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Professor William Rossiter's Inaugural Lecture

The making, unmaking and remaking of an English Region: Unexpected journeys in regional development

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In this lecture, Professor William Rossiter will explore the causes and consequences of uneven development in England and recent experiences of policy interventions intended to do something about it. It will consider the history of regional policy in England from the perspective of a former economic development practitioner and academic researcher with interests in evolutionary economic geography.

  • From: Tuesday 29 April 2025, 6 pm
  • To: Tuesday 29 April 2025, 7.30 pm
  • Registration: 5.30 pm
  • Location: Lecture Theatre 5, Newton building, City Campus, Nottingham, NG1 4BU
  • Booking deadline: Tuesday 29 April 2025, 3.00 pm
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Event details

Why is it that some places adapt and prosper, while others get locked into paths of relative and absolute economic decline?

When this does happen, what is the scope for policy intervention to break the spiral of decline and support the creation of positive post-industrial futures?

How can we harness this new development path creation to deliver positive social and economic outcomes at community level?

This lecture will explore the causes and consequences of uneven development in England and recent experiences of policy interventions intended to do something about it. It will consider the history of regional policy in England from the perspective of a former economic development practitioner and academic researcher with interests in evolutionary economic geography.

Adopting the geographical lens of the (East) Midlands, Professor Rossiter will reflect on the implications both of his professional practice and academic research for attempts to address the social and economic consequences of uneven development and the future of devolution in England.

As an economic development practitioner, Professor Rossiter was involved in the development of regional economic strategies and the implementation of industrial policy at the sub-national scale. His subsequent academic research has explored the changing practice of economic development in the Midlands since 2010. Latterly the focus of this research has been on the role of policy intervention, institutional capacity and individual agency in new (economic) development path creation – with a focus on the post-industrial towns and cities of the Midlands. The challenge of how best to stimulate new development path creation in the context of deindustrialisation remains one of the most fundamental questions in economic geography and one that goes to the heart of contemporary debates about uneven development and devolution.

Biography

Will Rossiter is Professor of Regional Policy and Development at NTU.


Professor Rossiter took a BA Hons in Sociology at Thames Polytechnic (1990) and an MA in Industrial Relations from Warwick University (1991). He completed his Doctorate by published work at NTU in 2023.


The early part of his career was spent as a researcher in sociology at Leicester University before teaching HRM and Industrial Relations at De Montfort University and Cardiff University. In 1998 he moved back to the Midlands to take up a policy research role at Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce, Training and Enterprise. This role provided his first experience of economic development activity in the Midlands. In 2001 he was seconded to the East Midlands Development Agency before being appointed as a Research Manager in 2003 and later Head of Strategy and Research. In this capacity he was responsible for the Regional Economic Strategy and its underpinning evidence base, also a large-scale programme of economic impact evaluation. He worked closely with the then Business Department and HMT on aspects of regional policy including the development of national guidance on performance management and evaluation.
In 2011 Professor Rossiter was appointed Reader in Economics at NBS and tasked with building NBS capacity to undertake research and consultancy linked to regional and local economic development. He worked with local authorities, the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership and the Midlands Engine Partnership providing research and consultancy inputs to the development of a variety of economic development plans and strategies at various spatial scales within the Midlands. While at NBS, Professor Rossiter has contributed to a number of evaluation studies commissioned by external bodies such as the Department for Culture Media and Sport. He has also contributed to ESRC funded research on the impact the Covid 19 Pandemic on Voluntary and Community Sector organisations.


Professor Rossiter’s current research includes projects on ‘inclusive growth’ developed in partnership with the East Midlands County Combined Authority, work with the Nottinghamshire Fire and Resue Service to inform the targeting of community engagement and fire prevention work and further research exploring the mechanisms whereby new development path creation does (or does not) translate into positive socio-economic outcomes at community level.

Programme

5.30 pm

Registration and welcome refreshments

6 pm

Welcome talk

6.05 pm

Lecture begins

6.50 pm

Close and thanks by Executive Dean

7 pm

Drinks reception

7.30 pm

Close

Location details

Address:

Newton building
City Campus
 Nottingham
 NG1 4BU

Parking:

Take a look at our maps and directions page to find the best parking for you to our City campus.

Travel Info:

Take a look at our maps and directions page to find the best parking for you to our City campus.

Past event

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