Centre for Cities

The Centre for Cities is an independent, non-partisan charity and research organisation set up to further understanding on how and why economic growth in UK cities takes place and to produce research helping cities to achieve economic growth.

Set up in 2005 by Lord Sainsbury of Turville, Centre for Cities are "the first port of call for UK and international decision makers seeking to understand and improve UK cities' economic performance."

Core Research Programme

The core research programme from 2014-2016 will focus on 'How different cities can drive jobs, growth and prosperity in the 21st Century.' This work will focus on 4 themes

1 ) Think Cities: a new campaign that encourages politicians to allow cities more control over their the decisions and money that shape their local economies in order to create a prosperous UK with a falling deficit, where people have better employment prospects, can enjoy higher living standards and can afford to rent or buy a home.

2) What are the drivers of local economic growth and how can different cities learn from success to more effectively support jobs and growth?

3) How are successful cities led, governed and financed?

4) 'How to deliver change': will explore the practical ways cities, businesses and national decision-makers implement policies in greater detail, using case-studies, examples, and lessons from UK and international cities.

This research will develop a set of evidence-based policy proposals that will be fed into election manifestos and current debates about policy practice.

Events

Party Conference Fringe Events

Labour 2014

• 23rd September

Against a backdrop of slow growth, as budgets are shrinking and less money has to be spread further, is the divide between the north and the south, and the strongest and most vulnerable cities, getting wider? Does this matter? What should the policy response be for the cities with the strongest economies and the cities with weaker economies? Chaired by Alexandra Jones, speakers: Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, Will Hutton, Principal of Hertford College, Oxford University and Chair of the Big Innovation Centre, John Longworth, Director General, British Chambers of Commerce and Sir Robin Wales, Mayor of Newham.

Conservative 2014

• 30th September

The Coalition Government has taken steps towards empowering cities through the City Deals agenda, localism and Lord Heseltine’s Review. But what more must be done to ensure that cities can support their businesses to deliver the jobs that will drive the UK’s economic recovery? Chaired by Alexandra Jones, speakers: Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, Digby Jones, Lord Jones of Birmingham and Cllr Andrew Geary, Leader, Milton Keynes Council.

Lobbying firms

• MHP Communications

People

Board Members

• Alex Plant, director, regulation and competition policy at Royal Mail, since December 2013.
• Alison Newton, partner and member of the management board at HBJ Gateley, the Scottish practice of national commercial law firm Gateley.
• Andrew Varley, group property director of Next plc.
• Greg Clark, founder of The Business of Cities Ltd.
• Joanna Averley, chief executive of property industry charity LandAid.
• Martin Reeves, chief executive of Coventry City Council.
• Nigel Hugill, chair of Centre for Cities. Executive chair of Urban & Civic and chair of The Royal Shakespeare Company.
• Professor Michael Parkinson CBE, director of the European Institute for Urban Affairs at Liverpool John Moores University.
• Sir Alan Wilson, professor of Urban and Regional Systems in the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis at University College London and chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Wilson is currently chair of the Lead Expert Group for the Government Office for Science Foresight project on the Future of Cities and Chair of the Home Office Science Advisory Council.
• Stephen Ashworth, a planning lawyer, focusing on retail proposals and redevelopment projects, such as major town centre schemes.
• Susan Hitch, manager of Lord Sainsbury of Turville's pro bono projects. Hitch is also a trustee of the Institute for Philanthropy and the Sigrid Rausing Trust and a member of the Commission on Unclaimed Assets.
• Tom Riordan, chief executive of Leeds City Council.

Research Advisory Council

• Bridget Rosewell
• Mark Kleinman, assistant director economic and business policy at Greater London Authority.
• Max Nathan, research fellow at the Spatial Economics Research Centre at the London School of Economics.
• Susan Hitch
• Tony Travers, director of LSE London, a research centre at the London School of Economics.

People

• Alexandra Jones, chief executive.
• Andrew Carter, deputy chief executive.
• Ben Harrison, director of partnerships.
• Anna Bullegas, head of finance and operations.
• Rachel Morrisroe, senior external affairs manager.
• Rita Beden, interim external affairs manager.
• Paul Swinney, senior economist.
• Naomi Clayton, senior analyst.
• Zach Wilcox, analyst.
• Edward Clarke, analyst.
• Meg Kaufman, project manager - What Works Centre.
• Louise McGough, policy officer.
• Simon Jeffrey, events officer.
• Sophie Gaston, press and external affairs officer.

Funding

• Core funder is The Gatsby Foundation, one of the Sainsbury family charitable trusts.
• 2013

£1000-£10,000 - [Arts Council]] | Birmingham City Council | Brighton & Hove City Council | Coventry & Warwickshire | Local Enterprise Partnership | Coventry City Council | Derby City Council | Dorset Council | European Investment Bank | Greater London Authority | Hull City Council | KPMG | LGA | Milton Keynes Council | Northamptonshire | Oxford City Council | Portsmouth City Council | Preston City Council | Reading City Council | Reading UK CIC | Santander | Sunderland City Council | The Co-Operative Group | Wakefield Council | Wilmott Dixon

£10,001-£20,000 - Addleshaw Goddard | Leeds City Council | Capita

£30,001-£100,000 - ESRC | IBM | The Technology Strategy Board | Zurich

Above £100,000 - The Gatsby Foundation

• For previous years http://www.centreforcities.org/40/about/annual-reports.html