Meet the academic helping cities spend smarter

Local authority professionals must not be afraid of innovating or thinking differently – they should embrace it, says leading cities academic Professor Rebecca Riley.

“Many staff have been challenged by austerity and their ability to innovate has been stifled; they are scared of making the wrong decisions,” she notes. “I would like to see local authorities utilise different way of thinking to build an appetite for risk, so benefits can be realised.”

Such benefits include protecting the public purse through procuring services more effectively, and introducing new technologies or systems to market, she adds.

Rebecca is a founder of City-REDI (the City Region Economic Development Institute) which was established by the University of Birmingham, to help cities develop policies that promote economic growth through measures such as procuring innovation.

Its research covers a wide range of place-based themes, including local authority spending, public procurement, business case development for capital investments, and investment in skills, employment and culture.

City-REDI produces policy reports and academic research papers which help local and central Government shape policy, to help “create practical recommendations based on solid research that can make a difference in the real world”.

Rebecca also works closely with Connected Places Catapult and the Innovation Procurement Empowerment Centre, through IPEC Research – a partnership involving the Universities of Manchester and Birmingham to better understand the impact innovation procurement can have on public services. Her overarching aim is to “create a bridge between academia and policy makers”.

She sits on an IPEC advisory board, and is working alongside four pilot areas to help them consider how connections between academia and public sector buyers can be improved.

“IPEC’s work makes professionals think carefully about innovation procurement and the need to do things differently. It’s great to see them raising awareness about the importance of public procurement.”

Professor Rebecca Riley, University of Birmingham

Spanning public policy and academia

Rebecca’s career started in regional development, before moving to the private sector and later academia. She came to the University of Birmingham to set up City-REDI for the benefit of the West Midlands, which at the time was creating a new Combined Authority.

During a secondment to the Combined Authority, Rebecca created a collaboration agreement that allowed it to recruit academics for specific projects. “One of the problems with academia is it can be quite a challenge for researchers to carry out policy-based research,” she says. “But in the West Midlands we now have a process in place where academics are focused on impact and engagement.”

She notes that a “constant flux” in political leadership at both the national and local level can make it hard to make progress on policy. “It’s all about personal relationships, networking and gaining trust – which takes a long time to build. If there’s a lot of movement, it can make it difficult for academics to keep track.”

Recent academic activity from Rebecca included co-authoring a report that explored several different ‘economic geographies’ of the West Midlands. This included an analysis of passenger flows at Birmingham New Street and Coventry stations.

Rebecca also helped to write a report titled ‘Megatrends in the Midlands’ and edited a report looking at the innovation ecosystem in the West Midlands.

Learning from a master of public speaking

Rebecca grew up in Bolton and her formative years were spent at school with comedian Peter Kay, who she sat next to in an electronics class.

As well as telling jokes and holding court, Peter was also very observant, Rebecca notes. “It’s amazing how laughter and joy can make everything feel so much better. I also learnt to up my game with public speaking.

“Seeing somebody who was a master at managing an audience was fantastic: Peter knew how to get people in the palm of his hand. Being around somebody with skills like that – having the ability to talk to people in relatable ways – was very powerful.”

Rebecca toyed with the idea of becoming a journalist but had a passion for sculpture, so decided to study sociology and fine art at Liverpool Hope University.

“But I was from a working-class background and didn’t have a rich backer to pay for me to be so creative, so I decided to pursue sociology: understanding how people work and make decisions.”

Applying research to cities

She took a Masters in applied social research at the University of Manchester, and began her career as a labour market intelligence officer at Bolton University, helping to develop courses and bid for funding. She joined the North West Development Agency and stayed for nearly 10 years; rising from intelligence analyst to Head of Research.

Stand out projects included convening a regional economic forecasting panel, where stakeholders reviewed growth prospects and business opportunities for the local area. Meetings from 2007 identified reductions in public spending and issues with trade and finance. As a result, the panel forecasted a likely economic decline – which turned out to be true the following year.

Closure of regional development agencies in 2011 led Rebecca to set up her own consultancy. She later worked as a business development director for a software house supplying services to Government, and was seconded to the West Midlands Combined Authority to head up a team exploring big challenges facing the region.

Nine years ago, Rebecca joined the University of Birmingham to become a business development director and in 2022 was appointed Associate Professor – later Professor – of enterprise, engagement and impact.

Last summer Rebecca was appointed Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor for Regional Engagement at the University and she is responsible for shaping strategy for regional and civic engagement, building on research from the National Civic Impact Accelerator.

Cities fit for the future

So as a director of City-REDI, are cities ready to address the grand challenges they face? “I would say no,” she replies. “That’s partly due to the reduction in public sector funding over the last 15 years which has meant it's very difficult to innovate or consider things beyond the statutory minimum.”

Rebecca says partners who can deliver solutions to a challenge must work more closely and design options collaboratively. “You need the people delivering interventions and projects engaged in the business case from the start to ensure the right things are procured.”

Find out more about the work of the Innovation Procurement Empowerment Centre.
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