how building façades influence people's decision to buy or rent in an area
- how women associate a 'clear air city' with a number of other favourable outcomes, and what this means for placemaking
- how place management practices in UK housing associations (HAs) involve processes of ecological place management and how appreciation of this can improve the profession.
- an international comparison of innovation districts and the type of amenities they contain.
Members can access this issue (and 52 back issues) by logging in to the membership area and navigating to 'Access the JPMD". Please contact ipm@mmu.ac.uk if you have any problems accessing the site.
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Class of 2023 starts place management and leadership programme
The latest cohort of postgraduate students joined the place management and leadership programme in January. Starting with an online masterclass the students met their course leader Dr Chloe Steadman, and tutors for their first module, Professor Cathy Parker and Dr Nikos Ntounis. The day also included guest lectures by established place leaders and an introduction to a number of theoretical frameworks and concepts to help 'make sense' of what is a very complicated, but hugely impactful, job. Students also had the opportunity to assess their own place leadership skills and completed a diagnostic to help understand the cultures and structures for managing change inherent in the places they work.
You can find more details about the MSc in Place Management and Leadership and other postgraduate programmes here or contact ipm@mmu.ac.uk to have a discussion with one of the course team.
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Looking ahead to IPM events in April and May 2023…
The BID Foundation Annual Summit
Wed 19th April - Manchester
With high profile speakers from Government, experienced BID executives, and thought leaders, this event is central to the development of BID policy and practice.
Free of charge for TBF members. £300 for non-members.
Demand the TBF Summit is expected to be high. To secure your place please register here.
IPM Conference
‘Good Growth: Tacking the big issues through place-based policy, practice and theory’
Thurs 20th April - Manchester
In this one-day conference we will explore how place-based policy, practice and theory is key to tackling major challenges. We will ask questions on devolution, local approaches to place, and on the role of local place leaders and partnerships, and show new theoretical and data advances in place-based working.
The IPM Conference has been generously sponsored by Manchester Metropolitan University and is free of charge this year for IPM Members.
£425 + VAT non-members.
Demand for the IPM Conference is expected to be high. To secure your place please register here.
Demolish, re-purpose, re-let?
Thurs 11th May, 14.00 - 15.30 | Online
This IPM webinar will hear from specialists in bringing vacant shopping centre and department store spaces back into use, explore current case studies, and examine the pros and cons of alternative options including residential, office, leisure, arts & crafts, education, health & wellbeing and more.
Masterclass: Place Marketing, Branding and Communication
Mon 15th May, 10.00 - 16.00 | In-person or online
Find out from leading scholars and practitioners how you can improve your place marketing and branding, so it has a positive and longer-term impact on people's engagement and perception of your place.
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Member opportunities
IPM shares details of the latest invitations to tender, calls for evidence, and speaking or media opportunities. The most recent are listed below - visit https://www.placemanagement.org/opportunities/
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CPD - Developing your skills as a place leader and manager
As the professional body for place leaders and managers, the Institute is strongly committed to providing continuous professional development opportunities and encouraging members to take them up.
This month's CPDs opportunities is reviwing a journal article on making safer places
If you would like to take this continuing professional development opportunity, please email IPM@mmu.ac.uk when you have read the article and we will allocate the CPD points to you. If you have any comments or feedback for the authors then please let us know and we will pass these on.
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In other news...
There's been a few changes in the IPM team. We say farewell to two Research Assistants, Regine Sønderland Saga and Maria Loroño-Leturiondo, who have both returned to home to jobs in research institutes in Norway and Spain respectively.
Allison Herbert has renewed her full-time post as CEO of Bath Bid, after helping The BID Foundation and IPM improve its governance and communications. Thank you Regine, Maria and Allison for your hard work and good humour!
We say hello to Dr Michael Sewell who joins IPM as full-time Senior Research Assistant. Michael has a PhD in history and has been studying how town perceptions change over the centuries. Michael will work alongside Research Assistant, Afroditi Maria Kazakou, who is also studying for a PhD part-time in destination marketing and image.
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IPM speaking events
As usual, the IPM team have a busy few months ahead, speaking at engagements and event. If you are attending any of these then come along and say hello!
Matt Colledge - Civic Voice AGM - 20th February
Matt Colledge - GMCA Director of Place - 21st February
Cathy Parker - House of Lords Reception for South and East Lincolnshire Councils - 21st February (Cathy is also attending the Historic England Parliamentary Reception earlier in the afternoon).
Cathy Parker - ATCM 'Whose high street is is anyway' - 28th February. This event is CPD accredited. More details and booking available here.
Matt Colledge and Cathy Parker - Workshop on Place Leadership in Local Authorities for UK Government
Joe Barratt - RSA 'Place making in town and cities - March 7th
Matt Colledge - Transforming UK High Streets Conference and Exhibition - March 28th
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