Dr Nicola Headlam to speak at IPM Place Symposium
We are delighted to confirm Dr Nicola Headlam as a keynote speaker at the upcoming IPM Place Platform Symposium, taking place on Tuesday 17th June 2025 at The Anthony Burgess Foundation, 3 Cambridge Street, Manchester, M1 5BY
Dr Headlam is a Policy Fellow at the University of Birmingham’s LPIP (Leadership for Place-based Innovation and Policy) and the host of Placecast, a new podcast launched in 2025 spotlighting cutting-edge thinking in place research and leadership.
With over 20 years’ experience across the multi-helix innovation system - spanning central and local government, civil society, academia, and industry - Dr Headlam brings a deeply interdisciplinary perspective to the challenges and opportunities facing places today.
Her expertise lies in urban and regional economic development, the role of government in making and shaping place, and using data and evidence to drive transformation. Nic has also worked extensively on the spatial consequences of public policy, exploring the critical intersection between governance, leadership, and infrastructure delivery.
In 2025, she launched Placecast, a new podcast hosted by LPIP, showcasing leading voices in place-focused research, innovation, and policy.
Nic’s keynote address "Industrial strategy, place policy, the growth mission and other snarks to hunt" will explore the shifting policy and funding landscape for place-focused research and practice. She will reflect on the importance of strong partnerships, reformed local government, and evidence-led approaches to tackling the UK’s enduring spatial inequalities. Her talk will shine a light on the importance of institutions, the limits of weak governance structures, and the role of urban labs, foresighting methods, and subsidiarity in delivering just, place-based transformation.
Nic’s work directly aligns with IPM’s mission to support places through rigorous, evidence-led management and policy. Her insights are timely and vital for anyone engaged in regeneration, economic strategy, or the future of local governance.
Join us as Nic helps set the tone for a year of bold thinking, collaborative learning, and strategic action.
You can register for the event and learn more about other speakers via: https://www.placemanagement.org/events/place-platform-symposium/
About the author
Formed in 2006, the Institute of Place Management is the international professional body that supports people committed to developing, managing and making places better.