If places are going to lead, then they need evidence ecosystems that work for them: Lessons from Leeds

The appointment of the new UK Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, in July 2026 has given English devolution fresh momentum, with a strong emphasis on how place-based decision-making can bring the government closer to the communities they serve. 

Effective place-based policymaking requires a strong understanding of local areas and their evidence needs. After prolonged fiscal challenges, many local authorities have limited internal capacity to develop this, despite their critical role in shaping and providing the places and services that meet the needs of residents. But local civic universities hold vast research expertise that can contribute to addressing the complex policy challenges facing local authorities. 

In 2022, Leeds City Council (LCC), in collaboration with the University of Leeds, was the first local authority to trial Areas of Research Interest (ARI) as a mechanism for strengthening research-policy engagement. In this blog, we share insights from our new impact evaluation of the LCC ARI. 

ARI deliver value for local authorities in multiple ways 

In Leeds, we found that ARI: 

• Gave LCC colleagues access to high-quality place-focused research, strategically aligned to the Council’s needs
• Supported partnership-working by developing a culture of collaboration 
• Helped maximise the use of resources for the Council, Universities, and research funders 

In addition, the process of developing the ARI gave the Council a strategic and coordinated space to consider and discuss their evidence needs and priorities. It also provided a structure for wider conversations with local Universities on the role of research in the city. As a result, research is now an explicit part of the ‘Team Leeds’ approach outlined in the refreshed Leeds Ambitions. 

ARI benefits aren’t always visible straight away, with the evaluation showing longer-term policy and service change benefits will emerge gradually.

This convening role extended to collaborative projects responding to the ARI, which brought together colleagues from across LCC, the third sector, regional and national policy partners, and businesses. This broadened the expertise available and meant that solutions were developed in partnership, similar to the participatory policymaking approach set out in the Cabinet Office’s Rewiring the State statement. 

An unexpected bonus was that council staff found collaborating in the ARI response beneficial for their professional development, with one team leader calling it ‘invaluable’ for their team’s development.  

ARI benefits aren’t always visible straight away, with the evaluation showing longer-term policy and service change benefits will emerge gradually. Immediate benefits have been in: 

• Strengthening evidence bases 
• Influencing thinking 
• Building relationships 
• And informing future policy development 

Turning ARI into action requires infrastructure, capacity and funding 

The evaluation highlighted that mobilising a response to the ARI isn’t as simple as just writing some questions on a webpage.  A number of LCC ARI areas received no response, similar to findings for national government ARI. Still, some key enablers to strong engagement emerged. 

Institutional infrastructure and capacity are vital. In the Leeds ARI pilot, both LCC and the University of Leeds had specific teams that acted as coordinating hubs. This hub-hub model was critical to driving, monitoring and diversifying engagement with the ARI, identifying and acting on strategic opportunities, and providing an anchor for relationships, protecting against staff turnover. 

In addition, for research to successfully inform the Council’s work, Council colleagues need time to shape research, and then to assimilate and act on findings. This matters most for research aimed at transformational change, which requires stepping back from operational pressures to weigh long-term benefits. It is essential to have the right Council processes around the ARI to ensure research is strategic, and its findings are owned, acted on and outcomes communicated, even after the researcher’s involvement has ended. 

Funding is also critical. During the pilot, the University of Leeds was able to support projects through Research England policy support and participatory research funding. However, with these streams of funding due to end in 2027, future success will depend on identifying sustainable resources that allow research to remain responsive to local needs. 

Operational reality both requires and limits ARI 

The operational reality for Local Authorities is that, since 2010, they have been squeezed between austerity and an increased demand for statutory services, leading to a reduced and stretched workforce. This has led to a hollowing out of their own research capacity and ability to collaborate and act on research. Simultaneously, local authorities are expected to address increasingly complex social, economic and environmental challenges while delivering greater value for money. 

Relevant and place-focused evidence is essential to inform the Council’s work and develop policy that effectively delivers the necessary change. ARI provide a way of channelling Universities’ research expertise to address these complex needs and can equally empower the Council to prioritise engagement where research will make the biggest difference.  

However, the same operational constraints that demand a more collaborative and structured approach to channelling evidence into local government, also make it hard to realise. ARI focus on medium to long-term strategic needs rather than being linked to immediate operational or statutory pressures, meaning Council staff may struggle to prioritise being involved in collaborative research alongside their day job and reducing their impetus to follow up on findings. 

Relevant and place-focused evidence is essential to inform the Council’s work and develop policy that effectively delivers the necessary change.

The limitations are not just on the Council side. The evaluation found that outside of the pilot projects, the ARI did not attract researchers to share existing research. This indicates a disconnect between policy needs and research incentives and funding that may be particularly felt by local government as it lacks the research impact draw of national government.   

Developing an evidence ecosystem for the local and regional level 

Our evaluation shows that ARI can provide a valuable lynchpin for research-policy engagement at the local government level, helping to shape and deliver research evidence for and with place. 

However, ARIs are only one route for collaboration. They should form part of wider evidence ecosystem where immediate needs are addressed by rapid consolidation of current evidence, and there is room for constructive challenge, scrutiny and advocacy, as well as collaborative coproduction.  

Many local authorities face similar challenges, and evidence from the local level may also inform regional responses and connect to national priorities. On that basis, such an evidence ecosystem needs to hard wire in collaboration and connectivity across areas and levels of government. 

Realising such an evidence ecosystem needs to be underpinned by investment in people and places to develop the necessary infrastructure and capacity. This ecosystem also needs access to research funding that can flexibly respond to the priorities of local places and regions.  

Ultimately, if places are going to lead the way to the more equal England, then we need ways to direct the research power of this country’s Universities to help supply the evidence they need to see where they are going. ARI are one part of this puzzle. 

Further information 

Read the report: 

• Leeds City Council Areas of Research Interest evaluation

This evaluation builds on the following reports:  

• A review of ‘Areas of Research Interest’ (ARIs) as a mechanism for research-policy engagement 
• Academic-policy engagement at the local level: The Leeds approach to developing Areas of Research Interest